Sandworm

Thanks Tim. They have to be the coolest Worms on the planet. They still creek me out . They remind of that movie. Deep Rising !

I just realized I never posted my namesake fly "Sandworms " When I was about 9 years old my Dad took us Camping to Wildwood State Park out on Long Island. We spent days Surfcasting the L. I. Sound. Sandworms were the Bait of choice. They came packaged in a box filled with Seaweed . Those THINGS scared the crap out of me !!!! Lol. As soon as you grab one these huge retractable black Pinchers pop out of the head and try to bite you. So after a quick beheading with my trusty knife they were all hooked up and ready to fish ! So when I started inventing realistic patterns my old rival the Sandworm was tops on my list. ( cause of the fond memories ) lol and a few drops of Blood !

Hi Chuck Glad u like it. The only other fly I tie with rattles is a Crayfish. It"s said that they cause a clicking and gravel grinding sound. I don't know if the lateral line on a Bass can pick up something as slight as that. But I have watched videos of Bass rooting out Crayfish. They seem to know just where it's hiding.

I like those. You have just the right amount of U.V. Colors in them . Put those in direct sunlight and the colors all meld together just like real Baitfish. My PolarFlash Baits do the same thing. The more flash a real baitfish has in the sun the safer it is. PolarFlash behaves like the real thing. I spent a lot of time SCUBA diving and when you look up at the surface it's like looking at a mirror. Silver baitfish are very hard for a predator to find when their up against a mirror background . Makes you wonder how Mother Nature came up with that trick.

Thanks. There are a lot of differant fibers out there . PolerFlash and KystalFlash are my personal favorite . I also use Rumph SlinkyFlash. They don't mat up. Matted fibers and Toothy Critters means sucky hook sets ! I use ghost fibers for small Baitfish. But they have to be small enough for a fish to inhale it . Big flies get stuck in the teeth . Here's a micro Perch pattern. I won't tie any larger then this with the Ghost Fibers .

Hi Rocco Take about 15 fibers of silver PolarFlash about 1 inch long and clip them in a pair of hackle pliers aligning them one next to the other so that only the edges touch coat your Thumb and forefinger with a little clear nail polish and coat the fibers by drawing down on them. Until they are stuck together and parallel to each other. Let it dry and then recoat it 2 more times . When it's dry u can tie the fly beginning with the Dorsal Fin and the anal fin . Tie them to the shank so they will be in the right position on the back and belly. Then tie the head of the fly like you would normally form Streamer head but when you pull the fibers down along the back split them evenly on either side of the Dorsel Fin . Then coat the fly from the the hook bend to the eye with clear nail polish while holding evey thing in place for a few mins. Let it dry then you recoat with non yellowing Epoxy to give it a nice clear coat . Once it's cured trim the fins to shape . Don't screw it up cause you only get one shot at it . L. O. L. It takes a while to tie this fly because u have to wait for things to dry. But they are worth the effort. Good Winter tie when your not itching to fish it.

For years fisherman have been slamming fish on the traditional Silver/Blue Rapala and Rebel lures. So in keeping with that time proven color pattern I tied up this Minnow imitation. I added a Rattle Chamber to spice it up a little. The fly is hard up to the end of the hook and soft the rest of the way back to the tip

Thanks tidewaterfly I have a Crippled Herring and a Tinker Makerel I use for Stripers There posted in the Craftfoam Baitfish topic. And the Crippled Herring . But my pride and joy for Strip's is my Softex Squid. They smoke that thing. I can't tell how many times I have caught a bluefish or Striper and ended up wearing Squid parts when the fish start shaking their heads. Pretty nasty ! Lol but that was what prompted me to develop my Squid pattern. Thought Lines

Here's proof that Golden Shiners will date a Goldfish when your not look'N.

Hi buddy, That is really nice. Don't burn your hand on the spool when the fish role on that fly.

Hi agn54. They cast great. They look kinda bulky , but the body from just behind the eyes back is hollow and really light . They don't spin if you take the time to make the fins Exactly the same on both sides by making a very accurate templet to trace out the body parts . Then when I flair the body open the fined don't have the slightest twist so it won't helicopter . It's up to you if they spin or not. If you have any issues replace the tail fins with Marabou like the last Squid photo above. Tim

Thank you buddy. They work good for everything but Calamari . You'll need something for " Diss-Poop-Sia " T.

Hi Capt. Bob. Thanks for saying hi. I feel like I know you from somewhere. I lived on Florida for 10 years . But up in Palm Beach county. I spent many hours fish'N Jupiter and Palm Beach Inlet. But it was between 80' and 90'. They just put the slot limit on Snook and Red's. It's good to here their back . I miss fishing the Intercoastal. I also spent a lot of time up in St. Augusttine on the Matazas River right off of St. Aug....... Inlet. But I love the keys. Keeping the Tarpon away from the Bridge pilings will put a few years on u quik. Try my Grass Shrimp. I tied for S. Florida fishing. And the Bahamas. Thanks for the reply. Tim

I have been getting a few question about my Squid. So I'm posting these photo showing you a few different Squids in a few color and size variations. Tim

Thank you buddy. I don't have any vidios of it in the water. But I can tell you it suspends when you stop it and all those fine Marabou feathers wiggle and slither. It looks like a Squid wiggling it's arms . The ocean looks black at night so using a fly that they can find will increase your chance . I guess I could put on in the Bath Tub with the light off. But I don't want to take the chance of getting caught playing with my Squid in the Bath Tub!!!! L. O. L. Tim

L. O. L. I tried that already .... ! But , casting 100 feet of OUTDOOR EXT. CORD IS A bitch ! If I'm gonna get Carpel Tunnel I want it to be for the right reason !! ( don't Say It ) L. O. L.

Here's a Squid u can night fish with. It's high vis and can be seen from a long way off. Fish eyes are different from ours. If we can see 6 " a fish can see several feet. With that in mind. I think the fish will be able to crash this Squid as long as they can see and then feel it jetting backwards as you strip it in . I use a product called. Monic Aquaglow. I saturate the cloth I make my squids out of with it and then seal it with Softex. You end up with a fly that will always glow. It dose not wash out . The Squid is mother of pearl glitter in the day and looks really cool night. So grab your Fly Rod and a Hard Hat and give it a try. Tim

Thank's. I tied this one out of heavy clear plastic . The segments are a clear dark brown . But after I overlap them top and bottom they loose that . But they keep a lot of flash . The sun lights it up. T

I love stick on eye's . But they don't last because the glue they use is " Suck-A-Vue " as the French would say . You have to coat them with non-yellowing epoxy or clear acrylic nail polish . About 4 coats it builds a nice hard head and eyes are there to stay until THEY DROP THE BIG ONE ! I personally believe that game fish key on the eyes of there victims . Just like shooting ""Aim Small miss small "". If your Deer hunting you don't aim at the animal. You aim for that single hair over the center mass of the vitals. So if your off a smige the critter won't know it. Why do so many fish have black dots near their tails. It has to be to confuse a predictor for a spit second . Is going shoot off to the right or left. I Love those Eye Balls!

Hay you guys. Thanks ! I don't really have a tying vice built into my knife. .... L O. L. But I didn't want MacGyver to be the first . This is the reference photo I used as a model to tie my Hellgrammite. The plates are shaped a little different but that's the way my wing burners are shaped. I could have tried to cut them out free hand but the fly would loose it's symmetry . I would never be able to keep them all the same shape. My jaws are a little more on the narly side but I think it gives the fly the fierce look those things already have. As for color, they come in brown ,olive and gray . Depends on where you live. Now , I guess I have to make one to match the photo exactly . So stay tuned next week for the next exciting episode of " As The Forum Turns ". L. O. L. Tim

I'm the same way . I raided my sisters sewing room and found the stabilizer. Only thing... My knife has a built in tying vise . His dose not ! T.

No Problem-O. The cloth is white you can't see through it. It takes markers great . But here's the thing .... I use a lot of solvent based coatings like softex. If u use something like that use water base markers. They don't run and smear when the solvent soaks through. Use Sharpies if you plan on using it just the way it is. It makes great realistic Mayfly wings and all kinds of stuff. Just leave the cap of the Head Cement bottle and go on a fly Tiers vision quest ! L. O. L. You will think of something ! Tim

This flies plates are made out of Stabilizer Cloth. You can buy it at JoAnne's Fabric stores it's call : Sulky Medium Weight Cut away. It's the cloth you see on the inside of a hat or shirt that has embroider needle work. The stuff is tuff it will never fray and u can use it to make all kinds of stuff. My Squids are made out of it as well. I also like to use clear heavy plastic from product packaging. You never want to throw stuff like that out .It makes the plates transparent. Play around with different color under bodies for some cool see through special effects. Tim

Or " Deep Rising ". I used a Eedding 3000 Dark Brown marker over white pearl. It gave that reddish brown color in the sun. But the indoor photo is the correct shade. Maybe it got a sun burn. Lol

A couple of weeks ago I posted my Hellgrammite pattern to the fly data base under " Wohland's Hellgrammite " . But I forgot to post here on the Forum .( major screw up ) anyway here's a couple of pic's. These things are Meat and Potatos for a lot of differant fish. And these flies don't draw blood when you handle them . They take about 4 hours to make the body plates and then tie the fly. So use 10# fluorocarbon or you might need a shrink to get over your loss ! Tim