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mikechell

Chell's Snail (based on Henry Hoffman's pattern)

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Thank you, Bo. I'm really hoping they attract some Red Ear Sunfish (Shell Cracker) attention. If I get lucky, I might be trying them next Sunday !!

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Mike, you don't have to apologize. You get to do whatever you want.

 

I'm sure the knotted cord snail will work very well where the snails look like that. They will probably catch fish anywhere but they are not an imitation of the snails in my lake and would probably not catch as many fish in my lake as I am catching with my imitation.

 

My question to you is; Do you know what the snails in your lakes look like and did you tie an imitation of that snail? Or did you see a recipe you liked and tie a similar one. Either way is fine if that's what turns your crank.

 

What I really get a kick out of is imitating, in both appearance and how it acts in the water, the natural fodder of fish in my area - figuring out a pattern with traditional methods and materials and catching fish on them.

 

Have fun and I hope they crack your shells.

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Al Beatty mentioned in another snail thread that Henry Hoffman had provided him with two snail patterns, the one pictured and a floating snail made similar with foam- I recall looking for pictures of either and not finding them on the net, so Flytire do you have a picture of the foam model?

Or maybe Mikechell has a link to where you found the one you started from and both models might be there?

 

Mark, one of the interesting things I read about snails once, said that they often hang upside down on the film in still water and can "walk" clinging to the film and that provides fish an opportunity to eat them. I think you said you did better with them off the bottom?

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"henry hoffman snail"

 

Yep, I saw that he had mentioned his was based on that fly.

 

I guess my question was more did he tie them because it matched the snails in his water better or was it because he liked that pattern better for what ever reason? Maybe he liked it's simplicity. It could be because he likes to use repurposed items. Maybe he didn't have any turkey feather or fox fur.

 

The Hoffman fly is certainly more like his style of tying.

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Both, Mark ... and more.

1) I don't have the materials you used with me, here at the hotel.

2) We have snails that look more like the knot than your fly.

3) I saw that picture on one of your other threads where another member had posted it. I haven't seen it anywhere else.

4) It IS easy. Takes me all of 2 minutes, start to finish, or less. (I didn't really time myself, but they are quick) If they're successful, I'll be tying up a lot more.

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Apple snails get about twice this size. This one is a medium sized on I found, in the process of laying eggs.

 

Of course, they start small ... which I am hoping is perfect for big fish.

 

Apple snail laying eggs 02.JPG

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tjm, yes, on the first day of trying them the snails caught 0 fish out of 50 one the bottom, midges caught all of the fish in the water column. On the second day I used the snail in the water column and caught 46 out of fifty fish with the snail, 4 on the midge. During a recent scud bloom, out of thirty fish caught, half were on the midge and half were on the snail. None were caught on a scud pattern that was used as a dropper under the midge. Strange.

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Mike, It will be interesting to see how well your snails work. At first it seemed the apple snails you pictured were terrestrial, every time I saw a picture of it, it was out of water. It seems they are aquatic and boy do they get big. Some are as big as a soft ball. They are also edible, you should bring some of them home and eat them.

 

The meat on the live snail is dark while it's white on your fly. That may not matter to the fish.

 

How big are the red ears in your area? Being a fairly small mouthed fish, it seems it would take a rather large red ear to eat your flies (unless you found some small cord). Your flies might be more effective on bass than sunfish.

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A foam based floater might be better some days, I may have to buy Al & Gretchen's book to see a picture of Hoffman's floater. I was fascinated that they can cling to the water surface.

 

apple snails, which I had never heard of appear to be aquatic according to the references I found although there are pictures of them laying eggs one exposed grass stems; https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ampullariidae

https://myfwc.com/research/freshwater/species-assessments/mollusks/apple-snails/

http://entnemdept.ufl.edu/creatures/misc/gastro/apple_snails.htm

Apparently the Fl wildlife people believe redear eat these snails, as it was mentioned in one of these articles.

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