johnnyquahog

I’m liking the black hare’s ear. Very fishy looking. Thanks for the feedback. #8 Muddler(s) turkey tail wing, calf tail underwing, metallic braid body, deer hair collar & head.

Thanks for sharing. Losing a dog is like losing a family member except you know up front that they are only with you for so many years. They never complain and are happy to greet you whether you’ve been gone for five minutes or five days. Congrats to getting on the road to recovery.

Dave Whitlock tribute fly hook - Mustad heritage c70s #1, tail - sparse bucktail & splayed chartreuse hackles, rainbow crystal flash, body - chartreuse, olive, yellow, violet, orange & red deer hair, oversized googly eyes and rubber silicone legs. R.I.P. Dave

Say thanks MFG, and another

Bullet head slider hook - #1 Ahrex minnow tail - natural (not dyed) saddles and natural bucktail body - natural deer hair

Streaking Caddis only a couple of materials Hook: caddis style, this is tiemco 2457 #14 wire rib is optional and usually omitted Body: your favorite dubbing in your favorite color, shape like carrot Wing & Head: deer hair in natural or dyed colors - skip the head cement note: this is a can’t miss favorite when fall stocked rainbows are cruising in ponds

Kudos on the health improvements and weight loss and getting off the oxygen. 55 pounds seems like it makes a huge difference. Hope you continue to progress and report back.

Just stuck… but it is the challenge thread. next fly is Marla Blair’s jailbird

This was a duplicate post that I will try to reuse The clouser minnow or clouser deep minnow was designed originally by Bob C for smallies or small mouth bass. I fish them mostly for striped bass and bluefish on the Massachusetts bays and rivers. I’ll go out on a limb and say it is by far the most popular striper fly. I will fish it as a last resort searching pattern it is not so much fun to cast. Hook: any streamer hook. The Mustad 34007 works for the salt. Of note is that Bob recently partnered with Ahrex for a clouser model hook. weight: dumbbell or hourglass eyes in appropriate weight and color tied 1/3rd back on the shank using several figure eight wraps. See online for best wrap technique. thread: flat wax nylon or 140 denier or your favorite. adhesive: a drop of penetrating CA or Superglue will secure the eyes wing: the clouser rides point up. Lighter color bucktail tied on top of hook. Rotate vise or reinsert hook in vice point up. Add a few strands of crystal flash, add contrasting bucktail wing. Many synthetics can be subbed for bucktail. note: as already noted above the clouser is a style of fly. When using bucktail less is usually best and the top of the tail will flair less. Oh some swear by the tutti fruiti clouser which is chartreuse and pink but a controversy as what color goes on top. first photo is standard clouser, second photo has body braid wrapped on shank, wing tied on one side of the hook, and a bit of ostrich added.

I'd like to post a couple of clousers if the server cooperates.

Thanks! I’ve been a fan of the alcohol based fly-tite product for several years. It has a pretty good shelf life compared to most but I’m sure there as as many favorites as there are products.

SilverCreek. I have one of these buried somewhere. Curious as to what you are putting in it, how high are you filling it and do you put petroleum jelly or anything else on the gasket seal? AdTHANKSvance.

Black Mamba (Zonker streamer) creator can be found on YouTube #8 2x or 3x hook Wrap several turns of lead or lead free wire tail: 20 or so strands of crystal flash - length+ of hook shank tie in brassie size or .02 mm wire. At rear tie in point secure 1/8” black rabbit strip. Using dubbing loop technique wind on several turns of peacock or black/peacock ice dub. Pull rabbit strip forward and tie in behind hook eye. Wrap the wire 3 or 4 turns through the rabbit strip to secure. Add a large trigger point head of chartreuse thread or chartreuse ice dub. note: I tie these for my nephew who trolls Maine ponds, very near the Canadian border on private water for 3+ to monster brook trout. These trout feed primarily on leaches.

I’m just speculating here but after reading the information on the link; other than the packaging there is nothing new as this is an assembly of the master vise with most of the off the shelf accessories. The mitered corner shown on the wooden case in the picture is not master cabinet maker quality given the gap at the top. This might make a nice gift or raffle prize or an award but I can’t see people buying this for their own use. Watch them sell out😳

Capt Bob. I’d be interested in your opinion/feedback on the updated version of the Mustad heritage C68S tarpon hook. This hook and the longer shank C70S are very affordable when compared to the competition. I’m fishing striped bass on 7, 8 and 9 weights so the hooks just need to be sharp out of the box and I prefer a small barb for the first couple of fish then no barb. Most of my tying this season has been either on these hooks or the premium line of Ahrex hooks at more than twice the cost of the Mustads. Like Philly, I’ve never been a big fan of the 34007 except maybe for tying and fishing the clouser. I recall thirty years ago having two round chain saw files taped together on the boat to sharpen or touch up the 34007s and the EC254 hooks. I think that was a Lefty tip. thanks

When I saw this I had to look up the Renzetti version of the profile plate. It hasn’t changed, except for the price and maybe the name, since I picked one up maybe twenty five+ years ago. They call it the visual enhancement profile plate and get $75 for one. It is a flat pale green on one side and light gray on the other. Being attached to the stem of the vise is a plus. With my sore eyes I need all the visual enhancement I can muster. Good luck with your new tools and toys.

The most prolific contributor to the monthly fly forum here consistently finishes his wet flies and streamers with beautiful flawless heads. Using a rotary, especially an in line rotary vise and light cured acrylic (plus great tying skills) is one justification to go rotary. Of course dozens of great tyers never tied on a rotary and some used primitive tools by today's standards.

The hook that still haunts me is the turned up eye Mustad 94842 in size 16. This was close to 40 years ago when I was determined to catch a real sea run brown trout on one of Cape Cod’s estuaries. This was called the fish of a thousand casts. I’d caught dozens of the recently stocked trout but until they spend a couple seasons feeding on minnows, grass shrimp, mumichogs and whatever the tide brings in they are not sea runs. I spot this 20+” brown feeding on the opposite bank along with a few smaller trout. In order to get below this fish without spooking him i needed to get out of the river, climb the bank, walk down to rt. 28, cross the bridge, go behind a condo complex, hike below the fish and find an opening where I can quietly approach the fish and hope he is still around. Twenty minutes later I am in position and the fish is still working in a foot of clear water. I tied on a #16 black fur ant. I would wait until the sea run was looking upstream before casting. I took a couple dozen casts over the course of thirty minutes and got a few close looks but no joy other than I succeeded in not spooking them. Another cast and the ant is drowning in front of my fish and I see his mouth open and take my fly. I lift my rod and feel the weight. Two seconds later I see the fish swim off to the protection of deeper water. Maybe gobsmacked is the right word to use here. When I recover I look at the fly and see that it is missing from the middle of the bend. I had a long two and a half hour ride home to process what happened. I put a few 94842 hooks in my old vise and after clamping it the hooks were definitely brittle. The sea run program was discontinued a long time ago. Sorry for the ramble. oh, I can relate to Captain Bob’s issue with the Tiemco 800s. It was my go to saltwater deceiver fly until it wasn’t. I was debarbing a 2/0 or 4/0 800s and it just snapped at the bend with very little pressure. I realize why those one expensive hooks were discounted so much. now sorry for the double ramble.

It may be the type of hair you are using for the application or it might be one of many things. You will get more productive responses if you are more specific as to the patterns you are tying. Elk hair caddis, comparadun, humpy, muddler minnow, bombers and on and on use different techniques. Just a hunch but don’t underestimate the importance of the second hand to hold material in place until it is secured and don’t underestimate the importance of thread management. You’ve come to the right place.

Kool! Very clever. Thanks for sharing. You just need an old silk line, a stiff gut leader and a bamboo rod. I think I read that this was one extremely popular fly for a while out west.

These are old fuse wire designations. 2 is .025… and 1 is close to .015. I remember a production tyer giving me a small spool of #1 that he took off a large spool. I’m not sure when they started packaging and marketing these small lead (and non lead) spools for fly tying. Alexa/echo told me the diameter of 2.

Nice mice / mouse rats. I haven’t done one in years but pulled an old picture from this forum taken 7 years ago. Didn’t realize it was that long. I called it the p-51 mustang mouse rat.

Or... you could purchase a nice set of ferruled bamboo blanks and use it for trim wraps and wrapping snake guides on. I'm trying to recall if it is the purple or orange or both colors that are scarce.

Thanks. Target is striped bass in the salt or brackish water. I am fortunate to have retired near bay that has lots of life, especially during spring and fall migration. Downside is that it is tougher to get to my favorite trout waters. Herring are starting and the ospreys and stripers follow them. Schools of Juvenile pogies, menhaden/bunker are harassed by bass and blues as the water cools in September. I’m more likely to fish a simpler fly but enjoy tying these.

Bucktail decievers ~ 5” hook: Ahrex #1/0 minnow thread: nano silk 50D tail: bucktail, 4 or more grizzly saddles, optional - ostrich body: several small amounts of buck tail tied either 360 or 180. Small amount of flash, optional - Nayat, Congo hair gills, strung fuzzy fiber. eyes: 3D or tab eyes or stick on eyes. Optional - coat eyes with gorilla clear glue and rotate while it cures or use uv resin. hold finished fly under running water for twenty seconds to shape and dry on paper towel.