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

[vb1971 0]

Hi Everyone,

 

I have read a few articles on 'hotspots' and if they really are effective then I wouldn't mind including them in my flies.

 

How and where do you guys tie hotspots on

* Nymphs

*Emergers

*Dry Flies

 

Do you mainly use floss or dubbing?

 

I look forward to what the groups has to say and increase my knowledge

 

Cheers

VB

 

 

[Piker20 0]

Dry flies I don't use one. For me the profile/silhouette is what the fish target.

Nymphs I will sometimes add a thorax of hot red or orange, normally dubbing sometimes a bead.

Emergers I like to add a thorax that looks darker so it might appear to be the fleshy body in the shuck.

[heavynets 0]

IMO the royal wulff has one.

[vb1971 0]

Great call heavy!

 

Maybe they are not as new as we think

[Piker20 0]

In Reed Curries book on UV and what trout perceive he uses the royal wulff as an example of the dressing matching the natural insect. Not a hotspot as we would currently view it but definitely a shade on the colour spectrum that clearly defines that part of the fly from the other parts. The same with the royal coachman dry.

 

The problem for flytires is trying to replicate what the fish actually sees. An orange spot in a scud is easy to add but different materials dyed orange will provide a very different result to the fish. Fortunately fish are inquisitive and something approaching looking right might just be mouthed long enough to allow a hook set.

[JSzymczyk 0]

Great call heavy!

 

Maybe they are not as new as we think

 

a woolly worm with a very short tail of bright red yarn, a "hot spot" by anyone's definition, is few centuries old. At least. The only thing "new" in fishing is the internet.

 

Oh, and dumbasses wearing white-rimmed sunglasses. That is fairly new.

[thinkingredneck 0]

Now that is funny

[FIN-ITE 34 0]

I am a firm believer in using hotspots on nymphs. I sometimes put the hotspot on the tip of the abdomen at the base of the tail, but most often use it as a collar behind the bead.

My favorite material is Datum Glo Brite floss in color #5.

[mikechell 0]

This is the fly I catch a majority of fish on.

 

The thread is only exposed at the head, and I've usually used dark red, pink or tan thread.

 

I've recently been trying it with bright orange or florescent green thread ... to make the hot spot and see if it helps.

 

So far, the more muted colors are still out producing those with hot spots.

 

I am partially believing hot spots, like many "flashy" lures and flies, catch many more fishermen than they do fish.

[FIN-ITE 34 0]

It has been my experience that a nymph tied like this with a hotspot will out fish one without by 10 to 1.

 

 

 

 

[stilis 0]

It has been my experience that a nymph tied like this with a hotspot will out fish one without by 10 to 1.

Adding support for this statement.

 

I fish one style of nymph all season long. Early in the season I tie with a hot orange thread and leave a tag, as the season progresses, I find that toning it down to duller red works better. But always has a hot spot

[Cold 0]

.

[Kudu 0]

Mike I tie several flies very similar to the one shown by you. Two of my versions may be of interest. First, one where I use white arctic fox for the wing and ftd northern lights for the tail. The body is silver sparkle braid. It's good if the fish are feeding on fry. The second is much more muted. I use red squirrel for the tail, the body is some brown dubbing and then I use two pieces of medium orange barred rubber legs that protude up over the hook point like a wing. It would make 4 legs. I think it represents a baby crawdad. I'm sure it's not an original fly but I did name it mr wiggler.

[mikechell 0]

Yeah, Kudu. I tied mine up to create a fly that swims and sinks hook point up. Turned out to be my most productive fly. I named it Chell's Panfish Attractor, because it will catch fish when nothing else is working (usually).

 

Only after I got into this website, did I find out it's very similar to the "Panfish Charlie".

 

Great minds !!!

[TheCream 0]

I love hot spots. Sometimes it's a collar of thread on a nymph, a bright bead or eyes, sometimes some bleed-through gills on a streamer, sometimes I tip claws with a hot spot.