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peregrines

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About peregrines

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  1. Just to clarify a bit, by custom materials are usually listed on fly pattern recipes in order of “tie in” --- in other words at the initial point at which materials are bound to the hook, not necessarily in the order they are completed and tied off. For example it’s not uncommon to see flies listing ribbing first, then body. In this case the ribbing (wire, oval tinsel or whatever) is tied in and left hanging off the rear of the hook. Then body material is tied in- chenille, floss, dubbing whatever. But left unsaid in a typical recipe, the body is then formed, and then the ribbing is wrapped. So the way you tie in the materials: ribbing first then body, is different than how the fly is “finished”: body then ribbing wound in open turns over the completed body. In a similar way you’ll see this for some patterns like caddis flies with a dubbed thorax and hackle collar--- where the hackle is tied in first by the stem, then the thorax is dubbed, then the hackle is wrapped around the thorax and tied off. Bruce gave you good advice on the SLF dubbing and marabou collar using a dubbing loop. Another way to form a marabou collar is to tie in the marabou by the tip, and stroke the fibers rearward on each side of the stem—essentially “folding” the hackle so the fibers are pointing rearward like this “>” It may help to wet your fingers when stroking the fibers back by dipping them in a glass of water or moisten them with saliva to get the marabou fibers to stay put temporarily. Take a turn or two around the shank with the stem of marabou, stroking the fibers back as you go. Then tie off. Like skinning cats, there are a bunch of ways to accomplish the same thing in fly tying, but sometimes it helps to find step by steps for flies that have similar construction--- even though they they might be a different patterns than the specific one you're looking to tie. Just to see the techniques used and get a better sequence of the steps that might be used. If you can take and post a pic of the fly I bet folks could give you a better idea of how to build it.
  2. Hankaye Utyer has given you great info. Here’s some ideas for some patterns and a shopping list for materials that should cost around 25 bucks or so. Substituting feathers from an Indian Hen Back for more expensive Partridge Materials Pack of wet fly hooks size 12 (25 for about 5.00) Thread Black Danville’s 6/0 Flymaster (per spool about 1.50) or Uni 8/0 (per spool about 2.25) Danville’s Fine Gold Wire (spool about 1.50) 4 Strand Rayon Floss your choice Orange, Yellow Olive (per spool about 1.00) Hare’s Mask (Natural) (about 4.00) Pheasant Tail (2 feathers for about 2.00) ¼ oz Strung Peacock Herl (about 3.00) Mottled Brown Indian Hen Back instead of partridge (about 4.00) 2 mm Black Thin Fly Foam ( two about 4” x 4” pieces for 1.00)* * down the road, you can get this 2 mm foam much cheaper from a crafts store like Michael’s etc where a pack 30 sheets of assorted colors 8 ½” x 11” pieces go for about 6.00 Patterns Listing materials in order of tie in: Partridge and Orange (or Yellow, or Green) Hook: wet fly size 12 Thread: Fire Orange, Black Hackle: Brown mottled hen, (substitute for partridge) 2 turns Tail: none Rib: Fine gold wire Body: 2 layers of floss Head: thread Partridge and Peacock Hook: wet fly size 12 Thread: Fire Orange, Red or Black Hackle: Brown mottled hen, (substitute for partridge) 2 turns Tail: none Rib: Fine gold wire Body: 3 or 4 strands of peacock herl tied on shank, twisted into a rope and wound around shank for body. Head: thread Partridge and Pheasant Tail Hook: wet fly size 12 Thread: Fire Orange, Red or Black Hackle: Brown mottled hen, (substitute for partridge) 2 turns Tail: none Rib: Fine gold wire Body: 3 or 4 pheasant tail fibers tied on shank, twisted into rope and wound up shank Head: thread Partridge and Hare Hook: wet fly size 12 Thread: Fire Orange, Red or Black Hackle: Brown mottled hen, (substitute for partridge) 2 turns Tail: none Rib: Fine gold wire Body: 2 layers of floss Head: thread Hare’s Ear Flymph Hook: wet fly size 12 Thread: Fire Orange, Red or Black Hackle: Brown mottled hen, (substitute for partridge) 3 turns through thorax area (front 1/3 of hook) Tail: none or a few fibers of hen Rib: Fine gold wire Body: dubbed fur from hare’s mask Head: thread Pheasant Tail Nymph Hook: wet fly or nymph Thread: black Tail: 3 pheasant tail fibers, don't trim butts Rib: Fine gold wire (original calls for copper wire) Abdomen: Butts of fibers used for tail, twisted and wound to 1/2 point of shank Wingcase: Tie in another 6 tail fibers by butt end, don't trim tips Thorax: 3 strand of peacock herl tied in and twisted Legs: Pull over tips of pheasant tail fibers and tie down, separating and tying down so there are 3 'legs" on each side Hare's Ear Nymph Hook: wet fly or nymph Thread: Fire Orange, Red or Black Tail: Pick out some guard hairs from hare's mask, and tie in as tail Rib: Fine Gold wire Abdomen: Pick out fur from Hare's Mask for dubbing Wingcase: (Optional) Tie in 3-5 strands of peacock herl with excess extending over rear of hook. Original calls for a wingcase made from a duck wing quill slip. Thorax: hares mask dubbing, dubbed fatter than abdomen. After thorax has been dubbed, pull peacock herl over thorax and tie down Head: Wrap neat thread head and tie off. Legs: Pick out fur from underside of thorax with bodkin Simple Foam Beetle for fishing top water for panfish Hook: Wet fly size 12 (because of the foam, this will still float) Thread: Black Foam Shellback: Black 2mm foam strip Body: Peacock herl, as in Partridge and Peacock Steps for a simple foam beetle: Cut a strip of foam about twice the length of the hook shank and ½ the thickness of the hook gap. Hook in vise, start thread Tie in foam on top of shank at front of hook and bind down towards rear, leaving extra length coming off the back of hook for now Tie in peacock herl at front of hook and bind down with thread to rear of hook above barb. Advance thread to front of hook. Twist herl into rope and wrap up to front of hook. Bind down with thread and trim herl. Fold excess foam over the top of the herl body and bind down at front of hook, forming a big segment about 2/3 the length of the shank, and smaller segment about 1/3 length of shank Make head under foam and behind hook eye and tie off There's ton's of other patterns that you could add next. Good luck and have fun Mark
  3. hankaye you've gotten a TON of great info from utyer and really good advice from bowfin and ggmiller about on-line resources, beginner books at the library and looking into local TU Chapters or fly fishing clubs for some hands on experience to get you started. Materials can be pretty confusing and a little overwhelming, as you can see from all the info you're getting. Maybe you could let folks know what kind of fish you'll be chasing and then people can chime in with some suggestions for some patterns that: - are easy to tie - teach good "foundation skills" that you can build on to tie more complex patterns - use relatively inexpensive materials that are used on many other patterns (to build up your inventory of stuff) - are very effective on the fish you'll be chasing and - have free on-line links to videos or step by step tutorials (with instructions and pics) to tie them. A good way to get started is to pick out just 2-3 patterns at a time, get the materials, and tie up a bunch of each before you move on. Once you zero in on the patterns you want to tie, folks can list the specific materials (or appropriate substitutes) to tie them, and the qualities to look for when shopping. Depending on what fish you chase the recommendations for patterns might vary a bit. Good luck! mark
  4. I'd come at it a different way. In terms of bang for the buck to get started, I would look for a Pro Grade Hebert Miner Cape (neck) or Grade 3 Cape from a small breeder like Conranch or Collins Hackle. They will typically tie about 350+ flies in sizes 10-18 and run 25-30 bucks. The Hebert Miner line is now owned by Whiting (it has a green label as opposed to the usual whiting blue label) You can find Pro Grade Capes for about 25-30 bucks from many online shops. Conranch is a small breeder in Washington state. You could order direct from them at www.conranch.com through their website or call Denny or Liz on their 800 number. Their Grade 3 necks go for around 29 bucks, and Grade 2 goes for a bit more (Grade 2's can be split, so you could get 2 colors with 2 Grade 2 1/2 necks for the price of one grade 2) Collins Hackle is a small breeder in NY. He doesn't have a website but you could call Charlie Collins directly at 607 734-1765. His Grade 3 Capes run under 30 bucks and include a free saddle. The nice thing about dealing directly with the small breeders like Charlie at Collins or Denny and Liz at Conranch, is that they can help you pick out what you'll need based on what you're tying. And because you're dealing direct, you get a very good value for your dollar. Good dry fly quality saddles are typically easier to work with than capes with thin flexible stems, and you'll get several flies from their longer feathers. But saddles typically tie a smaller range of sizes compared to capes, so for starting out, I'd go with capes. with Pro Grade or Grade 3 you should be able to tie sizes from 10-18 with no problem. Higher grades will be more expensive but will let you tie more flies and in the case of capes, smaller sizes. This can lower the per fly cost of tying, but for someone starting out, that usually isn't as big a consideration as being able to get some basic colors like brown and grizzly to be followed by medium dun and light ginger (or cream) that will tie a range of typical sizes. Whiting 100's are also a pleasure to work with but they range from 15-18 bucks a pop. You'd get enough saddle feathers (12 or so in a pack) to tie 100 flies in one size and one color. So to tie sizes 12-18 would be 4 x 15 or 4 x 18 bucks in one color, or about 60-72 dollars to tie 400 flies sizes 12-18 compared to 25-30 bucks for a Pro Grade or Grade 3 Cape to tie 350+ flies from 10-18. A cape for less than the cost of 2 100 packs would be a much better buy in my opinion. mark
  5. Just a suggestion..... if you're tying simple flies on hooks that big, and already have everything else- bobbin materials etc. you might want to just try regular vise grip pliers if you have them. I have a Regal vise i ordinarily use, but had to tie up some 5/0 4x heavy Siwash hooks for tail hooks on surf plugs that wouldn't fit in the jaws. Normally the same jaws accept 20's up to standard wire 7/0, but the 4x heavy hooks wouldn't fit. I just was dressing them with bucktail, so nothing fancy, but was actually surprised at how well it worked. I piled up a stack of books to get the height i wanted at the table, put the hook in the vise grips, and put something heavy on top to sort of hold it in place, steadied it with my off hand, and went at it with no problems. With any less expensive vise I think you're going to have a hard time holding 4/0 hooks. Usually the jaws are pretty soft. For trout sized stuff a Griffin 1A, 2A for 40-60 dollars or an old used Thompson model A if you can find one for 25 bucks would be good if you're on a budget. Good luck. mark
  6. Hey Jim, welcome to the board. In general you'd want to imitate the baitfish in your area in size and profile. Here are some suggestions for materials and some easy fly patterns that you can google for step by step instructions. Thread: Danvilles Flat Waxed Nylon. This is a strong thread with a breaking strength of about 5 lbs so you won't break it as often when you tie, and you can crank down on it to tightly fasten materials to the hook.. I use it on most saltwater sized flies. The colors I use the most are black, white and chartreuse. About 2 bucks US a spool. Hooks: a decent quality, yet fairly inexpensive hook is a Mustad 3407 which i prefer for many flies, or the slightly more expensive (but easier to find) 34007. I typically use sizes 2 through 2/0 most often, but if you're just starting out, I'd probably buy 100 count in size 2 and 2/0 and skip the in between sizes. These will vary in price based on size, but figure around 10-12 bucks US for 100. Bucktail: You can tie a wide variety of fly patterns with bucktail to imitate a variety of baitfish. I would look for "extra large" or "saltwater" bucktail. These usually go for 1 dollar more than "regular bucktail, but have longer hair that you'll find useful in saltwater. I would definetly get both white (natural), chartreuse and perhaps a couple of other colors to match your local baitfish- olive, light blue would probably be likely choices. I also use yellow and pink a lot to imitate the natural iridescence of baitfish. Typically these run about 6 bucks US Highlights- for a bit of sparkle in your flies, i would get some Pearlescent Krystal Flash. Although it comes in a lot of other colors, peral will pick up and reflect the other colors in the fly and so it will go with anything. A pack will run around 3.50 US Body material- I would consider some body braid in pearl and silver. It's easy to wrap around the hook shank. ALso about 3.50 a pack. Topping- strung peacock herl. This does a very good job of imitating the dark back of many baitfish. Also about 3.50 a pack Eyes- you can get stick on prismatic eyes, or paint them using acrylic paint from a local craft store if you choose. For weighted eyes for flies like clousers you can get lead, brass "dumbell" eyes. Another easier to cast alternative is to buy a length of bead chain from a local hardware store, like the stuff used for turning on light fixtures. Cut the length into pairs of eyes with a pair of pliers. Head cement- Many people use Sally Hansen's Hard As Nails (clear finger nail polish) so you might look for something similar locally like that with the help of a local lady, or you can order a head cement. Many people use 5 minute epoxy for a very durable finish on saltwater flies, but hooks will have to be turned to prevent the material from sagging while it dries. Again depending on the shape and profile of your local baitfish, here are a few options for patterns you can goggle: Bucktail deceiver- a great all around pattern for most baitfish in a variety of sizes. For barracuda size 2/0 would probably be a good choice. This is a variation of the more popular Deceiver" usually tied with a saddle hackle tail, but this one uses bucktail. I fish both, and have not notieced any difference in performance, and these stand up to fish better. All white, olive or blue over white, or all chartreuse (for murky water) with a topping of peacock herl are good choices for a variety of baitfish. Clouser- a good choice for slim baitfish and for fishing a bit deeper than a deceiver. A very productive fly pattern. Good choices are Chartreuse, white and chartreuse over white. Glass Minnow- this fly is tied with a wing and no tail. It's a good choice for imitating small baitfish where you want to use a larger hook to imitate a small baitfish (since it doesn't have a tail you can get a short fly on a big hook.) This fly is typically tied with a body over wrapped with clear monofilament fishing line to make a very durable fly. Ray's Fly- this is a very good choice for imitating long thin baitfish (sand launce). The "secret" to this fly is tying each layer a little longer than the one beneath it. When tying with bucktail, try and keep the flies sparse- it will cast better and have better action in the water than heavily dressed flies. Other stuff: marabou and cactus chenille (or Estaz) are good choices for flies like Schminnows- an easy to tie pattern that can be very effective fished at night around lighted docks in many places that imitates small baitfish and fry in size 2. strung saddle hackle for a variety of uses including "traditional deceivers", "seaducers" and "half and halfs" For saltwater, look for "large" or "saltwater" sizes with feathers 6-7" long. The saddle hackles can be used as tails on flies like deceivers, tied as "wings", or wrapped around the hook shank as a "collar". Topwater- some easy to tie patterns like Gurglers use 2mm foam sheets, available from fly shops (or might be much less expensive from a local crafts store). These are great imitations for floating shrimp and fishing shallow flats. I tie them in sizes 2 - 2/0. If you want a fly that causes a bit more commotion on the surface, you can get pre shaped Edgefoam popper bodies, and just add a small tail of bucktail with a bit of flash. I tie them in 2/0. One of the things you'll want to do is to keep your hooks sharp- I use a yellow handled 6" Luhr Jensen Hook file, about 6-7 bucks US Hope this helps a bit. Good luck. mark
  7. Hey Phil- Thanks for your service! Thread- I think you mean Danville’s Flat Waxed Nylon (not “Danforth”)- it’s a strong thread with a breaking strength of around 5 lbs, and a good choice for salt water flies and spinning deer hair (bass bugs) Books- I guess it depends on where you are in terms of tying skills. For Saltwater here’s a couple I’d recommend, depending on where you are in your tying abilities and what you’re looking for in terms of chasing different SW fish. Introduction to Saltwater Tying by Scott Sanchez- About 26 bucks. This is a basic beginner’s book with detailed instructions for tying some of the basics as well as a discussion of materials tools and techniques. You can check out the table of contents to see the patterns covered by clicking on the Search Inside This Book link http://www.amazon.com/Introduction-Salt-Wa...g/dp/0871089319 Saltwater Fly Patterns by Lefty Kreh about 15 bucks, spiral bound so it lays flat on your desk while tying. This is more of a pattern recipe book. So if you have some basic tying chops, this might be a better choice than the Intro book. This is a book with a pic and recipe of tons of sw flies for different species including bonefish, snook etc and is a very good choice for all around SW flies. I think this would be a great choice, and it does have a short demonstration section for some techniques. Browse the contents using the Search Inside http://www.amazon.com/Saltwater-Fly-Patter...d_bxgy_b_text_c Bonefish Fly Patterns by Dick Brown If you’re specifically looking for bonefish flies, this is a great one. This is also a pattern recipe book, without detailed tying instructions and basic tying skills are assumed. The book must be out of print because I see prices on Amazon for used copies are 110 !!!! But you should be able to find a used copy out there somewhere for much much less. This book has all the old standards as well as some innovative newer patterns by guys like Borski etc as well as patterns by contemporary Keys bonefish guides http://www.amazon.com/Bonefish-Fly-Pattern...5040&sr=1-1 There are a ton more good ones, including some for more advanced tyers like Innovative Salt Water Flies by Bob Veverka and specialized books by species but they would be more narrowly focused than the Kreh or Sanchez books. For trout, I think that Charlie Cravens book, Basic Fly Tying (about 26 bucks) has set the new standard. A truly excellent book for beginners and jam packed with info valuable for intermediate and advanced tyers too. It covers standards as well as some newer more modern flies and http://www.amazon.com/Charlie-Cravens-Basi...6191&sr=1-1 Before Charlie’s book came out, Fly Tying Made Clear and Simple by Skip Morris (for 13 bucks) was arguably the standard trout fly beginners book, and still a good one with more of an emphasis on Eastern old school classics, http://www.amazon.com/Fly-Tying-Made-Clear...6570&sr=1-1 Good luck! mark
  8. Rockworm gave you a great over view of the lifecycles Here’s some examples of patterns that imitate different stages in the life cycles that you’re probably familiar with or can google: May fly Mayfly Nymphs- imitating the larval form Most popular patterns are the Pheasant Tail Nymph and Gold Ribbed Hares Ear. The naturals have either 2 or 3 tails. Mayfly Emergers imitate the nymph transitioning into the dun. They can be tied to fish under the surface like wet flies such as soft hackles (Partridge and Orange), winged wet fly patterns (Hare’s Ear Wet, Leadwing Coachman Wet), and nymph looking patterns on a dry fly hook with a short tuft wing of CDC, Poly Yarn, or SnowShoe Hare (Snowshoe Hare Emerger) or ride on top of the surface like Sparkle Duns which have a “tail” of Z-lon that is designed to imitate the dun still attached to its nymphal case (called a “shuck”) Mayfly Duns- standard and parachute dries like Adams, Blue Wing Olive, March Brown, Light Cahill and modern patterns like Comparaduns. Most Mayfly wings are tied upright. Mayfly Spinners- Rusty Spinner in various sizes imitates the final stage of the lifecycle of many mayflies. This is when they mate and the females return to the stream to lay eggs and then die. The wings are typically tied “spent” lying horizontally on the water in the film. Caddis- Larva patterns imitate species that are free living, and those that live in cases made of sticks and twigs or gravel. You’ll often find caddis cases on streamside rocks. The only caddis larva pattern I carry is the Rockworm, A free living (no case) caddis larva that is found in riffles all over the country- http://theflybench.com/nymph/fly0048.htm Some folks also carry imitations for caddis larva that live in cases like the Peeking Caddis http://www.flyanglersonline.com/flytying/fotw/040300fotw.php Pupa patterns can be very effective swung in the current and fished as a wet fly searching pattern in rivers that have a lot of caddis. They imitate the emerging stage of the caddis as it swims to the surface. Emergent Sparkle Pupa is a very popular pattern that imitates this stage of the caddis http://www.virtualflybox.com/patterns/patt...d=23&id=172 Adult caddis imitations include dry fly standards like the Elk Hair Caddis. They have wings that slant back to the bend rather than upright wings on mayflies. Stoneflies have just 2 stages the larva (nymph) and adult. They have 2 tails in both stages. Most stonefly nymphs crawl out of the water and molt into adults on land, so there is no emeger stage. Stonefly nymphs (larva)- Kaufmanns Stonefly Nymph is a good example Adult- Stimulators, Salmon Fly are good examples of dry fly patterns. They have wings that slant back like caddis. Some nymph patterns, like Prince Nymphs can be very effective because they look sorta like a lot of different things- dark mayfly nymphs, cased caddis and small stonefly nymphs. Some patterns like soft hackles and winged wets do a good job of covering both emerging mayflies and caddis and the drowned adults. If you want to see some pics of the naturals in various stages and learn a bit about the behavior and lifecycles, www.troutnut.com is a great site. mark
  9. I'd add chartreuse to your list for SW and maybe red. If you're tying flies, try blending some colors ( red + yellow = red, yellow and "orange", blue + red = blue, red and "purple" and mixed with black = "blurple" for nights Also, when you order ask for "Extra Large" or "SW" bucktail, it's a buck (or less) more expensive, but has (or should have) longer hair about 4" or longer and the whole tail should be about 10" long from butt where it was cut off the deer to the tips of the hair on the end. Some of the regular sized bucktail will be small tails with shorter hair and is probably not as suitable for the stuff you're tying if you're going for stripers. I'm sure Stockards is good, but I get mine from Chris Helm at www.whitetailflytieing.com and have been very pleased. Sometimes the hair I've bought from other sources has been very brittle, or too fine and is difficult to work with, perhaps damaged in the dying process or from early season (summer) deer instead of the sturdier hair on northern winter bucktails. But I've never had that problem with Chris's stuff. You may want to order a pack of Pearlescent Krystal flash too for a litlle extra sumthin' sumthin'. I usually leave a few strands an inch or two longer than the bucktail for some extra flash. In general. sparse is MUCH better than heavily dressed. Better action in the water and easier to cast. I use Danville's Flat Waxed nylon thread to wrap it. mark
  10. I think you’d be better off buying a few tools and adding materials for a couple patterns at a time. Tools: Bobbin- a Griffin metal tube bobbin for about 7 bucks should be good enough to start. As you tie you’ll want to add more bobbins for different thread colors etc. Better bobbins with ceramic tubes cost more (13-20) but you can add those down the road for smaller diameter threads when you start tying really small stuff. Scissors- a 4” pair of needlepoint or embroidery scissors from a craft store or a fly shop for about 4-5 bucks would be fine to start. Just make sure the tips line up. Eventually you’ll want to add a pair of Dr Slick scissors for about 14 bucks. You can use the less expensive ones to cut bucktail and other rough stuff to keep a good edge on the Dr Slicks. Bodkin- just a needle on a stick. Any import is fine for 2 bucks or stick a needle in a cork. Whip Finisher- get a Matarelli 17 bucks (it will last a lifetime) a second choice would be a “Matarelli style” import for about 6. (There are 2 types of whip finishers. The Matarelli style is shaped sorta like a “n”, the Thompson style is shaped sorta like a “t”. The Matarelli style is mauch easier to use.) Hackle pliers- an “English style” (looks like a key ring with an elongated “nose”) or push button plastic EZ clip style for 2 for wrapping hackle. Either one will run about 2 bucks. Waste catcher- You can buy them for a bunch of bucks, but an easier and cheaper solution is to take a plastic bag from a grocery store and slip a one handle over the vise to catch snippings, fluff etc. Then take a look at the materials list for a couple easy patterns and buy the hooks and materials for one or two patterns at a time, and tie up 12 or so of one pattern before you move on to the next one- It’ll really help to gt the pattern down and you’ll notice an improvement in the ones you tie as you knock them off. Pay attention to proportions, leave enough room for neat heads, not using too much dubbing etc. For NE trout some patterns like Black or Olive Woolly Bugger size 8, Weighted with lead wraps or non toxic, or bead heads. Pheasant Tail Nymph 16 Add bead heads to some Gold Ribbed Hares Ear size 14 and 16 add bead heads to some X Caddis and/or Sparkle Dun (dry flies tied without expensive dry fly hackle). These are very effective imitations for both caddis and mayflies, easy to tie and very inexpensive. Vary sizes and colors to match local hatches. You can get “hatch charts” for the waters you fish to imitate specific critters. And add some soft hackled wet flies using partridge hen or starling as a good all purpose searching fly when nothing is going on at the surface like a Partridge and Orange/Green or Hare’s Ear Flymph. This way you can cover yourself for a lot of different fishing situations relatively easily and inexpensively. From there you can branch out to hackled dries (Elk Hair Caddis, Adams, Parachutes etc.) using good quality genetic dry fly hackle. Good luck! mark
  11. The 3906 and 3906B have a "sproat" bend that makes it tough to accept beads. Crimping down the barb may help, but using a 9671 (instead of a 3906B) or equivalent hook with a "perfect" bend makes it easier to accept beads. mark
  12. Look for big ones out front on bunker once the water temps hit 50 degrees (10 C) probably last week of April. As it hits 55 (13 C) in mid May it sometimes breaks loose. The fish aren't as dense along the coast as they are in the fall, but there are enough to keep things interesting. And some of them are big You can keep an eye on water temps here: http://www.ndbc.noaa.gov/station_page.php?station=mtkn6 good luck, mark
  13. Excellent- Great proportions, the long bucktail will prevent the saddles from fouling around the hook and will give it excellent action in the water. And it's just the right amount of bucktail- sparse for easy casting and great action in the water. If you want to work on something, it would be the head for a neater, smaller more tapered (teardrop sort of shape), but it's not something that will affect fishability. Just coat it with a couple of coats of Sally Hansens for durability. You may also want to get a Luhr Jensen's Hook File, one of those yellow plastic handled things for about 6 bucks to keep an edge on those Mustads. If you fish around rocks or hang some big fish you'll get some rolled points that can be touched up with a file, and it's not a bad idea to put a cutting edge on them out of the box. I like a knife edge rather than a needle point on the front of the hook point made by filing on both sides of the point at a 45 degree angle so the point of the hook ends up looking like a knife with the blade's cutting edge up. This will sink the hook quickly to the bend of the hook and make them less likely to bend on big fish, and the points are much less likely to roll. If you drag the sharpened hook across the back of your fingernail it should leave a little white trail. It's easiest to sharpen the hooks before tying. If you're using this as a teaser ahead of a tin or plug, one way to rig them up is to tie a bunch of leaders with teasers up in advance and store them in small zip lock bags. I use a black barrel swivel on one end (to the line coming off the reel) and a black snap swivel on the other to the plug. In between I use a 30" section of 40lb Mason mono attached to the barrel swivel and snap swivel with improved clinch knots. At the barrel swivel, leave a tag end of 12" or so of Mason , and tie your deceiver to that with an improved clinch so it hangs 6" of so below the barrel swivel. The tag will come off the barrel swivel at 90 degrees or so and the thick Mason will keep it jutting out and help to avoid tangles and wrapping around the main shock leader. By keeping these rigged up ahead of time, with the flies tied to the leader, as well as some shocks without droppers you can make quick changes. If the eastern LI fish are anything like their western LI cousins, your deceiver ahead of a 2 1/4 oz Hopkins Shorty (single hook with Bucktail) will hammer them out front as the temps start climbing into the 50's as they move up the coast in spring, and may get some weaks and fluke for you as well. In summer, I like them fished slowly at night in front of a needlefish and wiggled in rips ahead of a darter. Try whipping up some in black or "burple" for summer nights as well Good luck. mark
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