flycaster1953

I would say that it would be between a deceiver ( sometimes lightly weighted ), and a small silicone Silverside called Johnny's Angel. The poll was a trick question. I voted for Deceiver but fish many other flies.

Back to the topic of yellowing I was once given advice to never mix epoxy ( resin based adhesives ) with wooden stir sticks. The epoxy causes resin from the wood to leech out into the mixture causing very rapid yellowing.

You can also mix a small amount of RIT clothing dye in a small cup ( flex coat cup or steal some from your local fast food place ). Mix it with a few drops of alcohol and use an eye dropper to add to the epoxy. The beauty part is that the alcohol eventually dries up leaving the dye dry and spill free in the cup. When you want to use it again simply add a couple drops of alcohol and you are up and running. I have dyed buck tails, and use the same dye to match the epoxy to the fly especially on shrimp patterns. You can also stir in a small amount of acrylic paint such as the stuff found in tubes and available at art supply stores. I make chartreuse epoxy or red for use in tying tarpon flies or whistlers. White epoxy looks pretty cool with certain patterns as well. Let's face it guys. we have a couple of months to play around with this and pass the time. Have fun.

Good to hear from you again Peterjay. Lou Tabory is the master of cow Stripers on the fly and fishes nothing but two handers in the rocks and from jetties. I have been fishing down as far as the Mianis River with good luck sometimes at the mouth of the Housatonic on the Stratford side ( easy highway trip and the place to yourself ). I haven't put away the gear yet and I agree there is no better way to throw a big pattern than on a heavy weight forward line. Landing a big bass in the surf with anything less is a crap shoot at best especially around some of the breachways or at Watch Hill with currents on the strong side.

Flex Coat Rod Builders Epoxy Glue. It's waterproof where Devcon is not but takes much longer on the dryer. Crystal clear after several years.

I recently decided to take my saltwater fly fishing in Connecticut and Rhode Island up a notch. I have decided to go for larger stripers and have the option of going South with the rod to someday pursue Tarpon or whatever quarry presents itself. I have purchased a couple of 12wt. rods with forward assist grips but can't decide on which one to keep. The first was a Temple Fork Outfitters 4pc. TiCr2 and a very beautiful rod. The second was a rare find and a blast from when I was just a few years into this sport. It is a brand new never fished Penn International 3pc. The fit and finish of both is superb but the three piece model is probably a little long for plane trips. The Temple Fork being a four piece has a stronger butt end with the overlapping section further back than on the Penn. The outfit will be finished off with a Ross Momentum 6 loaded with 325yds. of #30 backing and a WF12 Intermediate line. Your input and suggestions are appreciated. Thanks, Glen

Peterjay, Are the Albies still there? It has been an unbelievable year for them. Can't wait for Stripers moving through. Keep me posted. I drag my 16 ft. Lund Alaskan down to Westerly and take chase whenever wind and weather co-operate. I've done 8 Fat Alberts this year so far. Yeah, they were still on the reefs as of yesterday. All those anchovies are still keeping them in the area. But we're probably getting close to shutdown time with the water temp dropping. The usual late-season spots over your way will probably hang in there a bit longer with the warmer water and all. (I'm not going to mention them here for obvious reasons, but you know where I mean - it's already been picking up over there) I'm pretty disappointed with the bass situation - there should be fish all over the huge amount of bait we've had here the past few weeks. Even the blues have been scarce. A couple of guys I know got 4 or 5 bass yesterday and some kayakers got into small schoolies off the Naps, but it was pure luck more than anything else. Right place, right time. There just isn't any real action anywhere. I haven't been seeing anything at all, and I'm down there every day. We ran down a lot of bird activity yesterday along the beach, but they were just on cormorants. A guy caught and released a 30-pounder the other day at Weekapaug, but that was the only fish caught that day and it's the only big one I've heard of. I keep hearing about bunker moving up from Point Judith, but I think those guys are seeing things, because they aren't showing up here. Just anchovies so far. I hate to say it, but we're either going to get a late push or no push at all. The fat lady hasn't sung yet, but she's warming up in the wings Peterjay let's get one fact clear. Down my way is Pawcatuck River / Watch Hill. the only thing my place in Old Saybrook is good for is sitting on a beach with my grand kids looking out over the brown water and when venturing in with them at low tide you can rest assured there's an eighth of a mile wade to get up to my waist. The whole area could benefit from a good 100 year hurricane. My wife and I had a boat up at Westerly Marina for eight years and one thing was learned. Brown water don't fish. We do all our fishing, and diving in Rhode Island and only Rhode Island. As soon as she retires we will likely move up to Westerly / Pawcatuck area where life is good. Thanks for the update. I am heading for Newport tomorrow with a surf stick and will wait for bigger bat and bigger fish to come down my way out on the reefs. I have also heard of the schoolies on Naps just about every morning it's fairly calm. I run a dark green Lund Alaskan if you ever see me out there give me a shout. Tight lines

Peterjay, Are the Albies still there? It has been an unbelievable year for them. Can't wait for Stripers moving through. Keep me posted. I drag my 16 ft. Lund Alaskan down to Westerly and take chase whenever wind and weather co-operate. I've done 8 Fat Alberts this year so far.

Great Striper Fly.

Looks Great. It definitely work in the Northeast. Even better with more white hackles mixed in.

I have made many without the Mylar. You can color them with art markers or lay a strip of mylar flash into a light coat of epoxy followed by you final coat. Top coatings other than epoxy may work provided they don't eat into the foam which is not impervious to many products. They epoxy also makes them tough as nails. Plan on making three or four just to get familiar with the process. You can Google Joe Blados and find a link to cutters for the foam if you really get into these. There is nothing like an Albie chasing one of these down as you strip away as fast as you can. "Slammin" Have Fun