Weedlessness

[Curtis Fry 0]

So I spent the weekend throwing a lot of topwater patterns, testing out some new designs, colors, etc. Anyway, I got to thinking about how much I end up throwing weedless patterns vs non-weedless. Obviously it depends on where you're fishing, but in general it got me thinking...

 

I was just curious to know, for those of you who tie flies that get thrown into heavy structure, what type of weed guards (if any) you find most effective? I threw a lot of frogs and wouldn't even consider something that didn't have a great weedguard. Even then I lost probably 2 frogs and 3 or 4 poppers to the structure gods. I just know people that don't use a lot of weedguards. Others prefer up-riding hook patterns. I've had mixed luck with getting those to land right.

 

To be honest, my best pattern as far as weedlessness goes, was a Rainy's frog tied on a tube with an Owner weedless wacky hook. Mono was the worst performer.

 

Just curious what others have found....

[buzzin frog 0]

This?

http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/Do-it_Jig_F...ge-DIJIGFI.html

[Curtis Fry 0]

This?

http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/Do-it_Jig_F...ge-DIJIGFI.html

 

Yeah, that's essentially what comes on a wacky weedless hook, but just in two strands. I've been trying to work out a way to incorporate the brush style into a fly.

[ibboone 0]

When I ty fly with weed guard I use gamakatsu worm hook with wire guard. I find these to work pretty good.

I use to buy from local tackle shop but I found a deal on these hooks at the fly fishing festival. I couldn't believe the price.

 

gamakatsu worm hook

 

 

Dan

[tidewaterfly 0]

I'm pretty much with Dan, wire guards seem to work the best for me. The places I fish have a lot of tree roots, wood, spatterdock, and cattails, I've tried the different mono weed guards, but wire still works best in this type of cover. Now around the edges, and in grass, a two prong hard mono or fluoro guard has worked pretty well too.