Coffey Grinder

[sparkleminnow 0]

Well, thanks, but...uhhh, I wasn't done yet.

 

To color the body (we'll use the baby bass as an example) you will need a dark olive marker, a black marker, and a green highlighter. OK...here's where it gets reaaallly tricky!! You have to work with the marker ink quickly, as it only has a working time of about 60 seconds!!! Mark the back of the body with the dark olive...about 1/4" across the back to 1/8" at the tail. Quickly mark the sides with the chartreuse marker, leaving enough for the white belly of a bass. Remember, we're on the clock, here! NOW, take a sanding sponge, 150 grit, and smear the dark olive into the chartreuse. The dark will blend into the lighter chartreuse, but you want to mix the olive with all of the chartreuse...not just the top portion. Otherwise, it will be much more pale than you will like when you are finished...i.e.- after you have already coated it! It might look good in your hand, but if you don't blend it all the way down into the chartreuse, it will be too pale. If you find that it seems to not be dragging enough dark olive into the chartreuse, add more of the dark olive marker to the back. Then try blending it down, again. This gets rid of the ugly parting line of two colors, and will look air-brushed if you do it right. Set it down for a few minutes to let the colors take a set. You might want to wash your hands, as you do not want to get colored finger prints on the white belly.

BTW, I do all of this out of the vise.

OK, we need to add a bit more realism. With the lightest touch you have, add a gill plate with a fine tipped olive marker. From there, make a straight line of fine dots from the back of the gill plate to the tail. You can then use this as a guide to make the dark, jagged line on a bass' lateral line. You can use dark olive to do this, if you like, or black. I've caught bass that were marked both ways. You can further blend the darker olive into the (now) lighter olive by making tiny dots along the now faint parting line between the dark & light colors. Don't get carried away. A few will do ya. You can make the "war paint" stipes on the bass' cheeks with either black, or olive. Practice makes perfect.

 

Mix Flex-Coat rod finish according to the directions, coat the body. Be sure to get complete coverage. I place it in the vise with the mixing cup beneath it to catch what drips off. When it takes longer than 30 seconds to get one drip off of the body, I place it on the drying wheel. I use the alligator clips soldered to a large needle, and stick that in the foam wheel. Be sure that the drying motor is perfectly level, or the flex-coat will slide to the eye, or the tail. Neither is a good thing! If you get some in the tail prop, you will have to spend a good bit of time picking it all out with a bodkin and/or a small knife! If you get it in the eye...well, you will almost certainly mess up the looks of the fly by having to cut the coating & gut the eye to clear it. That's why it's best to not use too much coating.

 

After the coating is dry, add the double hook (available from Stamina Tackle). Wrap thread down the shank, and coat with ZAG. Add a white tail feather, and a grizzley dyed olive barred feather over that. Wrap a head on the double hook & ZAG the thread. I'll add a better pic of the baby bass later.

[day5 0]

sparkleminnow WOW that is sweet!!!! You should do a hatches article!!!!!

[cornmuse 0]

sparkleminnow WOW that is sweet!!!! You should do a hatches article!!!!!

 

I think he just did! Fabulous! I really want to try this, this is a hot looking fly rod lure.

 

I love the old fly rod plugs and spinners - this is a contemporary adaptation of one of the most traditional American bass fly fishing artificials made. I'd love to see more folks discuss some of the fly rod "alternatives" they fish with. I enjoy spinner flies, fly rod spoons and soft plastics when the occassion merits. In fact, a recent read of the 1947 Byron Dalrymple book on panfish has me jonesing for a day of drifting redworms on my fly rod for sunfish just like I used to do! :devil:

 

Making a few of these is definitely on my overcrowded and hopelessly optimistic "To Do" list for preseason!

 

Joe C.

[down2earthlv 0]

Since I am a paint and body tech, I spray an automotive clear on all of my old bass lures at work, after I attack them with 'testors' and/or 'sharpies'.......I know everyone doesn't have access to things like that, and I'm not sure how it would work on a foam body.....?

[sparkleminnow 0]

I would have to believe that with the petroleum distillates in automotive paint, there would be a caustic reaction with foam. Just a guess.

Anyway, next up....the flyrod Zara Puppy....

[dafack01 0]

Sparkleminnow, you're the evil mad scientist of the fly tying world. :headbang:

 

I've GOT to play around with some Coffey Grinders.

 

I've been paying attention to the thread on Riversmallies. Have you had much luck getting that thing to "Walk the Dog" like a real spook? Or does it just kinda wallow around? Can you make one that's castable on a 6wt or is it pretty much a thing for an 8wt?

[sparkleminnow 0]

Well, as luck would have it, I took it out today to try it on the water. Yes, you can walk-the-dog with it. As with spinning equipment, though, it takes some practice to get it to work. It shouldn't take too long to figure it out, though. Also, I was using my 6wt. While it didn't cast like a sz8 wooley bugger, it was manageable. I'll have my hands full making enough of both designs for this summer.

[Guest]

You ever tried a sinking line to pull the coffey grinder under the surface? Just by looking at it, it appears that it would give that "wobble" like a crankbait in the water. :headbang:

[mb82 0]

I am going to have to figure out how to make that.

[Irish 0]

Sparkleminnow,

 

Try Berel Primsacolor markers and in particular the one called blender. It is a clear marker that will blend colors very nicely. just make sure to wipe the tip with a papertowel a bunch and then wipe it on a post it note to clear off the color. These markers will give you more time to prepare your color mix.

 

Primsacolor has a bagillion different colors vs. the sharpies. I think they would work as well as the sharpies especially if you are covering them with rod finish.

 

Irish

[sparkleminnow 0]

You ever tried a sinking line to pull the coffey grinder under the surface? Just by looking at it, it appears that it would give that "wobble" like a crankbait in the water. :headbang:

Shhhhh...I was working on the crankbait version, next.

No, I have not tried a sinking line to pull it under the surface, but 90% of the water I fish is 2-3 ft deep. I only have sinking line for my 10wt, for striper. I have a sinking Air-Flo Poly Leader, however, I just never did well with the sinking leader/floating fly. For some reason it's just more of a pain than it's worth. Maybe it's that the fly is heavy enough, but add a sinking leader, and it's downright dangerous to cast! Nah....I ain't gonna mess with it. Topwater blow-ups are all the fun I can handle!

[sparkleminnow 0]

OMG! I can't believe it's actually been THAT long!

[lykos33 0]

Welcome back "old timer"... I'm looking forward to seeing some more patterns like were 'revived' here recently...That Zara Puppy looks to be a killer!!!