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Fly Tying

cruncher

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About cruncher

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  • Birthday 10/08/1957

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  • Location
    Lemont, IL
  1. Sweet ties. i couldn't even think of coming close to anything resembling that. A little white out on the Dee pics but still very very good indeed
  2. I too second Rolf's post. A classic tale a lot of us have probably experienced in one way or another I'm sure. I've gone to the point of carrying a backpack filled with boxes on a few of my latest outings, never knowing "what I may need". Invariably when I get home, only one or two boxes are touched. We need help.......serious help
  3. Well, got back last week after 10 glorious days in Naples. Weather was phenominal, mid eighties and sunny all the time. Saw tons and tons on snook up close to shore but also saw gazillion baitfish everywhere too, so they were not receptive at all to anything I tossed there way, even size 6 schminnows, considering they had their pick of anything they wanted to eat. Spent hours each day just walking up and down the shore, wading out a little and then shooting out anything I had tied, in white and shiny, and I couldn't keep the ladyfish, jacks and spanish mackarel off the flies. It was crazy. Never thought I'd get that much action using 20# tippet but these fish were aggresive. They were tearing up that 20# like it was sewing thread so fast, I had to go up to 30# fluoro after day 1 and while they still managed to do some damage to that, I didn't lose as many flies as quickly as before. Had a couple of beasts on too, for a quick ride, but never saw them. Would zing out a 70 foot or so cast, start stripping in and then the line would lurch, and then get ripped out of my hand as whatever it was, decided to head out to the gulf with the pedal to the metal. By the time I realized what was going on and started to recover and tighten up, line just snapped. What I definitely learned though is that these fish just destroy flies. Whatever flies came home are totally frayed and useless. Once again, thanks for all the advice provided because I would've been under-armed and overwhelmed if people didn't chime in with these posts. AL
  4. Nice stuff. Those fish just destroyed your offerings
  5. Well, the first step would be actually getting a fish interested to bite (ha). I can see the importance of checking this though, after all that I've read so far about the creatures of the salt.. I've gotten into the habit of just changing out my tippet after every steelhead I hook, landed or not. So true, the heartbreak can be and has been so awful at times.
  6. I can't say enough how much I appreciate everyone's responses. Believe me, I'm not specifically targeting snook, It's just what I saw (or think I saw, based on some research and reading) within 20 feet of shore during my last time down in Naples in June, as I was doing a beach walk to get some excercise. Seeing all those shadows darting in and out and then cruising parallel to shore was an eye opener. Thanks again for all the tips.
  7. Thanks for this info guys. That really helps clear things up. Wow, 20# line to the fly and you call it a lighter tippet!! I really underestimated what was needed in that environment, even if it's only from the beach. Those Schminnows look nice. I'll tie up a bunch in various sizes too. Does anyone use surface flies btw and which ones would you recommend, if so? Just want to give the vise a workout since I haven't had a reason to tie since the spring. Always fun to see the occasional fish in attack mode on a topwater presentation.
  8. Well, hope they chime in at some point. Being the holiday weekend is coming up, may not have been the best day to post this question but no super rush for the time being. I'm sure it's not only the salt fishing but the weather that bums us Northerners when we have to head back. Thanks.
  9. Never fly fished the salt but the last couple trips to Naples visiting close friends (who don't fish at all unfortunately), always noticed schools of snook close to shore and some other large shadows further out, so I started to get the itch. Heading down again in late October and was wondering what I could expect, if I would walk along the beach and throw out some flies. Are the snook generally around all the time? Looking for some help on what leaders I should use on my 8wt setup and WF8F line as I walk the shore line. Would you just run a 3 foot piece of 20#, 3 foot piece of 15# and then 3 feet of 12 or 10# to the fly? Or do I use a shock leader of maybe 15# and add a couple feet of a lesser test? Is fluoro needed? Or what else should I consider as far as pound test goes considering I'll probably be targeting fish on the smaller size Been tying up some clousers to start out with and then came upon the DT Special doing google searches. Looks very fishy, dry and wet. All that being said, any line/leader setup recommendations would be greatly appreciated.
  10. This line is rate at 250 grains and recommended for 7-8 wt rods. Figuring that with this 6 weight TCX being a fast rod and the added length of the 9'6", that this should work. Was wondering if anyone has overlined their 6 weights a little and what their thoughts were?
  11. Missing that key element. I'm sure you have something, won't work too well without a head. The Airflo skagit/switch heads look promising. Shorter than the compacts, may be easier to handle in tight quarters, when needed.
  12. Nicely tied. Love that Rat!
  13. Peter, nicely tied fly, as well as all your others you've posted recently. AL
  14. Give it a swin in your laundry tub or bath tub. Your eyes can tell you if anything is wrong, if there is anything.
  15. Clearly the camera purchase for "fly photography" has been put on the back burner since there is only one of those pics in your beautiful gallery but the other pics are nice on the eyes, so I'm not complaining. Love seeing parts of the world, that chances are, I'll never see in person myself.
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