Your Favorite Weed guard

[robow7 0]

Do you fine fellows have a favorite weed guard that you might tie into some of your larger bass streamers that actually works ?  InTheRifle has videos of the 3 most popular mono weed guards that I know of but was just curious if anyone felt that one was better than the other or maybe a different design ......... weedless but not fishless.  As always, thank you for your input.

[Justin H 0]

I tried weed guards but I could never get them to work quite how I wanted and I always had a hard time tying them in. So as my go-to weedless fly I ended up tying bendbacks instead, and I would highly recommend them. They very rarely get hung up if you do the wing right, and I have never had a problem with hooksets. The only drawback is that some streamer styles aren't able to be tied bendback style.

This is the only streamer I normally fish for bass. There are two wire strips tied to the underside of the bend to keel it, and it fishes 1-3 feet under the surface. I like a very full wing to give it some buoyancy so it doesn't fish too deep. The colors and wing thickness can of course be varied.

 

The trickiest part about bendbacks is the hook. I use Mustad 3366 size 1--they bend very well without breaking. The bend is placed approximately one hook gap length from the very end of the eye, and should be at a shallow angle that makes the bent section point about at the middle of the hook bend. Less angle is more, it helps with the hookset and gives the fly a little instability in the water, causing it to "wobble" which drives the fish nuts. One last thing I do that I haven't seen on other bendbacks is bend the eye up 45 degrees (or down depending on your perspective) which helps it keel better on a shallow bend, and also magnifies the "wobble" when fished on a loop knot. Once you get a hook you like, save it as a template.

[richmce 0]

  rob the keel type hook helps. i dont tie weedguards but prefer to tie on wide gap worm hooks and let the material do the work.also closer type flieson a 60 degreehook like the ec410. 

[Capt Bob LeMay 0]

As a rule I don't use weedguards on bendback type flies - but if I did, they'd be made of wire... Here's a pic of the wire weedguards I make out of stainless trolling wire ( #5 wire for hooks 1/0 and larger, #4 wire for hooks size 1 down to size 2, and #3 wire for hooks size 4 or smaller...).

Here's a pic of the package the wire comes in - available in most shops that stock saltwater gear...

This pic shows a weedguard in position for a clouser type pattern - once the guard is in place you have to continue tying the pattern as you work around the point of the wire (and I needed a bandaid or two all those years ago when I first started using this type of weedguard...

There's a full step by step of this pattern, the Whitewater Clouser, over on the saltwater tying board right now...

 

Here's a pic or two of this kind of weedguard showing both how it looks after tying (but before the head is finished) and after it's completed in a conventional pattern with the hook point down... 

these are Swamp Rabbits a pretty good tarpon fly... the wire won't be bent down into position until after the thread head has been super glued then finished with FlexCoat..

the Razor Cut Mullet

My version of Norm's Crystal Schminnow

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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[Philly 0]

I don't really use weed guards.  When I did I would just buy either the Gamakatsu or Eagle Claw hooks.  It's not that hard to tie a fly on one of those hooks.  Problem was that the weed guard is held in place by the barb on the hook.  I debarb my hooks and when I was retrieving a fly across floating weeds or lily pads the weed guard would pop and sit like the one's in Capt Bob's post.   The wire is not as stiff and really didn't prevent the hook from catching on the weeds.

Being shut it during the pandemic, I started watching some of the fishing shows on cable.  A lot of bass fishing shows.  Tossing hollow body frog lures was often a topic.   Figured I could do that, just needed a fly.  I used a lure called a "Booyah Pad Crasher" as a model.  I'm finally going to get a chance to test it later this week.  This is what they look like.  The big one is definitely an 8 wgt fly.  I should be able to toss the smaller one with my 6 wgt.

 

[robow7 0]

May I ask what keeps the frog pattern above from riding hook down ?

Thank you all for your suggestions and taking the time to post photos of your flies.

 

[Philly 0]

I did send a couple of them to a forum member to try out.  He said that they did land most of the time hook down, but a quick strip righted it.  I use that particular shape for a pan fish fly, though it's tied on a single hook.  At times it lands hook up, but a quick strip put it right side up with the hook down.  I've taken to tying it on a heavier straight eye streamer hook and that seems to solve the problem.  I get a chance to play the frogs later this week.   I did slit the belly on one before I coated it with UV Flex resin and added a worm weight to it.  I'll see if that lands it upright more than hook down as compared to one without the weight.  I'll let folks know how it works out and if it will actually catches fish.

[Poopdeck 0]

I use double salmon hooks for my Taiwan toad. I would say they land upside down darn near every time but after the first pop they flip over every time. Don't know why but I imagine it's the shape of the body.

[primeflycompany 0]

Not a fan of anything that keeps fish from getting hooked. That said, there is a very cool system featured in Pat Cohen's new book, showcased by guide and tyer Steve Yewchuck. 

[primeflycompany 0]

15 hours ago, Philly said:

I don't really use weed guards.  When I did I would just buy either the Gamakatsu or Eagle Claw hooks.  It's not that hard to tie a fly on one of those hooks.  Problem was that the weed guard is held in place by the barb on the hook.  I debarb my hooks and when I was retrieving a fly across floating weeds or lily pads the weed guard would pop and sit like the one's in Capt Bob's post.   The wire is not as stiff and really didn't prevent the hook from catching on the weeds.

Being shut it during the pandemic, I started watching some of the fishing shows on cable.  A lot of bass fishing shows.  Tossing hollow body frog lures was often a topic.   Figured I could do that, just needed a fly.  I used a lure called a "Booyah Pad Crasher" as a model.  I'm finally going to get a chance to test it later this week.  This is what they look like.  The big one is definitely an 8 wgt fly.  I should be able to toss the smaller one with my 6 wgt.

 

Definitely going to catch weeds too. For that to work that hook should be just grazomg over the rear foam section (like typical bass lures). Just reverse the taper and it would probably work. 

[mikechell 0]

2 hours ago, primeflycompany said:

Definitely going to catch weeds too. For that to work that hook should be just grazomg over the rear foam section (like typical bass lures). Just reverse the taper and it would probably work. 

That foam isn't soft enough for that, pfc.  Unlike the bass plugs you're talking about, which use hollow plastic bodies that easily fold away from the hook point, the foam on the above frogs is more like flip flops ... pretty tough.  You have to leave a hook gap.

[Capt Bob LeMay 0]

By the way that wire weedguard that I've shown isn't even noticed by the reds, snook, trout, tarpon (and everything else where we fish...) at all.  Back when I did a lot of bonefishing and also permit - we never used the fist wire weedguard... Some patterns won't allow a weedguard at all but most of the gear in the 'glades that I hand one of my anglers will have a wire weedguard if at all possible since we're tossing flies at solid mangrove jungle shorelines when not working on top of downed trees and other structure... 

Fish like this triple tail love to lay up right in the branches of a submerged tree so you pretty  much have to have something snagless to even have a chance at them... 

 

[primeflycompany 0]

Awesome fish!!!

[Capt Bob LeMay 0]

They come bigger - our best has been an 18lb triple - but not on fly... The best we've done on fly is 10lbs - and just about every one is sight-fished up next to or on top of structure inshore - not offshore the way most fish them around crab pots.  It's  a summer and hot weather thing after all the crabpots have been pulled every May 15th...

[TheCream 0]

My favorite is none. I don't like them. 

But when I do use them, it's usually on small streamers I intend to put into brush piles for crappies and such. In those situations, usually a single strand of 20lb mono cut just short enough it can't tick the hook point works well.