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Fly Tying
Mark Knapp

Don't you just love it when a plan comes together?

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Last year I started ice fishing a lake that I had never fished before for lakers. Harding Lake is particularly challenging to fish and because of that it earned the moniker "Hard Luck Lake". The people that fish it successfully (and there are only a few) are extremely tight lipped about how they do it. One guy posted in a chat forum "If you ever figure it out, keep your mouth shut".

 

So challenging is the fishing there that the average time spent to catch a fish there is said to be about 30 hours by the guys that know how to do it.

 

The good news is, the lake is managed for trophy fish with a minimum size limit of 30 inches. If you do catch a fish there, it's likely to be a big one. Lakers from 30 to 36 inches long are typical. I've never heard of anyone catching smaller fish than that though I'm sure it must happen.

 

I fished the lake for 108 hours last winter and never caught a fish. We're fishing in waters up to 125 feet deep and a fish finder is an absolute must. You spot a fish on the finder and make an offering. We try to induce a chase by waving the lure in front of the fish and when he goes after it you pull it away from him to get a strike. Last year I had 21 chasers and no biters. None of the production lures I was trying worked, nor did the buck tails I tied.

 

This year I'm at it again. I fished about 20 hours and decided to try something new. After doing more research I found that the primary food source in the lake is Least Ciscos, a small bait fish in the whitefish family. They are silver and about four inches long.

 

In another thread, "What are you working on?" I posted that I was tying up some jigs to imitate the Ciscos. Here they are.

 

 

DSCF3188-X2.jpg

 

I used polar bear hair, flashabou, skull heads and a few other things.

 

Yesterday, was the first day I fished one and guess what, IT WORKED.

 

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A thirty incher, about 12-14 pounds. I let it go to make more of them. Can't wait to catch more.

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You should black out all the references to THE lake ... or the "keep-your-mouth-shut" gang is liable to burn your shack down!

 

Beautiful fish.

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You should black out all the references to THE lake ... or the "keep-your-mouth-shut" gang is liable to burn your shack down!

 

Beautiful fish.

And thats why today Mark makes custom knives instead of working as a professional magician -

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Gosh, I really hope they don't burn my shack down, that might make me mad.smile.png smile.png

 

It's really funny, the lake is huge, lots of room for everybody. Not many people are going to want to fish that hard for one fish anyway. It's like "We're having fun but we don't want you to have any"

 

I'm going back for a 40 incher this weekend, and the rest of the winter till I get one.... and the next few years till I get one.

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and for someone like me - only 3500 miles away, he could post mile markers and the name of the lake until blue in the face - and it would go right over my head... Maybe that's why I'm a bit free with info about the Park I fish in most days... Everglades National Park is only 90 miles by 90 miles - all told (and that's only a fraction of what was the 'glades a hundred years ago...

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FYI Mark check out Gunnar Brammer's site for streamer patterns, techniques, and tutorials.

 

One I think you will like is his Trutta's Demise (change materials to match your baitfish).

Go to : Brammer's Custom Flies - where realism and fishability colide! https://streamersbygunnar.com/

Click on : Articulated Streamers https://streamersbygunnar.com/articulated-streamers

Scroll Down to : Trutta's Demise

For Tutorial : Click on image and open Go to Link at lower right

This streamer uses a two hook design with a Flymen weighted mask, the marabou and tail feathers give it lots of life.

A. Most predators hit the head to stun it that is what the front hook is for B. The back hook takes care of short strikes.

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fshng2, thank you very much, I will check them out. This is a "one hook" fishery so I will have to clip the hook off of the front. Thanks a lot, I appreciate it.

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You are welcome Mark.

Another great vid regarding articulating; Gunnar addresses one hook fisheries at 18:05.

Tie Like a Pro, Ep. 2 Articulating Flies https://streamersbygunnar.com-a-pro/tie-like

Articulated shanks can be used instead of cutting a hook.

Rule of thumb to take advantage of the way most predator fish eat and stun bait; short shank at front of fly, or long shank at rear of fly.

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Fshn2, I watched the videos, very informative. I like his tutorial style. I have some extra challenges being i'm fishing vertically through ice, (right now) and I have to get down to 100 feet down. I have to use a jig hook and I have to weight the with at least 1/2 ounce of lead. I will incorporate some of his stuff into these jigs and will certainly use his tips for fly fishing. Thanks

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