So What Do You Do

[The Mad Duck 0]

I've been tying lots of EP Flies in baitfish patterns. I've kind of caught the skinny saltwater bug since I caught that Redfish last month. I have been really frustrated with the waste of material when using EP fibers. I asked myself, What can I do to keep from wasting so much material?

Hummm? Pull out a much smaller hook, combine several strands of different color fibers,and,.........Make a Glass Minnow

 

 

[Mark Knapp 0]

1 hour ago, The Mad Duck said:

I've been tying lots of EP Flies in baitfish patterns. I've kind of caught the skinny saltwater bug since I caught that Redfish last month. I have been really frustrated with the waste of material when using EP fibers. I asked myself, What can I do to keep from wasting so much material?

Hummm? Pull out a much smaller hook, combine several strands of different color fibers,and,.........Make a Glass Minnow

 

 

I do this.

https://www.flytyingforum.com/index.php?/topic/90578-trim-less-waste-less-synth-fiber-bait-fish/

There's also the shimmy method in which you cut the material you need and using the thumb and first two fingers of each hand you shimmy them to make all the ends uneven then you tie it down to the hook shank in the middle of the fiber, fold over and tie down again. I'm sure some one will post that method here too.

[TroutFodder 0]

Nice looking fly Mad Duck, especially for a pattern that salvages waste material . I can also see bonefish or jacks having a go at that one. Dropping those random lengths into a hair stacker would make quick work of it.

[Philly 0]

I don't use EP fiber.  I find it too coarse for small bait fish patterns.  I use Mirror Image and prep by it blending flash into it prior to tying.  Steve Farrar showed my Salt Water Fly Fishing Club how to do it when he did a tying class for us several years ago.  You can apply it to any of the artificial bait hairs we use.  One advantage is that it creates a tapered material which cuts down on the trimming needed to shape the fly.  I use two methods when I tie my bait fish patterns.  Hi-tying and V-tying.  Hi-tying creates the shape of the pattern.  Material is tied on the top and bottom of the hook. The more space between the pieces of material the narrower the body of the fly will be.  V-tying adds bulk to the fly.  Material is tied on the side of the shank.  Same principle applies the more space between the pieces of material the narrower the profile will be.  For example, if I were tying a glass minnow,  I would use between three and five pieces of material to tie it.

19 hours ago, The Mad Duck said:

Hummm? Pull out a much smaller hook, combine several strands of different color fibers,and,.........Make a Glass Minnow

Not necessarily a smaller hook.  A shorter shank hook.  The Gamakatsu B10S or something similar is a good hook for baitfish patterns

You can blend colors.  For example, instead of a dark olive back, you could blend the olive with white or pearl fiber to give it jus a hint of olive on the top.

Your pattern will catch fish.  A couple of suggestions.  Use a clear mono or polyester thread,  and move the head closer to the eye of the hook.

Here's a couple of the patterns I tie.  The top one is a silverside imitation, the bottom one which would be closer to a glass minnow, is suppose to imitate a bay anchovy. I used blended Ultra Hair for the top pattern and blended Mirror Image for the bottom one.