Have I bastardized a classic?

[steelie 0]

Good Day,

 

I would not say at all that you have bastardized anything. In fact, if anything, you have stumbled upon an "old" and possibly forgoten style of tying. If you were to look back into a fly catalog from around the late 1800"s to early 1900"s would would almost certainly see a fly very similar to yours in the catalog. Propellars were quite commonly found on a variety of streamers. Blades too were sometimes integrated into patterns. I seem to remember that they bagan to fall out of favor or popularity around the time of WWII. I would say you have stumbled across an oldie but a goodie!

 

Steelie

[letumgo 0]

robow7 - Can you tell me what size propellers you used?

 

I am thinking of buying some of these to use in some old style streamers I intend to tie. I was thinking these propellers could be flattened and bent to be used as weighted eyes on some of the old Bill Edson flies. He used to tie small brass eyes on the sides of the streamers he tied, but I can no longer find them in any fly shops. These propellers have a similar profile that may be modified to come close to the original Edson brass eyes.

[Mike Sammon 0]

Hey man what ever works for you.

 

Probably too much for us on this side of the pond as most of the rivers and lakes would not be as deep as those in the US.

But as a fly tyer and not too good a tyer I might add, I believe that we all seek to improve on what has gone before with the result there are so many variant around today.

I remember an old fishing buddy of mine once said he had read somewere that most flies today arrived from 12 basic patterns.Whether that is true or not I can't tell, but I am sure there is someone on this forum that will have the answer.

 

The addition of the flash I have used with great effect when fishing rainbows. I have also tied them with a gold beaded head when fishing deeper water

 

The method I would employ when fishing these types of flies ,without the props of course, would be a slow i figure of eight retrieve on a slow sink line in 6-8 ft of water.

 

I have fished in lake Mead and the Colorado river and though not familiar with what is the right type of fly to use, I would imagine with the props infront they would be ideal for fishing there.Actually any tips on flies I could use in lake Mead or on the river would be appricated as I plan to return next year.

 

tight lines.

 

Mike.S

 

[robow7 0]

Letumgo,

These are called Fly Propellers by Good Vibrations. They come in three sizes, small, med, large. I used the medium on these size #8 buggers. They also come in two colors, gold and nickle. I'm sure you could order some from Chad at Wildcat Creek Outfitters 765-742-9299. He's on these boards occasionally and a real fine fellow.

[Guest]

Nothng new, used to be sold as "Pistol Petes" (may still be) t weren't quite as flashy.

 

Mark Delaney

 

[flytyer56 0]

Don I picked up my blades at Jann's Netcraft in Maumee, Ohio www.jannsnetcraft.com Check out J Stockards the sponser on here they may have them also. I'll try that swivel between the leader and tippet. Thanks

[chrisfish 0]

hey if you like it....it rocks. those spinners can be very effective. I dont care about the "unconventional" aspect, but i do find the spinners a pain to cast. they float on the wind alot, and if cast with the power needed to move them around they are kind of loud & splashy.

[letumgo 0]

Thanks for answering my question robow7 and flytyer56. I've seen the propellers listed on the Feather Craft website, but wasn't sure what size to purchase. It looks like I'll be going with the medium and large sizes. Thanks for the help.

[troutguy 0]

The flies are nicely tied.

 

George Herter tied that fly in the fifties. It works well. Herter's book shows us that there aren't many new ideas, just different materials.

[troutguy 0]

Just a quick PS.

 

Get some aluminum flashing scrap and you can cut out spinner propellers in any size. Drill them and bend them (Dremel tool). Don't forget to sand them smooth. I use 800 autobody for polish and to debur the edges. For better spin, mount them between glass beads. The beauty of the flashing or any other light aluminum (like cans) is that they are light enough for fly casting.

[djbvt 0]

Don, I found them at a local fly shop in Indy. I thought I had read one time that Whitlock felt the propeller improved his hook ups with the smallies under certain conditions. So I thought I might give it a try on some of my most proven smallmouth bugger combinations in the more stained waters. I experimented with them in a large wash tub filled with water and you definitely can't tie the bead in too close to the prop or it won't spin. I also found a slight improvement in spin frequency when I placed the prop on backwards to what I thought originally would work best.

 

Try tying on a piece of midge tubing in an overhand knot on the hook shank directly behind the bead. Continue tying the pattern. When the pattern is complete and you have finished the head of the fly with cement, cut off the midge tubing. The midge tubing provides a space that allows the bead and propeller to move freely and spin nicely

 

DJB

 

 

[Crotalus 0]

Just a note of caution, be sure to check your local regulations prior to adding the prop. Some states specifically ban the use of blades on flies, especially in fly fishing only areas.

[Don Stracener 0]

Never saw anything in Oregon regs about a prop on a fly. I wonder if any of the old English lake fishermen used a prop for trolling?