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vb1971

Hotspots.... Love to know and see some examples where you apply them

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Cream,

In going over this thread again I realize my earlier comment could be easily misinterpreted. Just in case, to clarify:

I think the flies are gorgeous.

They work on me. The hot spot really adds contrast, very eye catching.

Did not mean to pass judgement on their effectiveness with fish.

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I think hotspots are largely effective - when they matter at all - due to the contrast they provide. I'd wager any hotspot tied in white (where white is in contrast to the overall color of the fly) would match any other color for effectiveness on a large enough sample size.

 

Contrast helps fish find things. Like the opposite of camo. It's why, I think, ribbing flies is as effective as it is - contrast. Like a light bodied nymph ribbed with a darker ribbing wire would likely outfish that same nymph tied with a rib that matched the color of the body.

 

Present something to fish that's about the size, outline and shade of what they want to eat, where they want to eat it, and provide some contrast so they can more easily find it and bam, you've very likely got a fish catcher. Within those parameters you could substitute literally hundreds of different colors/materials and the fish catching ability wouldn't likely change very much over a large sample.

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If you have a shiny bead (in essence a hot spot) to your fly, are additional hot spots (bands of brightly colored thread) effective?

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So, which color would be the hot spot?

100_4798_zps48deb1da.jpg

 

IMO contrast does have it's usefulness sometimes.

100_4730_zps461f7264.jpg

 

How about when the entire fly is a hot spot?

100_5526_zpsrldpnvum.jpg

 

So, is the thread head the hot spot or is the hackle collar?

100_5554_zpsdc1kzv6s.jpg

 

A Clouser Half & Half type of fly. Again, which is the hot spot, the thread used or the rabbit strip tail?

100_4105.jpg

 

Orange is said to be a good color for Carp, so is the tail or the thread head the hot spot?

100_4142.jpg

 

I've never seen a fl. chartreuse crab or shrimp, but this seems to work very well at times.

100_5546_zpsuxxqbdht.jpg

 

Hot spot eyes or not?

100_5844_zpsnplx4hp2.jpg

 

This one could be tied with any head color.

100_5661_zpsmeotoxma.jpg

 

Could be tied with a bead head.

100_6063_zpsvrhpk0zd.jpg

 

I tied this for Crappies & other panfish, but it would work as well for trout, Steelhead, SM or LM bass, Salmon most likely & possibly a number of other species.

100_3863.jpg

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Hotspots are nothing but contrast. Contrast requires at least two elements so that one can be very different in some way from the other.

 

A whole fly of one color only does not offer any contrast unless you put it against a very different backdrop. Now you have the contrast of the two. Like a floating black hair bug does contrast against the moonlight.

 

A fly tied in two very different colors does offer contrast in itself.

 

I think the word hotspot is confusing in that contrast can happen with many color combos, not just firey, lit up reds, oranges, pinks and such.

 

Does anyone know if fish even see colors?

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Hotspots are nothing but contrast. Contrast requires at least two elements so that one can be very different in some way from the other.

 

A whole fly of one color only does not offer any contrast unless you put it against a very different backdrop. Now you have the contrast of the two. Like a floating black hair bug does contrast against the moonlight.

 

A fly tied in two very different colors does offer contrast in itself.

 

I think the word hotspot is confusing in that contrast can happen with many color combos, not just firey, lit up reds, oranges, pinks and such.

 

Does anyone know if fish even see colors?

 

IMO, part of the problem here is what we see (hot spot) may not be what the fish see, but what we see is our only point of reference. However, that fl red fly I posted is a barracuda fly I used to produce commercially in that color & in fl chartreuse, both of which worked well. In the clear, shallow waters of the Keys, where I supplied these to a shop down there, the brightly colored flies certainly contrast against the surroundings, even though they're each a single color. So, "contrast" is not just a feature within a fly as it can be a feature relative to the environment in which it's used. They also have a very herky jerky movement to them when retrieved quickly, which is probably more the reason that Barracuda eat them than the color. In a different type of environment, I'm not sure they would work as well as they did in the Keys. I've always suspected that they might work well in colors such as black or white but never tried it.

 

For the record, it was mentioned above that confidence plays a big role is why we tie & use flies the way we do. I certainly agree with that and have to ask, is this "hot spot" feature making any real contribution to the effectiveness of a fly pattern or is it that by adding such a feature, the confidence level in using the fly goes up?

 

I feel that any fly can be productive if used enough, particularly when we have confidence in using it because our level of concentration goes up. Still, time & place IMO for bright, dark, contrast & so forth for any colors we choose to include. wink.png

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If you have a shiny bead (in essence a hot spot) to your fly, are additional hot spots (bands of brightly colored thread) effective?

 

When I was in eastern TN a few weekends back, my most productive nymph pattern was a size 16 Iced Hare's Ear. It's essentially what it sounds like, a hare's ear tied with Ice Dub. I used a "pheasant tail" color blend Ice Dub, so it was somewhat natural but still had the shimmer. The bead was dull, but I did have a band of hot orange thread behind the bead. I did not compare it against a natural hare's ear, but the more natural looking nymphs (pheasant tails, soft hackles) that I fished in tandem with this Iced Hare's Ear did not perform as well.

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If you have a shiny bead (in essence a hot spot) to your fly, are additional hot spots (bands of brightly colored thread) effective?

 

Define "effective"? Effective at what?

 

I can guarantee they're effective if selling more flies is the goal. ;) About 6x as effective by my results.

 

At catching fish, I don't know for sure... Maybe a small amount, but so many other things effect performance. I would strongly doubt that it would negatively effect the fish catching performance, so I often do it because I like multiple whip finishes on a bottom bouncing beadhead nymph and building up a collar with red or orange thread costs the same as using brown or black, and it looks sharp. :P I usually use different color thread hot spots to signify how many wraps of lead free wire I've got under there. My orange collared beadhead nymphs are the heaviest. I don't just do that with beadheads, but also regular nymphs that I weight with wraps of lead free wire.

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If you have a shiny bead (in essence a hot spot) to your fly, are additional hot spots (bands of brightly colored thread) effective?

 

When I was in eastern TN a few weekends back, my most productive nymph pattern was a size 16 Iced Hare's Ear. It's essentially what it sounds like, a hare's ear tied with Ice Dub. I used a "pheasant tail" color blend Ice Dub, so it was somewhat natural but still had the shimmer. The bead was dull, but I did have a band of hot orange thread behind the bead. I did not compare it against a natural hare's ear, but the more natural looking nymphs (pheasant tails, soft hackles) that I fished in tandem with this Iced Hare's Ear did not perform as well.

 

 

Right on. Ice dub is one of those things that I can say with certainty does make a significant difference. You can overdo it quite easily, but in tests side by side over many hours I've seen consistent results that a small amount makes a difference on a nymph. You don't necessarily want a whole thorax of the stuff, but enough of a wisp to color 3/4" of thread and wrap a collar just before whip finish benefits just about any nymph I can think of. And if it's UV Ice Dub so much the better.

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This is the pattern I am referring to: http://www.flyfishfood.com/2016/03/ice-hares-ear.html

 

Gloriously overdone Ice Dub, and the fish love it.

I liked one of the reply's to that fly on their web page.

 

"a hare-less hares ear. might as well be called the bald flashback nymph;"

 

I see why you did well with that fly. Looks to me like it could represent little Stone Nymphs, or dark Mayfly nymphs.

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moos-big-rainbow-vlr_zpseyzlmjy1.jpg

 

Triploid Trout (they don't reproduce) - 9lbs. 4ozs.

 

OWENS%20OFFENDER%20II%20BRN%202_zps7yfdo

 

Datum Glo-Brite floss behind the cone:

 

http://hareline.com/gb.html

 

CONEHEAD%20BUGGER%20LVL%20MOO_zpsvgixt2o

 

...last Thursday in the Eastern Sierras...I also use that floss and some of the Fl. UTC threads on nymphs, behind the bead or at the bend of the hook...

 

 

PT/TB

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