Chasing_Tails

I haven't used it much as I just got it last month, but a few of the neighborhood pond bass did find it appetizing (they aren't that smart though...)

It is nice stuff. It is a heavy fiber dubbing so it works works best in a dubbing loop, or a brush if you have the table to create them. Brushing it with velcro pulls the fibers and legs out and allows you to trim them to required length that allows you to dub a wide range of body profiles from thin to very thick. The action in the water is great and more random than you would get out of a palmered hackle. The slightest current or movement gets the legs moving. I have also used it on smaller nymph patterns as a thorax to give a buggy/leggy look. I've been slowly accumulating most of the FTD products over the past few months as they provide a great selection of different materials as a great price.

MOP Dragonfly Nymph, Olive Hook: Mustad 9174 #8 Thread: Uni-Thread 6/0, Olive Dun Underbody: Lead wire, 0.020 (7 wraps) Body: Mop chenille, Olive Thorax: SLF Squirrel Spikey Dubbing, Golden Olive Legs: FTD Medium bug legs, olive Back: Turkey tail, coated in UV resin Eyes: Mono dumbbell eyes, small, black Antennae: Turkey tail (pulled out from back and trimmed)

Micro Peeking Caddis Hook: Curve caddis, #16 Thread: Uni-Thread 6/0, black Underbody: Lead wire, 0.010 Body: Semperfli Micro fritz, dk. brown marked with Sharpie Marker, black Head: Semperfli Straggle String, caddis green

FTD Bugger, Olive/black Hook: Mustad 79580 Streamer, #8 Thread: Uni-Thread 6/0, Chartreuse Bead: Brass 3/16", black nickel Underbody: Lead wire, 0.020 Tail: Marabou, barred olive/black Body: FTD MS Bugger Dub, Olive (dubbing loop) Collar: Uni-Thread 6/0, Chartreuse

Thank you for all the information and I wanted to update the post with how the trip went. I got in late Monday evening and the Confluence Fly Shop was thankfully open until 8pm so I stopped in for some last minute intel. The Fall River was still the best bet. Headed out early at 0700 and no one else was out that early. Had an early hit on a nymph rig from a small rainbow that ate an orange squirmy, but quickly lost the fish. But it was a good start. Worked the area around the hatchery and found a nice spot with downed timber and saw a few fish come up and take something off the surface, even though nothing looked to be hatching. Switched over to a dry dropper with a chubby chernobyl/zebra midge and spent the morning consistently on fish. Some came up and ate the chubby, but the majority took the midge option. After about a dozen 14-16" rainbows a few other anglers showed up so I gave up the hole and moved upstream to the campground to do some hiking/fishing in a different area. Absolutely beautiful river upstream and found a few fish taking BWO emergers but the wind was definitely picking up, but the sun did come out warming it up a bit. It was a great day to get out on the water.

Found out I get a day off during a business trip next week in Bend Oregon. Looking at the area and calling a few shops it seems that the Fall River would be a great choice (looks like an absolutely beautiful place to spend a day). I am planning on taking my 9'6"-11'0" convertible 4wt, but have other tackle as well if it would be better suited (7'6" 3wt, 8'0" 4wt, 9'0" 5wt). Any tips from anyone that has fished that area? Not looking to spot burn anyone, just general information to at least get me in the right direction. Thanks in advance.

Been a few weeks since being on the water so it was nice to get out to a marsh/flat area that can be phenomenal during the winter time with schooling reds (or it is completely barren). Launched just after sunrise and got onto the flat just before full high tide. Worked the west side and found absolutely nothing, so time to try the north side. I didn't get too far and all of sudden the water stood up and started to move. A good sized school was working off the oyster bars just outside of the marsh. Being able to stand up in the kayak has been a game changer for casting and also spotting the fish. I didn't need to see the fish today though as the wall of water they were pushing was effective in determining their direction and speed. The push pole became my shallow water anchor and a few false casts later put the skip shrimp just ahead of the main push. Two strips later and it was pounced on. I don't really know how many fish tried to eat it, but one finally stuck. A great fight with some strong runs and the first red of the day came to the boat. After a quick release it was off to find the school again. They hadn't gone to far before I picked them up again and repeated the process with a slightly larger fish at 26". Ended the day with 6 total and off the water by noon as the schools were pretty spooky by that time and started to figure out what was going on. Wintertime does make the fishing a bit more difficult, but when it works out it can create a memorable day.

Bull Minnow: Hook: Saltwater short, #4 Thread: Uni-Thread 6/0, Dk. brown Body: Congo hair Honey gold shiner/grey sand crab/minnow back brown Eyes: 3D prismatic 6mm, chartreuse Markings: Sharpie marker brown, red Head: UV resin

Micro craw, brown: Hook: Mustad 9672 #10 Thread: Uni-Thread 6/0, Dk. Brown Mouthparts: Flashabou, Holo gold Claws: Micro pine squirrel zonker strips, brown Eyes: Bead chain, black, small Body: FTD MS Bugger Dubbing, brown Back: FTD Congo Hair Baitfish, Bronze Back Rib: Wire, black, 0.2mm

Damsel in distress: Hook: Curved caddis 3x, #10 Thread: Uni-Thread 6/0, Olive Dun Underbody: 5 wraps, 0.015 lead wire Tail: Rabbit, olive Body: Larva Lace Nymph, Lt. Olive over Uni-Thread 6/0, Olive Dun Thorax: SLF Super Bright Dubbing, Olive Back: Turkey tail with UV resin Legs: FTD mini bug legs, olive Eyes: Plastic dumbell, extra small Antennae: Turkey tail from back

Beadhead Stragglers: Hook: Mustad 3906B nymph, #16 Thread: Uni-Thread Bead: 2.5mm tungsten Tail: Krystal Flash Body: Semperfli Straggle String Since the water temperatures have dropped the big bluegills have headed for deeper water. This little fly drops like a rock and definitely fits the definition of buggy.

You'll be down in my neck of the woods. The hard part is deciding what you want to fish for, reds and trout (the kind with speckles and fangs) on the flats, snook and large red fish in the river. Bluefish, Spanish mackeral, bluefish, and jacks at the jetties (along with snook and reds). Bass and panfish in the freshwater ponds. Tarpon off the beach and in the deeper creeks and ponds. To the north you have the marshes of the Tomoka Basin and river, Daytona has the intracostal river and deeper water, Ponce Inlet gets you to the Ocean, Spruce Creek is a series of creeks and marsh in the vicinity of Ponce Inlet, New Symrna/Edgewater goes back to flats with the river channel available as well, and a little further south is Mosquito Lagoon/Indian River/Banana river. There are lots of shorebound access, but to be able to truly explore the area I would recommend looking into a simple kayak. I have lived in the Daytona area going on 24 years now. Send me a message when you get down this way and i'd be happy to help you out getting set. Welcome to the salt.

I just sent in my standard head after I pinged a size 22 and chipped the jaws to the point that it bothered me. Sent it back to Regal and received a new head a week later, under warranty, and replaced at no charge. Just to give you an idea, I purchased this vise in 1992 when I started as a commercial tyer. I have put thousands of flies on this vise from micro #26 midges to #6/0 offshore saltwater. My only gripe, my old head was a version that didn't even have the medallion on it and it was replaced with a new medallion model. It still works great, but that old head had a lot of memories on it.

Started flying in 1997 at 17. Commercial singe-engine/multi-engine, instrument rating, advanced ground instructor, remote pilot. I now work in the unmanned aviation industry so I spend more time flying with my feet on the ground rather than sitting in the cockpit.

Stout hook, i'd have no qualms against throwing it to a redfish of any size. I actually bought these hooks to rig Zman Ez Shrimpz for reds, snook, and tarpon on spinning/casting gear and they have shown themselves worthy of close quarters battle on big fish.

After seeing his post I worked this up: I pond tested it and the 60 degree jig hook design, lead eyes, and buoyant bucktail for the tail gives the vertical fall and presentation on the bottom. it has a great wobble when jigged too. Here is the hook I used, found at west marine:

Headstand Mullet: Hook: Gamakatsu Jig Hook, 3/0 Thread: Uni-Thread, 6/0, gray Tail: Bucktail, black/gray/white with grizzly saddle hackle Flash: Flashabou, silver and pearl Body: EP fiber, black/minnow/white Eyes: Lead dumbbell, medium, yellow/black pupil Gills: Sharpie marker, red The jig hook design, front mounted eyes, and buoyant bucktail for the tail allows this fly to stay vertical when hitting bottom with a nice wobble when jigged.

I saw a video on YouTube once where the tyer used the FishSkulls Sculpin heads and a jig hook to create a stand up minnow. I didn't have any of the FishSkulls so I took a large lead dumbbell and pounded it flat. The hook is a standard Mustad 3407 hook. The bucktail gives buoyancy to the fly so it floats vertically above the weight.

VooDoo Shrimp, tan: Hook: Mustad 3407, #2 Thread: Uni-Thread 6/0, tan Tail: Select marabou, tan (marked with brown sharpie) Flash: Holo Flashabou, brown Body: Estaz, tan Back: 3D EP fiber, tan Legs: Sililegs, Gold barred Eyes: Plastic barbell, x-large, black, drop of fl. yellow paint Antennae: Krystal Flash, gold Weedguard: Monofilament, 25lb Flex UV resin used to create the "horn" and hard UV resin used to seal the head/eyes.

Bendback minnow, Fiji Chix Hook: Mustad 3407, #1 Thread: Uni-Thread 6/0, olive dun Tail: Marabou, Chart. yellow Body: Crystal Chenille, medium, pearl Underbody: 0.025 lead wire, 10 wraps Wing: SF Slinky Fiber, Grey UV/Peacock UV Eyes: Prismatic stick on, 1/4, red Head: UV resin The DOA paddletail in Figi Chix has been a killer in the marsh lately so it was time to create a fly to emulate it. We will see how it works out this weekend.

VooDoo Shrimp: Hook: Owner O'Shaugnessy salt #1/0 Thread: Uni-Thread 6/0, olive dun Tail: Select marabou, olive brown (marked with black sharpie) Flash: Holo Flashabou, brown Body: UV2 Estaz, UV olive Back: 3D EP fiber, mangrove Legs: Sililegs, light olive barred Eyes: Plastic barbell, x-large, black Antennae: Krystal Flash, gold Weedguard: Monofilament, 25lb Flex UV resin used to create the "horn" and hard UV resin used to seal the head/eyes.

And thank you as well. I'll possibly be out in your neck of the woods in February on a business trip but might try to get an extra day to get out on the water with them.

Foam wing BWO Hook: Mustad 94840, #14 Thread: Uni-Thread 6/0, olive dun Tail: Hackle fibers, grizzly Body: SLF Super Bright dubbing, lt. olive Wing: River Foam Wing Sheet, med. dun speckled Hackle: Grizzly

Popcorn Shrimp Hook: Gamakatsu Live Bait Heavy, #4 Thread: Uni-Thread 6/0, Fire orange Tail: Select craft fur, tan Flash: Flashabou Holo, gold Legs: Sili-legs, brown/orange Body: Estaz, standard, peach Eyes: Bead chain, medium, black Weedguard: mono, 25lb