Mullet and Shrimp and Fiddlers, oh my!

[dafack01 0]

Been busy at the bench to stock up my fly boxes. Don't have a lot of time at any one time so I pick them off a couple at a time. First up is something I conjured up. I've always loved woolly buggers and the infinite variations you can tie of them. They look like nothing in particular, yet they can pass for just about anything. The fly fisherman's version of a tube jig or other soft plastic. You can tie them with any material you like, with a bead head, a cone head, add rubber legs, tie them big, tie them small, whatever. They'll all catch fish. I like tying them with dumbbell eyes to have them ride hook up but I've always thought they looked goofy when tied with dumbbell eyes. My hunch is that I'm being picky and that the fish don't care but to satisfy my OCD I tied this thing up. I used marabou for the tail and 4 strands of pearl krystal flash, a pre-made EP shrimp dub brush in Pearl to dub the body, dumbbell eyes, and then I made a dubbing brush and dubbed around the dumbbell eyes with white sculpin wool. Guess I could've tried dubbing around the head with the EP shrimp dub brush but I thought that might use up too much of the pre-made brush. It looks better to me and once wet I don't think the sculpin wool will affect the sink rate any. It might even help push a bit more water, but whether it would be enough to affect how a fish sensed it I have no clue. We'll see when we get on the water!

Second is another variation of something to satisfy my OCD about wooly bugger style flies with dumbbell eyes. On this one I added a wing of 3D EP fibers on top after I added the dumbbell eyes. Instead of krystal flash I added a couple grizzly legs on each side and used a permanent marker to add grizzly lines to both the marabou tail and EP fiber wing. The intent is something to imitate a white shrimp.

The same type of fly using all EP fibers instead of marabou, and using a tan tail and wing with a pink body. Another shrimp imitation.

Finally, a fiddler crab fly to try to tempt a tailing Red.

[Capt Bob LeMay 0]

Good looking bugs! What size hooks are you using for each pattern?

[dafack01 0]

Thanks Bob! For the the baitfish and the two shrimp I (think) I used 1/0 hooks (if it's not 1/0 I used #1's) and I used a #2 for the fiddler crab.

[tidewaterfly 0]

They look good to me too!

 

As far as your comment about dubbing around the heads, you certainly could have done that, or a few wraps of Estaz or similar material would have been fine too. I like a little extra flash in some of mine.

 

Or, do just as you've done. They'll catch fish, that's for certain.

[ditz2 0]

Those are some nice ties and will catch fish. Look a lot like many of the flies in my box. It is apparent that there is more than one way to skin a cat.

[dafack01 0]

They look good to me too!

 

As far as your comment about dubbing around the heads, you certainly could have done that, or a few wraps of Estaz or similar material would have been fine too. I like a little extra flash in some of mine.

 

Or, do just as you've done. They'll catch fish, that's for certain.

Thanks ditz and tidewater! I think I may try winding the shrimp dubbing all the way up next time. I didn't want to use up too much of it but I'm curious as to how it'll turn out. I may try one tonight after I tie up another crab.

[Capt Bob LeMay 0]

What I routinely do with bugs that I'm pretty sure are going to work is to do them in more than one size (at least two sizes apart...) with the second or third sizes noticeably smaller than the original. Some days a simple change in size means more bites.... Hope this helps, those small bait patterns would be baby tarpon killers in a size #2 or even a #4 hook....

[dafack01 0]

Bob, after thinking back to when I bought the hooks a couple weeks ago I'm almost positive now that they're 1/0 because that was my exact line of thinking. I've tied some of the shrimp up in #2 already and plan to do so with the mullet/mud minnow looking guy as well.

[islander727 0]

Look good. The first pattern would be a killer beach snook fly!

[dafack01 0]

Thanks Islander!

 

I tied up some #2's last night and they ended up about 1/2" smaller than the 1/0's. Can't post pictures until later because Flickr "updated" and won't copy the img tag on an iPhone anymore.

[dafack01 0]

The 1/0's are on top and the #2's on bottom.

 

[Permitcapt 0]

Good work. Size of flies isn't enough to affect bite. Hook size, well, I don't know. For years I used the smallest hooks I could. Now I use the largest I can. I even use 5/0 worm hooks for redfish flies, and the hook and hold ratio is extremely high. They are easier to unhook also.

[tarpontime113 0]

Nice fiber crab especially!! Might even work on some sheepshead down here. I also use the anvil vise and love it!!

[utyer 0]

Those white files will definitely work. I have several similar flies that have caught Reds, Snook, Seatrout, and hooked some Tarpon. Haven't landed any of the Tarpon yet, but the white works on everything I am trying to catch here in East Centrial Fl.