San Juan Worm length?

[Father Sergius 0]

I'm tying some San Juan Worms up for stocker trout and am wondering how long the chenille should be. I'm currently leaving a hook's gap distance hanging over the front and over the rear of the hook. Does that sound about right?

 

Thank you.

[flytire 0]

sounds good enough or a bit longer. tie different lengths

 

tyers preference

 

https://www.google.com/search?q=san+juan+worms&biw=1600&bih=775&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwic8rfz6ffLAhXLFh4KHeS8CCQQ_AUIBigB

[mikechell 0]

tyers preference

What he said.

I tied some using leather strips cut off a leather jacket fringe. I tried a few short ones, figuring the fish would nip at the ends, but I didn't like the lack of movement.

Kept tying up some in 1/2 inch longer increments until I liked the movement I saw. Ended up with about 1/2 inch in front of the eye and 2 inches tail. Those worked better than the shorts ones when I tried them back to back.

[cj_dubya 0]

Going along with what mike said -- I don't tie/use many worm patterns but I recently came across the thought that longer ends produce better movement. Makes sense.

[heavynets 0]

My guide in Alberta suggested that a friend and I use a bare red hook while nymphing. We were skeptical so also used conventional San Juan worms and even rubbery Squirmy Wormies along with the red hook in 2 and 3 fly rigs. The bare red hook out fished the others. We caught 4 rainbow trout in the 20"-21" range and SEVERAL more smaller ones on those bare red hooks. The guide's guess as to why they preferred the bare hook was its length to diameter ratio more closely represented the local aquatic worms. All I know is that they worked despite what logic would tell you.

[SilverCreek 0]

My guide in Alberta suggested that a friend and I use a bare red hook while nymphing. We were skeptical so also used conventional San Juan worms and even rubbery Squirmy Wormies along with the red hook in 2 and 3 fly rigs. The bare red hook out fished the others. We caught 4 rainbow trout in the 20"-21" range and SEVERAL more smaller ones on those bare red hooks. The guide's guess as to why they preferred the bare hook was its length to diameter ratio more closely represented the local aquatic worms. All I know is that they worked despite what logic would tell you.

 

 

I've used a bare Daiichi 1273 on the San Juan to catch fish. So it does work.

 

[skeet3t 0]

It's the color. Red is one of the last colors to disappear in the depths. BASS did a study years ago on different colors of mono line. Wish I had kept those old magazines!

I have thought of using a piece of red rubber band that we get on the newspaper. Worth a try. I'm cheap. If push comes to shove, I'll tie some with some red yarn.

[NohackleHS 0]

For my local stream (Putah Creek) I tie my San Juan worms on a size 14 TMC 2457 hook. I tie it in both red and rust vernille with both the front and back sections the length of the hook shank. The rust is a little more consistent than the red. Here are a few thoughts about the SJ worm on my local stream:

- Because Putah has a lot of slow, flat water I usually prefer to use the SJ worm when the wind kicks up and puts a riffle on the water's surface. The wave action imparts movement to the worm and it seems to trigger more strikes.

- The SJ worm is not a consistent producer, but there are times when it has been my "hot" fly. I remember one day when my usual mayfly and midge nymphs were just not producing. I switched to a SJ worm and hooked three 17 inch fish in four casts.

- The SJ worm is what I call an "attractor" fly in that it seems to draw the attention of the fish. I use a two-fly rig with the SJ worm as the top fly. Even if the fish don't hit the worm, they will often take the second fly. The worm catches the fish's attention and then they see the second fly.

[mikechell 0]

Red is one of the last colors to disappear in the depths.

Um ... not according to the charts I've found ...

 

 

[flytire 0]

works just as good or better than red san juan worms

 

 

[SilverCreek 0]

It's the color. Red is one of the last colors to disappear in the depths. BASS did a study years ago on different colors of mono line. Wish I had kept those old magazines!

I have thought of using a piece of red rubber band that we get on the newspaper. Worth a try. I'm cheap. If push comes to shove, I'll tie some with some red yarn.

 

You have it backwards. Red is actually the first color to disappear. At 10 feet penetration, there is no red to be reflected back so any red color looks black.

 

The way to remember how water absorbs light is to think of the blue color of ocean. Water looks blue because blue light penetrates the most water. So blue light that is reflected from under water can be reflected back and is not absorbed before it escapes the water surface and can reach our eyes.

http://webspace.webring.com/people/gk/k_o_dionysus/scuba/uw_photo/light.html

 

http://www.flytyingforum.com/index.php?showtopic=82200&st=0&p=639762

 

[skeet3t 0]

Sorry, my mistake.........and so early in the month. See, I should have saved those old magazines. Thanks for the correction. My wife does it all the time.

Question: how deep is the water where you fish the SJW? Under 10 ft. and clear, red would be most visible.

flytire, how about a recipe for those SJW? They look good! You got me curious about trying some on my home river.

[flytire 0]

http://theflyfishingplace.com/collections/trout-flies/products/san-juan-worm-power-bead-1-2-dozen-gold-bead-brown-v-rib-10-set-of-6-nymph-wet-flies

 

hook

bead

vrib

ultra chenille

 

i'll let you figure out the ones in the can

[skeet3t 0]

flytire, thanks. I'll ask my 8 year old grandson about the ones in the can. He taught me how to use the stopwatch on my Android. I'm of the slide rule generation.

[flytire 0]

you can find most of the ones in the can in the following link

 

https://www.google.com/search?q=san+juan+worms&biw=1600&bih=775&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwic8rfz6ffLAhXLFh4KHeS8CCQQ_AUIBigB