ironmachin

Man, I really like that articulated Clouser. Is that orange part just thread or some other material? I'm definitely going to tie some of these.

Nice looking ties. And thanks for the deer hair info. I've always liked the way those heads look but never tried to tie one.

Someone brought up big Merkins on another forum; it was in a discussion about catching Leopard Sharks on the fly--a species that I would very much like to fair hook on my fly rod. I'm going to fish this but I doubt it'll produce anything and probably won't even sink. Kind of just wanted to see what it would look like.

Excellent stuff!

Great looking fly. I'd imagine the surf critters around here would eat one of those.

Very nice!

Man that looks amazing.

Very nice! Little pieces of artwork there.

Great looking stuff; I wonder if a leopard shark would eat them. I think I'll give it a shot. Thanks for posting it.

Looks cool. I've never tried those Mylar tubes.

Cool setup. I like the BC Rich (warlock?) too!

I second everything Peterjay said; especially the megapixel stuff. In addition to the tripod, you can also use the camera's timer or a remote to take the shot. This can help get a clearer image since you won't inadvertently shake the camera while pushing the button.

Looks like a keeper; nice work, man.

Excellent work!

Wow that looks fantastic. Very impressive work.

Nice! I'm going to tie some closures like that next time.

I posted this in the photo forum; somehow I missed that there was an SBS forum. Here's my first SBS. The Blandaconda is a two-hook, articulated surf fly, It has great swimming action, a nice profile and is highly visible. So far it's been wreaking havoc on big perch in the Santa Monica/Venice area. The two hook setup seems to be working very well with perch of all sizes. I considered cutting the curve of the front hook off but the two hook style hasn't caused any problems yet. I was hoping to fill a gap with this fly; to support the "big bait, big fish" theory, I wanted to tie it larger than the average surf fly but, still be able to use it to catch perch. The perch seem to love it especially in the orange and red colors show in the step by step. The big fish theory remains to be seen other than one Shovel Nose but, I've only fished this a handful of times. Tying this fly is a little more time consuming than most of the surf flies I use; I find it easiest to do this one assembly line style. Even if you just tie two at the same time, it will help speed up the overall process and allow glue to dry between steps. MATERIALS USED IN THIS DEMONSTRATION HOOKS - Size 4 Gamakatsu SS15 (Main Body Hook). Size 4 Gamakatsu Octopus (Rear Section hook). BODY - Rabbit Strips Red for the front and back of the fly; Tiger Barred Magnum Rabbit Strips for the middle. THREAD - Ultra Thread 140 Red. GLUE - I use Hard as Hull (shown in the photos as a brush) and Zap-a-Gap (shown as a tube in the photos). LEGS - Barred Crazy Legs; Orange/Gold Flake. CONNECTION - 20 lb Mono WEIGHT - Gold Fish Skull - Small. Be sure the thicker part is on the bottom so the hooks will ride up.

Thanks, SC. I didn't even notice the SBS forum for some reason.

Great looking stuff.

Thanks for the instructions, Betty! I'll have to start trying these out. Is this strictly a hood down fly or is it possible to make it so the hook rides up?

Great looking ties, man.

Thanks, man. Much appreciated. I'm in Southern California and fish from Venice to Santa Monica. Every now and then, I'll go further north to Malibu. The Barred Surfperch are the most common species and are around all year. They're a lot of fun; kind of feels like catching crappie but with the surf variables mixed in. A lot of fly fishers out here target Corbina which are tons of fun--arguably the best fight we have in the surf for fly fishing. We also get Yellowfin Croakers but, they generally hang out just a bit further out than I can get my flies on the beaches I fish. Halibut are around but it takes some dedication to target them. Pretty rare around my areas but, I foul hooked a nice one a few months ago. Leopard sharks get really thick at times. I'm hoping to get one on the fly someday. The shark thing in the video is a Shovelnose Guitarfish. They're very common on just about every beach I fish. It's surprising if I go more than a few trips out without foul hooking one. They're a lot of fun when fair hooked. Once in a blue moon I'll hear about someone getting something rare like a white seabass or a striper. We have Soupfin Sharks, Sevengills, Bat Rays, Thornbacks too but, never heard of any of those eating a fly.

Hey Everyone I just finished putting a photo heavy page together for a surf fly that I've been using. There's also a video montage of me fishing the fly. http://fishingexperts.la/blandaconda/ I shot the photos with a Nikon D700 with and old Tamaron SP Tele Macro lens. The lighting is just from my desk lamp and a Nikon Speedlight SB-900 aimed at the ceiling. ISO 200, F8, 1/250, handheld. - Mike

When I bought my house, the previous owner put in one of those big (in my opinion, ugly) L shaped computer desks. One of the particle board things with fake wood grain on top. It's a great bench for now; I'm still in the process of organizing it but there's plenty of room for all my tying stuff and a computer. I've added a another part to it for servicing my conventional reels. Pretty cool to have a dedicated spot for all this. Eventually, I would love to have a nice custom station built. It would be cool to sit at a well crafted piece of furniture while tying little pieces of artwork. Makes sense to me. Either that or go full garage style like I did with my graphic deign studio. All craftsman toolboxes and metal desks kind of setup. I really like the look of all stuff.

I just splurged on a Dyna King Ultimate Indexer pedestal. I love this thing; not sure if I'll need all the bells and whistles but, I'm glad to have them.