Small Saltwater Flies

[nyFLYguy05 0]

Good morning guys....heading out fishing in a little while once the rain stops a little bit.

 

 

Anyhow, would love some advice from you guys regarding small baitfish flies

 

During the spring run, the fish are usually keyed in on small baitfish, 1-3inch range.

I know a lot of small baitfish patterns that ive seen use polar fiber, polar bear, craft fur, ect

 

 

usually these patterns are tied on size 4 and 2 hooks up to size 1 and 1/0 - any recomendations regarding some tiny baitfish flies? Or what to search for online - i do have plenty of ideas but trying to get everyones input on this subject. Thanks!

[JaxFlyTyer 0]

I'd say go very light on the EP fiber. I've never done baitfish with polar or craft fur. Something like this should be light and shed water quickly.

 

 

EP fiber (menhaden top with a tan belly). I used Danville .006 mono thread. Rather than epoxy for the eyes I just used a drop of Zap on each. Hook is actually a Gama L11S-3H 3x strong salmon hook in #6.

 

Here's the same pattern tied a little thicker. I think the first will shimmer more in the water, though.

 

[Peterjay 0]

Woolly buggers sizes 2-6 are all you need. Olive and blue/white are killer. You can use fancier patterns if you want to, but you won't catch any more fish. The anchovy marabou deceivers I posted a while back are also good for the spring run.

[nyFLYguy05 0]

Thanks for the great tips guys!

[agn54 0]

You could do polar fiber flies in # 4 hook. I wonder if you could do a Brooks Blonde on a #4 hook with calf tail instead of bucktail?

[nyFLYguy05 0]

AGN - great idea with the blondes! lol - I totally forgot about that pattern, they work great as well! Thanks for the great reminder!

[nyFLYguy05 0]

Hey peter jay - what do you think the wolly bugger resembles to blues bass ect - i am assuming small baitfish of some sort

 

 

I have never tied a wolly bugger before lol - checked online, fly does not look that tough but who am I to say that. Looks like the fly has awesome movement in the water! All i do is tie a wolly bugger on a saltwater hook?> What about using a marabou tail?

[Capt Bob LeMay 0]

The pattern that most use down here is the Crystal Schminnow (think wooly bugger with pearl chenille body and either small bead chain or plastic eyes... usually in white/pearl. My version employs a sparse amount of bucktail or calftail for the maribou to lay on top of (prevents any fouling problems..). As usual for our uses a wire weedguard completes the tie... Here's a pic or two, and I tie them as large as #1 all the way down to a #6....

Tight lines

Bob LeMay

[Peterjay 0]

Joe, the woolly bugger doesn't look exactly like much of anything, but it looks just enough like a whole host of critters that it'll trigger a feeding response in just about any gamefish that ever lived. Everything from catfish to tuna. IMHO, it's one of the most effective flies ever designed. It's also a very easy tie - just a pinch of marabou for the tail, with maybe a touch of flash - tie in a saddle hackle by the butt, usually leaving some of the fluff on to blend into the tail - tie in some chenille or crystal chenille - wind on the chenille - palmer the hackle over it, and you're done. If you're feeling ambitious, you can put some eyes on them like Capt. Bob mentioned. I tie them sparse on long-shanked hooks for the sand eel event or for the worm hatch - short and bushy for peanut bunker, etc. When the bass are in the rivers in the spring, it's about all I ever use. You can weight them with some lead wire if you need to get down deeper. Here's an unsolicited tip: I usually tie a red band on the head of weighted flies. That way, I can keep them all in the same box and tell at a glance which is which. Saves a lot of fumbling around in the heat of battle. Here's another one: bluefish will destroy a woolly bugger in the time it takes you to scratch your head. They're strictly for stripers and albacore in this neck of the woods.