some attemptzs

[lostman 0]

i was inspired by the post earlier about ugly flies catching fish too

 

i have been tying for just over a month now and have only been able to produce about 20 or so flies so far , and haven't really acquired much materials. I am also currently looking at buying an actual vice soon and if anyone would have any suggestions for a decent around 100$ or less i would greatly appreciate it.

so non of my flies so far are really great looking but as said confidence is a major factor

 

here are some that i have recently whipped up

 

the first is a marabou muddler the rest are just some home brews

 

 

looking at it now i probably should have kept the muddler simpler and it could use a bit more hair for the head but i'm still happy with all of them and can't wait to try em out

[Bugsy 0]

I'd say you're off to a good start.

 

A muddler is a challenging fly for any beginner. Yours looks better than you think. Sometimes we want a muddler with a narrower head, and other times we want a larger head that pushes more water. So I see nothing wrong with what you have. On future muddlers, you might try leaving more of a collar of hair behind the head. For fishing, I like my marabou wing shorter,...maybe a gap's width past the bend. Long wings can invite the wing to foul the bend.

 

When you're learning how to spin hair, it's not a bad idea to give the spun portion (in this case, the head) a little twist. If it stays firm on the shank, all is well. If you did a poor job of tying in the hair, it will readily rotate on the shank.

 

The Clouser minnow looks good as well. I really like the overall sparseness. New tyers often use too much material in the wing. My criticism would be that the thread nose is a bit lumpy. I don't know what you're using for thread, but many can be made to flatten by counter-spinning the twist out of it. Also, it helps to really concentrate on making those wraps side-by-side. The result will be smoother. But your fly will look just fine to the fish.

 

Vises: You should have a look at the vise reviews on flyfishohio.com. That will give an outline of the common vises in your price range.

[ikerajala 0]

What material did you use for that last one? You know the one that looks like a candy cane?

 

By the way, for only tying about 20 flies, I would say you have a real knack, and a good imagination.

 

 

Ike.

[lostman 0]

thank you for the criticism the tail is a bit long and i was very happy when i checked to find the hair won't spin on the shaft

 

also the "candy cane" fly i found this pack of dyed ostrich feathers and just wrapped red and white ones over the shaft, you can create some cool textures with it

if you wanted to mimic the barring on a baitfish or juvenile fish

 

hoping to try another muddler tonight, i'll post the pictures if i have time to tie one up

[lostman 0]

heres my second attempt at a muddler added some flashy nylon braid to the body, shortened the wing up a bit

the head still didn't turn out so well but i think its an improvement

[lostman 0]

here is my latest tie

once again not following any pattern just trying to recreate something that i think up in my head

 

thought this should work as there are always bass sipping up larvae swimming to shore in the early summer around my area

it sinks but at a very slow rate

didn't realize till now i drew the thread over the foam in a couple places i didn't want to by accident though

any tips or criticism are welcome

[phg 0]

Decent dragon fly larva, but I might point out that, using bead chain eyes, it will tend to swim upside down.

[lostman 0]

Decent dragon fly larva, but I might point out that, using bead chain eyes, it will tend to swim upside down.

 

i realized that when i was testing how some of my flies sink or float

anything i could do without ruiningg it?

[phg 0]

Decent dragon fly larva, but I might point out that, using bead chain eyes, it will tend to swim upside down.

 

i realized that when i was testing how some of my flies sink or float

anything i could do without ruiningg it?

Not really. It'll probably fish OK. Just keep it in mind, and next time, tie the fly hook point up.

[lostman 0]

i was thinking to tie the same thing with a bid off lead wrapping and trim up some foam eyes,

regardless when the bass are hitting you can catch em on a stick with a hook tied to it, ive seen it done