navigator37

A new addition to the fly pattern database has been submitted by navigator36: Glow Minnow

The red beads remind me of apples. I'm using a Nikon D300 or D70 with a 70-300 telephoto lens. The telephoto at 70mm has a close range of only 6 feet away. However, when you put a magnifying glass 10x or so on the front it turns the telephoto lens into a macro lens. I was shooting from 1 to 2 inches away from the subjects. No focusing, just keep the lens at 70mm with the magnifying glass on the front. Move the camera forward and back from the subject to get it clear. Cheap, cheap macro.

Thanks for the comments. Feel free to use them as you like lykos. Sunlight would have made the shots alot better. Have to try that next time.

Awesome shots! We have loads of squirrels around our place now. Gotta shoot them sometime too.

Shot these today using a cheap macro setup.

Yellow perch in Siberia. This is amazing to me as I have never seen perch this big before. Around home here, 8 inch perch are common. Just imagine going to this lake in Siberia and using about a 4 or 5 weight sinking line with some streamers. It would be unreal. Siberian Perch

Haven't tried the TiCR or Axiom from TFO for pike but have the TICR 4 weight which is a nice rod.

I was just a kid and was up in northern Saskatchewan. It was evening and I was standing at a small trout creek In the Narrow Hills. I had all I could get my hands on at the time. A cheap 7 weight rod, a bright orange level line and 10 lb test mono leader. On the end I tied a small white dry fly. The small brookies were rising on the creek and I made a sloppy cast out and watched the fly as it bounced slightly on the riffles. The fly began to drag and skate when a 6 inch brookie took the fly down faster than I could blink. As he turned, he hooked himself and with my heart pounding, I hand stripped him in to the bank. I was in awe of this little trout in my hands. Even in the fading light, it's colors were amazing to my eyes. I carefully took the hook out and held him a moment longer when he suddenly flopped out of my hands and into the creek. Do you remember your first fish on the fly?

Pike rods... A 10 weight Lefty Krey signature series 2 piece ( a little bend to it but thin and strong) An Okuma 2 piece 10 weight ( light as a feather and stiff as a broom handle ) A 2 peice 10 weight Phleuger ( a little heavier than the Okuma but stiff too) Lastly was a bad purchase. A 2 piece 10 weight Ugly Stick fly rod. A few independent reviews stated that it wasn't nearly as heavy as you would think for an ugly stick. When I got it delivered and took it out of the tube, Ohhhhh my gosh! I don't care how big you are. You could never cast with that thing for long without damaging your joints. It's tough as nails however and sits in storage as a backup should I need it.

Use to use SA when I first started. Now using Rio, the deep 7 stuff is wicked for getting deep fast. Also using the Cortland for pike. Using Rio gold 3 weight for panfish...excellent line so far. Shopping around now for an intermediate for pike and don't know what I will go with. maybe the Cortland Precision little Tunny or Cortland Ice Blue type 1. We'll see.... Read reviews about the sharkskin series and heard good and bad things. The noise factor didn't occur to me. Some say that it's so rough it will eventually damage some guides on the rod. Also if you strip line alot that it will take the skin off your guide finger. Think I'll just skip it.

Sorry about the instructions. Before the hackle is wound on the shank, the body has a second strip of rabbit wound around it to the hook eye. Simply trim the long rabbit strip body down, so the hackle wrapped around it later shows itself. If the rabbit strip wound body was left as is, the hackle would be buried in the long rabbit fur. Flashabou or krystal flash by the tail. Good idea.

Look like killers. I know the perch pattern would be great in some of the pike lakes around here.

Weird stuff? -Some tassels off one of my nieces old bicycle handles. Looks like thick flashabou. - Tinfoil for a streamer body - Pillowcase feathers - Ziplock bag for shellback - Fur from a dog brush ( poodle fur ) I guess if I looked back to the beginnings of my fly tying days, I could remember more but that's all for now.

The fly, depending on the steel leader I use, can go either way. Most of the time it will flip so the wing is on top. The bucktail will pulse in the water when it gets wet but very little.

A new addition to the fly pattern database has been submitted by navigator36: Bunny Bugger

It does take a while to tie. I used very stiff bucktail as the wing so it doesn't move much. It helps make it more weedless. The flashabou sparkles well to give the fly some flash.

A new addition to the fly pattern database has been submitted by navigator36: The Rooster Fly

Thanks for your input on this. I'm going to try the smaller flies anyways to see what happens. Next question...Long or short shank hooks for pike flies?...just kidding.

Awesome looking leech imitation. I like the streamlined look to it. Always had trouble with marabou in that it flared too much. I guess I use too much maybe. That pattern reminds me of the giant green and black leeches in northern Saskatchewan.

I'm familiar with Diefenbaker pattern but never used them. I guess you bring up another good point with catching other fish besides pike with smaller pike flies. At a place with many types of fish, you could widen your options for other species. Diefenbaker is a good example. Pike, walleye, goldeye, big rainbows, etc...all fair game using one small pike fly.

Hello all. Just wondering if everyone here is focused on tying only the largest pike flies they can. I recall from my past that most of the larger pike I caught when using hardware, were on walleye sized jigs and regular size spoons, etc. That was before I use to fly fish for pike. Many of the record pike I see being caught are taken by accident on a simple minnow on a single hook and such. Last year, some guys in Saskatchewan, caught a 47.5 lb pike on a single hook and leech or minnow while fishing for walleye. I understand the attraction factor a pike sees with a larger meal. But would a large pike hit a smaller fly just as readily if offered in a situation where you were normally using a giant fly? This year, even with my 10 weight, Casting giant bunny flies and even some synthetic patterns, was tiresome. I have decided that for next year, I will downsize many patterns I made to see if I can attract a big pike as easily as with a larger pattern. The flies below are tied on size 1 and 2 hooks as opposed to my usual size 1/0 to 3/0. Maybe this is a silly post to the giant fly guys out there but I was curious enough to inquire about your thought on this.

Yeah, I always forget about the half price stuff after the holidays. Couldn't resist buying now though as cheap as it was. Made a fly just now. That fake hair is good streamer material.

I was by the Dollar Giant today and figured I'd check it out to see if they had anything I could use there. I always keep my eyes peeled when Halloween is coming up for this kind of stuff. Awesome finds and dirt cheap. Synthetic, fine, fish hair type stuff, feather masks and mylar flash material. Christmas is a great time for all this stuff too. Don't forget to start browsing the dollar stores now till Halloween for this stuff.

Great tips. Thanks. I'll try the superglue and the mono idea. I have some mono thread that is very thin and should work well.

Hi guys. Recently, I started putting eyes on my streamers. I use different brands of flat, stick on eyes including the mirage version. However, upon applying the cement to the head, the cement seems to detatch the eyes from the fly. The eyes seem to react from the cement, no matter what kind of cement I use. Do you glue your eyes on first with something like superglue and then cement the head later? Eventually I manage to keep the eyes fastened down properly but it's frustrating. Any tips?