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Fly Tying

captkenroy

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About captkenroy

  • Rank
    Advanced Member
  • Birthday 01/11/1942

Previous Fields

  • Favorite Species
    Tarpon
  • Security
    22

Profile Information

  • Location
    Crystal River, FL

Contact Methods

  1. I use the Snell Knot almost 100% of the time, whether snelling an end loop or simply snelling on a leader.
  2. I'll second the Strike King glasses Mike. I no longer need prescription for distance vision but still need a correction for reading (knot tying). I bought a pair of stick on magnifiers that work just fine. I cut them very small, just for knot tying. They aren't even noticed when fishing or driving. I keep my glasses in an old Costas box when I am not wearing them. I've worn glasses for 60 years so I know how to protect mine
  3. A lot of it boils down to dentition. Species evolved to fit their niche. Sheepshead developed Sheep like teeth to nibble on barnacles and crush molluscs and crusaceans. There are a lot of species that fill this niche in various parts of the world. Mackerel species slash at their prey, often biting it in two. With mode of attack, any old strike will work. Wherever they hit a prey fish, they cripple it so the next pass is easy. Big mouth and small prey, they can engulf the first pass. Lures with hooks far back are more effective for the Mackerel family Fish with grasping teeth like Stripers, LM Bass, Grouper and Weakfish aim for the head because grabbing a fish far back isn't nearly as effective and the baitfish can get away. I remove the tail hook from the Mann's Stretch 30 when trolling for Grouper. It is safer for me and for the fish I release plus I don't catch so dang many Mackerel and Kingfish. I fish mostly for Snook, Tarpon and LM Bass. I fish with big flies with the hook way forward. Redfish are really strange to me. Thier mouth is under their head yet they chase mullet and other baitfish like Snook and Bass. Their under slung mouth with no grasping teeth gives them a distinct disadvantage but they somehow manage to feed themselves.
  4. Here is a photo of a local (Crystal River, FL) Killifish species that looks a lot like your fly.
  5. Some guys would never consider chumming when fly fishing. Not me, man! When I was guiding, I always had chum aboard or knew darn well where to find what I needed. It often made the difference between fish and no fish and saved me from fruitless poling or sculling when the water was murky or the wind howling. Read on. Fly Fishing Tip #64 Chumming for the Fly Fisherman In my first book, The Book of Fishing Secrets, SW Edition, there were 6 separate tips on chumming. While some of them would work for fly fishing, Fly Fishermen deserve a tip or two specific to fly fishing. Of course these tips will work for other types of tackle. When chum is mentioned, the first thought for most fishermen is ground Menhaden or Menhaden oil. I’ve used hundreds of pounds of Menhaden and I’ll likely use more but I am here to tell you that there are other chums that will appeal to a larger number of fish species. Likely, Menhaden chum will catch more Mackerel Kingfish and Tuna though. Crushed crab, shrimp and a few mollusks like Scallops, Oysters and Clams are attractive to more shallow water fish and are generally readily available right where you fish. I usually obtain crabs and Oysters off the nearest Oyster bar or rock pile then crush them where I deploy the chum. It doesn’t get any fresher. Chum made out of crustaceans and mollusks doesn’t leave much of an oily slick so you can’t tell where the chum line is going. I add a little cooking oil to the crushed critters. I doubt if the oil attracts fish but it lets me know where the scent is going. I try to avoid chumming where the current is strongest. Instead, I chum behind a bar but on the edge of the current. There are at least two compelling reasons for doing this. Fish that come out of the current and into the flat water behind the bar are easier to see so sight casting is an option. If this spot has a clean sandy bottom, so much the better. It is often hard to see fish in the current. Fishing for fish that are out of the main current is far easier because you don’t have to fight the drag of the current on your fly line. I’ve intentionally left out 2 of the most important aspects of chumming for fly fishing, saving them for last. First, I don’t chum right at the boat. I want my chum about forty feet from the boat or where I plan to fish from. (Sometimes I get out of the boat to cast.) Forty feet is a comfortable casting distance and is usually far enough from the fish to where there is little danger of spooking them. Fish that move all the way up to the source of the scent will mill around, hunting the source of the scent, often giving you a chance for multiple casts. If the source of the scent was right at the boat, fish would come that far then spook. Second, I can anchor my boat away from the chum where I have the best sun angle for seeing feeding or approaching fish without them detecting my presence. This ain’t Rocket Science. Fly Fishing Tip # 65 Chum Bat Check out the little “Wiffel Ball Bat” shown below. Notice that the fat end has been cut off at a slight angle. Chum bats are commercially available now but we cut off the toy bats several years ago. Put a handful of ground chum or broken shrimp or crabs and sling them with the “CHUM BAT.” With a little practice you can distribute a good volume of chum a surprising distance. This is a valuable inshore fly fishing technique. The CHUM BAT originated in the Florida Keys and has spread all the way to at least Texas. One little tip for construction your own CHUM BAT: Choose a dark color bat rather than a bright fluorescent one. There is far less chance of spooking nearby fish with a dark bat than with a bright and flashy one.
  6. A sure fire way is to tie Clousers on jig hooks like the Eagle claw 314.
  7. Need a "How to" on this one. I'd like to troll one of these puppies for Tarpon. Black/gray/white with a Pulse Disk ought to be a killer
  8. I haven't had a call for a seminar iin several years. Of course I don't advertise anymore. One of my favorite things to teach in my seminars was wire rigging and how to make all sort of things with wire. I wound up putting these seminars in a book called "The Book of Fishing Secrets, Saltwater Edition." Right now I am working on a Fly Fishing E-book and a Bass Fishing E-book as well as getting a novel ready for publication. If anyone is interested, I'll post a tip or two from these books. Unfortunately, I don't know where to post the tip.
  9. Back when I was giving seminars I had 3 of these hooks made. I tied knots with 1/2" soft braid nylon. It was easy to follow the demonstation from 50 feet or more. People in the audience were furnished with 12/0 Mustad 3407 hooks and a 3' length of parachute cord with burnt ends. Of course, the points were cut off the hooks we furnished to participants. Amazing how many people who pocketed their hooks and line rather than returning them. I've lost 20 out of 100 more than once. !2/) hooks are expensive but not nearly as expensive as these 50/0 stainless hooks. Somebody swiped one of them too.
  10. Not in Florida! Statistics are in your favor but gators have awesome capabilities. I've been around them for 72 years and I have a healthy respect for them. In brackish water we have both Gators and Bull Sharks--even in 3' of water. Not me, man! http://i247.photobucket.com/albums/gg129/captkenroy/gator1.jpg
  11. Oh yeah, the sink drain will definitely work. Right now, the biggest thin wall stuff I have is 7/8' (22mm).
  12. Yep. 45 ACP is just fine. To cut round bodies, punch out the primer and screw a self tapping screw into the primer pocket. Cut off the head and chuck the screw shank into your drill or drill press and cut a bunch of bodies.
  13. I sharpened the mouth of a .45 Colt Long case then crimped it with pipe Vise grips to get the desired shape for a foam spider. I'm working on a piece of 1" steel conduit. It does not sharpen easily. Unfortunately, the wall is a little thick. Any idea for a 1"-1-1/4" thin wall tube or pipe? I need to find some steel .45 cases. The harder material ought to hold an edge longer. I cut the bodies by laying the foam material on a piece of Starboard then tap the cutter with a small hammer. http://s247.photobucket.com/user/captkenroy/media/spidercutter.jpg.html
  14. I wish I could do that. I'm too lazy, though. I'll stick with foam.
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