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Capt Bob LeMay

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Everything posted by Capt Bob LeMay

  1. if that critter were mine... it would get a bit of a haircut....
  2. I've done a bit of work with stinger hooks and the loop tied in to mount them. Can't report any great enthusiasm for the results.... I much prefer a single hook with an erratic retrieve to provoke a strike by large, short striking fish. The method I've used for the loop involves taking the two ends and running them through the hook eye and back along the shank before tying any of the pattern. The doubled wire, usually nylon coated wire in the 30 to 50lb size, is fixed in place with a triple wrap of thread - then super-glued in place. Once it dries then you tie the fly around the loop. With the wire loop you can mount a stinger of your choice, then bend the loop just enough to bring the stinger into alignment with the shank of the leading hook. Here's two pics of an 8 to 10" fly with loop and stinger in place. The last pic is of the Southern Deceiver, a full dress version of Lefty Kreh's classic pattern on a 4/0 extra strong hook (Owner Aki or Tiemco 600sp). I much prefer a large single hook fly to anything I've done with a stinger hook (using chum or teasing to provoke a big fish into taking the entire fly on its attack... Tight Lines Bob LeMay (954) 435-5666
  3. Kirk, I do a fair amount of solo poling when I'm out exploring (exploring is my excuse when I can't tie one more fly or repair one more piece of gear, and the customrs are few and far between). Like everyone else, poling shallow, and seeing fish a lot closer than you'd like them to be -I struggled with handling pushpole, rod, and everything else. Here's the routine I came up with. On soft bottom when I spot a fish I immediately use the pointy end of the pole to stop the boat -then pick up the end of a short tether attached to the poling tower and secure the fork end. This does two things, it stops you as quickly as a Power Pole and frees up your hands to use a rod. If I'm fly fishing I have the fly rod laid out in the bow with line stripped out ready to do -all that's needed is to quietly get down, move to the bow (hopefully not losing sight of the fish...) and you're ready to go. If I'm using spin or plug gear I stay up on the platform and retrieve a rod already mounted up under one side of the platform (that rod sets up parallel to the deck with the tip pointed forward so that it doesn't get in the way of poling at all -yet is still reachable after you tie off your pushpole....). When I'm poling on hard bottom staking out with the pushpole just isn't possible. In those conditions I keep a small grapnel anchor tied in place on a short line at a rear corner of the skiff and simply slip it over the side after securing my pushpole (either the pole is secured to a holder up on top of the platform or brought down and put back into the clips after dropping the anchor.... Hope this helps. When all goes well the above routines look practiced and skilled - if it's one of those days when I'm fumbling around it looks like a crazy fire drill. And, of course, you need to see the fish far enough away to have the time to do that drill...
  4. Had a customer on my skiff a few weeks back that was set up with a Triangle Taper fly line and I was very impressed by it's performance in a variety of situations.... The areas that we fish are extremely hard on fly lines (mangrove shorelines and oyster bars with lots of submerged trees covered in barnacles and oysters...) so I tend to buy what's cheapest in a bass bug taper if possible but the performance of that line has me re-considering.... tight lines Bob LeMay (954) 435-5666
  5. Forgot to mention the Neon Bendback was originally designed as a pattern for trout, reds, and snook in murky water. That's just short of muddy water where I'd choose an all pink fly...
  6. The guys that I know who fish pomps with fly... invariably use extra short winged clousers with size medium or larger lead eyes. We're talking #1 or smaller hooks, wings of fl. chartreuse, or fl. pink (or an awful combination of those two colors) and like folks from Key West... you can argue all night over which one will be on top.... Seriously go to Florida Sportsman magazine and look up articles by Mike Connors - for a few years he was their fly department editor (and a skilled fly angler and guide). Any articles by him about pompano on fly are well worth reading. Here's a bug of my own that will work - but you really need to shorten the wing as much as possible.... The color pattern of this fly, the Neon Bendback is another color scheme that will work well on Clousers tied with medium and larger lead eyes for pomps... Once again keep the wing on any pompano fly as short as possible (I try to have no more than 1/8 to 1/4 of wing extending past the bend of the hook.... \ Tight Lines Bob LeMay (954) 435-5666
  7. Some of your allergic reactions may not be as great as you think.... The chemicals that some tails are treated with can also cause a problem. I came up with several solutions when my materials (both fur and feather...) begin to be a nuisance. The first and obvious item - take care to wash your hands frequently and keep them away from your face. The second and uncomfortable route is a simple dust mask (the cheapies you buy at Home Depot or any hardware store). I also take one further precaution when I'm having trouble at the bench... I use a simple water sprayer to dampen the contents of the waste bag that all my trimmings go into so that they don't add to the problem ). I suspect my occasional problems stem from constant exposure when I'm at the bench hours at a time day after day filling orders. I do notice that they seem to disappear when I'm on the water working and my fly tying activities are greatly reduced. Hope this helps. Tight lines Bob LeMay (954) 435-5666
  8. The 'Glades are completely different than the Keys (thank heavens). Many days we hardly ever see another boat... the water is dark colored unless you're out on the coast (and the coast is a long way from anywhere...). Baby saws will strike anything that moves in front of them if you get their attention (but most hookups with flies are in the bill or rostrum since that's their attack mode (after a strike with the rostrum the fish moves on top of the target to pick it up). Big saws are a different proposition entirely. I just don't think we'll ever take one on fly unless it was snagged by accident (I've seen sawfish that were clearly in the 20 foot and larger size...). The biggest we've ever gotten on conventional gear appeared to be about 14 feet long at boatside -but with a big saw I'm a bit too busy to be able to do any measuring while trying to release one with no damage to my skiff (don't be fooled by the overall dimensions - a 14 footer includes the three foot long rostrum.... so you're actually dealing with the equivalent of an eight or nine foot long shark). Tight lines Bob LeMay (954) 435-5666
  9. As usual please disregard everything but the fly fishing.... if you can. Been a long time since my last report (more than a month) but between bad weather and other interventions have finally managed to put together a few days on the water out of both Flamingo (mostly) and Everglades City. We've had our first cold fronts now, followed by very mild temperatures with lots of wind. The fish have been moving into the interior but there are still areas with lots and lots of bait along the coastline. At least half of my charters have resulted in backcountry slams (a trout, redfish, and snook for each angler in a day's fishing). Had two days where both anglers scored slams - on both conventional and fly gear. The fish we're finding aren't the monsters of September but they've been biting whenever we find them. Lots of fish movement now. One day they're holding in one area the next day they've moved. The recent surprise has been the number of small sawfish we're seeing each day in very shallow waters. These are babies in the three to five foot range and up so shallow that you can see them prowling in less than a foot of water. They may have disappeared everywhere else but there's lots of them in the 'Glades at both ends of the Park. All we've used these past two weeks were mostly small jigs with Gulp tails with spinning gear or just one pattern for fly anglers.... Here's a pic of the Whitewater Clouser (every night I'm re-tying a half dozen for the next day.....) Now I'll let the angler's pics tell the story.... This is Brad Barker's best snook, taken on a small jig and very light line. The baby sawfish above was only pulled up for just an instant for the picture. Their rostrum (that thing with the teeth on it) is actually soft and can be carefully held with only thumb and forefinger for the release (and yes, you let go if he starts swinging it....). Brad is a member of Sportsman of Broward, a prominent local fishing club. This is Pat McAndless another club member with a bit smaller snook taken in the same interior bay (where there wasn't a hint of saltwater). Each snook was carefully released to fight another day... The redfish and trout were also biting that day... The next day I had more local anglers, Charlie Jones and Dr. Charles Shenker aboard. The Doc got a slam and Charlie released a nice red, while both kept trout for the table. Here's a closeup of that redfish showing one of the small jigs that fish have found attractive recently... A day later and I was back on the water with skilled fly angler Tom Peterson out of Washington state. It was his first visit to Flamingo and we covered lots of ground each day. At the end of three days he had a slam on two days, his first reds, and we even had a few shots at some medium sized tarpon (30 to 70lbs).... Here's a pic or two. His biggest snook was the size of the first photo in this report (but we were using his camera instead of mine). Both snook and reds were gorging on pilchards at a creek mouth the last day we had. If the weather stays mild that may be something to look forward to... Here's our best fish from yesterday, a nice healthy trout taken on one of those Clousers... It was Steve Arthur's first time on board and I hope to see him again. Tight lines Bob LeMay (954) 435-5666
  10. All of the replies are valid but you may be going about this a bit backwards.... I've been tying commercialy for many years (but have cut back a bit in recent years to just one shop and a few guides...). I would never consider "tying flies to sell". Instead I take an order and fill it, keeping nothing in stock except for my own needs as a full time guide. I buy in bulk if at all possible (and from whatever source that has what I need). Hooks by the 1000 per size, feathers by the pound, deer or kiptails by the 100 if at all possible. Since I'm trying to generate an income I don't restrict myself to just fly tying - I also do bucktails jigs in quantity (but again, strictly to order). Hope this helps. Tight lines Bob LeMay (954) 435-5666
  11. One last tip for bonefish flies in the Bahamas... A while back I got dozens and dozen of bonefish bug orders for that area - and almost all of them specified either some bright pink or fl. orange as accents in each pattern... The only other item I'd get asked for was to have a few dozen "blind Charlies" in each order. The idea is that some days you just don't want any bead chain eyes on a pattern at all since they do make a bit of noise when the fly lands. I've heard of some guides in other areas taking the eyes off with a pair of nippers when the conditions warranted, hence the "blind Charlie". The shop I've been tying for the past ten years or so had an offshore source for many of their bonefish patterns so I haven't filled those kind of orders in a while... Tight Lines Bob LeMay (954) 435-5666
  12. I'd be interested to know what fly you used for that great catch (I have one saltwater pattern that many use for pike but I don't know if it's taken any musky...). Here's a tip for the spinning side the next time you make that musky water.... try a product called Hogy (their 6 to 9" models) -it's a soft plastic eel type lure that you can rig with a single hook in the nose, we've had great success with it on tarpon (which come at it slowly and follow for a moment before taking - sometimes right at the boat just like a musky....). Tight Lines Bob LeMay (954) 435-5666
  13. For really tough terrain - I do use a doubled wire weedguard just like the commercial model shown - Tie in the fly just short of the hook eye about 1/8" from the eye... then add the weedguard (#4 wire is just right) to make the weedguard you have to first make a measuring tool (I use a toothpick)to measure the exact distance from the rear of the hook eye to where you want the wire loop to end then mark the toothpick at that point. Bend your wire to form the loop, then using a tiny pair of needle nosed pliers bend two tiny hooks into the other end of the wire (these will be the anchors that the thread will hold). Your measuring tool comes into play now since you need to know exactly how far in front of the hook that your wire loop needs - then tie it in place with the loop facing forward, complete your fly, superglue the thread, then do any finish you choose. Once everything is dry, then bend the loop into position and lastly use those needle nosed pliers to make a final bend in the loop (the "pocket" your hook point will sit in) and you're done. By the way, I don't want a doubled loop with too much spring in it so I bend it toward the hook shank until it's only 1/8" or so above the hook before being mounted on the hook point... just enough to do the weedless thing you're needing.... I do this regularly to rig single hook spoons (Barracuda spoons mostly) and it works like a charm. I've also done specialty tarpon flies for one tournament winning tarpon guide in this manner (until he got too famous to come see me....). By the way, that's one of the real benefits of saving master patterns of any order you tie up. I still have masters from the eighties carefully stored so the colors don't fade and they're ready to help me duplicate anything I've done in the past - no matter how long ago - if I still have that master.... I'll have to dig out those old tarpon bugs and take a picture or two.... Tight Lines Bob LeMay (954) 435-5666
  14. Thanks, have to give those a try...
  15. Lots and lots of different types of synthetic flashy stuff available these days. Here are the ones I use the most when filling orders for guides and shops (not necessarily in any order...). Flashabou Accent (the fat pack) in pearl will do for almost any purpose (and it won't curl up and die on you if things get hot the way ordinary Flashabou will). Original Flashabou (also in Pearl -although I do find some uses for gold, silver, pearlescent pink or chartreuse). The latest version of Flashaou, called Holographic Flashabou (in all the previously listed colors). Next, but rarely used for fly tying, is some stuff Wapsi lists as Holographic fly fiber (it usually comes in two colors -one on each side, I like the gold/silver). The stuff's a bit stiff for ordinary fly tying but it's killer for bucktail jigs.... I'll stop here since this only scratches the surface.. Here's a tip for anyone that uses more than a strand or two of flash in any application.... take half of the fibers you're wanting and as a bundle wrap them around the barrel of your bobbin (after you've already started tying and the thread is secured to the hook - wherever you're wanting to add flash...). From that position just slide the bundle from the bobbin onto the thread, then onto the fly and if you're able to stagger each end of the bundle as it doubles into place. The flash is permanently anchored and with ends staggered really shows well in the water....as you continue wrapping the thread into the next step.....
  16. That is a very, very good bug. What exactly is the head you've used? As far as a weedguard you might want to do something similar to what I do with real skimmer jigs, picture enclosed (it's simply a piece of #4 wire doubled and tied in with the two ends facing forward, then raised into position (folded back), bent and trimmed to form a 45 degree spread... Tight Lines Bob LeMay (954) 435-5666
  17. You've got several choices for toothy critters... The first and easiest is just to tie up your flies on a long shank hook (the Mustad 34011 is probably the most common) and then take your chances. The next step up is a very short trace of wire (either single strand - which I prefer or multi-strand which most anglers use). The problem with wire is that many really sharp toothed fish are also very sharp eyed.... and a wire bite tippet is just too noticable (even when using #2 wire). The only fish that aren't shy of wire leaders are sharks (and you could get a big shark to eat a beer can once he's fired up..). We do quite well with mackeral on nothing but popping bugs, losing maybe one in three to cut-offs (and that's with no bite tippet at all), some flies survive a toothy attack better than others. Clousers, Deceivers, and most other really great baitfish patterns don't fare well at all when the fish have sharp teeth. Usually the first indicator that you're in that kind of situation is when you realize you don't have a fly anymore (the bite is so quick and clean that you won't even feel a thing...). Mark Sosin's book on knots (by Sosin and Kreh, I believe) has a great pictorial for anyone wanting to learn how to attach a wire bite tippet with either multi or single strand wire, by the way. Tight Lines Bob LeMay (954) 435-5666
  18. Two very nice baitfish patterns. We'd use the first anytime when pilchards are the forage and the colors of the second pattern are very close to the peacock clouser colors that I get asked to tie for shops the most...
  19. Glad you mentioned Mark since I worked for him as a "camera boat" operator almost sixteen years ago... for just three or four days, mind you. He was a great guy to work for when I was just coming back to guiding in 1996. At any rate here's the deal with stretchers.... These days you'll find very few on the water since the need for them just doesn't exist the way it once did. Back in the day before fluorocarbon leader material was commonly available we were all stuck with monofilament for shock tippets. This was of no consequence with lighter shockers (more properly called "bite tippets")but a big, big problem with heavy mono (60lbs on up...). Many, many years ago everyone used 100lb mono, then as fish became more spooky it went down to 80 (today there are those that will go down to 40lb to get the bite - and worry about the consequences after that tarpon of a lifetime is on the hook, just to get the bite). Heavy mono is just too "curly" when used as a bite tippet.... Your only recourse is to rig your leaders and tie the flies to them well in advance, then place the heavy mono portion in a stretcher. I've seen every kind of stretcher you can imagine from quick, homemade, to some that were hand crafed works of functional art... The only anglers that ever needed a stretcher are those using heavy bite tippets (tarpon or offshore anglers mostly). The downside to using a stretcher is that your flies begin to age and if the stretcher is exposed to sunlight quite a bit the colors will begin to fade as well as the hooks begin to rust (ask me how I know....). As a result of all the hassles (not to mention finding storage space....)of using a stretcher most were very pleased when fluorocarbon came along. Everyone that used the stuff quicly learned that one of its chief virtues is that it had little or no memory. You could tie up an 80 or 100lb shocker to a fly then simply pull the leader tight and hold it under tension for a moment or two and all the "curl" or coiling present simply disappeared.... Voila/// no stretcher needed (and for the tippet itself Mason Hard mono had the same ability to lose its memory when stretched out for just a moment or two..). Can you guess what all my quick change leaders are made of? The bottom line now is that you'll find an occasional new or used tarpon stretcher on the market, and they make great conversation or decorative pieces, but the real need for one just doesn't exist anymore. I still have two of them somewhere but can't remember when they were last on board my skiff (even when the tarpon are hot and we're bringing back-up rods since we expect to break a rod or two that day...). tight lines Bob LeMay (954) 435-5666
  20. Yes, it's possible with very fine, algae type stuff - but what happens most often is that the "arms" snag on something and as you pull a bit the arms vault the fly up and over anything that it would normally snag on. What I used to tell my students was to take any fly with a weedguard and drag it as slowly as possible over a lawn and just see how it performs.... where you can actually watch the process with no water present at all.
  21. I'll try to post the pattern instructions over on the saltwater board when I can....
  22. That mention of Red Stick day brings back a few memories - I think it's been almost ten years since the one time I was lucky enough to attend that gathering... Kirk, that question about bonefish and crab weedguards does bring up something a bit different. I call it an outrigger or "open arms" weedguard thats specifically designed for flies tied to ride hook point up. For a #4 hook I use 15lb Ande, for a #6, it's 12lb... Take a short piece of mono and double it, the result should be slightly longer than the hook shank. Tie it in with the loop facing forward, then complete the fly and as you're doing the final thread wraps, pull the loop up and get a half dozen turns of thread in front of it before whip finishing (all my whip finishing is by hand - I never use a tool..). At that point you have a finished fly with a loop that still faces forward, but is raised to about a 45 degree angle to the hook shank. Next you clip that loop, centered so that you end up with two "arms" that need one more step before supergluing, then finishing the thread. Each arm will be curved inward, using a thumb and forefinger place your fingernail and carefully un-curl each arm (the way you would when curling or straightening out ribbon for a for a decoration). If you do it correctly you end up with two arms leaning forward at 45 degrees and spread apart 45 degrees. A touch of super glue on the thread locks everything in place,then the finish of your choice on the thread completes the fly. In use that outrigger style weedguard allows you to sink a fly into grass then retrieve it without any snagging it. The outriggers either allow the fly to glide over grass or catch, then actually bounce the fly over any obstruction but aren't noticable to the fish at all... Here's some pics of completed bugs using this style of weedguard.... The "spider crab" is my version of Matthews Turneffe Crab... I had planned on writing an article on this style of weedguard for some years but these days fewer and fewer magazines are able to pay for any articles that aren't generated by their own salaried types. Tight lines Bob LeMay (954) 435-5666
  23. Like most I've used a variety of materials for weedguards. My favorite for some years is single strand coffee colored ss "trolling wire". I figured out a way to add a single weedguard as just one more component in the production process (and have a weedguard any time I can since most of my stuff is destined for the Everglades one way or the other). Here's a pic of that "component" - it's nothing more than a short piece of #5 wire with a tiny hook bent into one end. That hook is tied in under the hook shank just before the head of any fly is completed. The only hard part is learning to tie and whip finish with that little spike sticking straght out in front of the hook.... Once the fly is complete (but before any finish is applied) a touch of super glue on the thread hardens and locks everything into place. The wire isn't bent down until after the head is finished and dried.... Now for those pics... No, I don't use wire weedguards on bonefish or permit flies and I don't use them on popping bugs or many Keys style tarpon patterns but where you can use them it allows you to put a fly right into mangrove cover and then slide it out and drop it in the water.... Tight Lines Bob LeMay (954) 435-5666
  24. You could certainly use a floating line for shallow waters - but I have to admit that pretty much all of my larger rods (10wt on up) are almost always loaded with an intermediate line. The 10 wt does need some adaptability so I'm usually equipped with a spare spool with floating line (mostly for working surface bugs or for working at night when we're sight fishing under one bridge or other to fish that actually parade back and forth right in front of us). That intermediate can be used in so many circumstances (and it just plain casts better than most floating lines when the wind -or waves) are up...
  25. They ride hook point down (that's why every one that I tie has a wire weedguard...). In use with a full intermediate line you can actually count the fly down to the desired depth.... Leaders are usually quite heavy since they're mostly used with an 11 or 12wt line. Butt section is six feet of 60lb, looped to a quick change leader with 20lb and a bite tippet of 60 to 80lb fluoro. You can fish them barely sub-surface (if you start stripping the moment it touches the water) or right on the bottom in eight feet of water.... Along with the usual 4/0, 6 - 7" fly we also use a 2/0, 5 - 6" version.... sometimes with a bite tippet as light as 40lb fluoro.
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