robow7

After 20+ years of use and never using any lubricant whatsoever, my Regal began squeaking a little when opening the jaws.  A quick shot of WD-40 and it's now been quiet for a couple years.    

"This spring, two different broods of cicadas — one that lives on a 13-year cycle and the other that lives on a 17-year cycle — will emerge at the same time from underground in a rare, synchronized event that last occurred in 1803."

Could make for a loud summer around here.

I mostly fish smallies and often in low, slow, and clear water so longer leaders can make a difference.  A long time ago I read one of Lefty's articles on making leaders and he suggested keeping it simple with 3 pieces of Berkley Big Game Mono.  And so from that came my typical 4ft of 30 lb test, 3ft of 20 lb test and 2-2.5  feet of 10 lb test which has worked well for me for a very long time.  

Some fly reels such as Lamson recommend absolutely no lubrication of any kind.  Me, I clean the internals as well as possible and use a single (OK, maybe 2 drops) of Lucas Gun Oil, never grease.  But back in the day when I was a boy we would definitely grease our Mitchell 300 reels or the sound could be deafening, ha.

The very definition of a flashlight,

A convenient place to carry 2 dead batteries. 

Yep, Doug's Bugs craft fur was great quality.  You got twice the amount you receive today and for less money.  Years ago, a large fly fishing shop, maybe in California?  called something like the Western Fly Shop, anyway, when it closed, I bought every pack they had of the colors I normally like to use.  Sadly, I've got very little of it left, including my favorite "polar bear" white

I'm interested if the new Spartan can hold large hooks well.  Many years ago, I owned a Spartan but because I tie a lot of bass (and back then...pike) flies, those larger hooks had a tendency to slip.  It was great for the medium and smaller stuff but it didn't suit my needs and I sold it to trout guy who loved it.

I just recently got my first box of poorly tempered Daiichi hooks.  I've had several of the 1150's just break off within the curve of the hook just by placing in my vise.       

Craft fur within a dubbing loop, baitfish pattern.  Tied on a Gamy Octopus 1/0 hook.

• Thank you gillage.  That's the article.  Now I can't vouch for the results but maybe something worth investigating.

I once read an article by Fox Statler, an Arkansas fishing guide, who showed how a nymph could be made to ride side up or down depending on how you tied it on. He used a loop knot that went through the eye of the hook and then wrapped around the eye in a specific orientation (difficult to explain).  Maybe someone can dig up that article with photos as I'm having difficulty finding it but the photo below gives somewhat the idea for it. Fox was an outstanding fisherman known for his sow bug and scud patterns but sometimes his strong opinions were difficult to discern from the facts.  

Many years ago, Zonker patterns were all the rage for smallmouth bass fishing.  They were a HOT item but then fly pattern fads can be fickle and now you rarely hear about them, but of course they can still be very effective.

2 hours ago, niveker said:

I don't see why you couldn't, as long as the shank was long enough for your purposes, but aren't they an off-set hook? 

@Philly  or @Capt Bob will probably have more insight.  

 

Yes, in that the upward point angles away slightly from the downward shaft.  This particular hook above is very strong and stiff due to the heavier wire used and wondered if that might impair penetration vs. a thinner gauge hook ?  Or do others pay any attention to that other than say Capt. Bob who targets larger than average fish.

Has anyone ever used Octopus hooks for larger streamer or baitfish patterns ?  Just wondered if there were any pros or cons of this design and were hook ups decent ?  I've been tying up some larger Hollow Flies for bass and wondered if these might work well since I need a shorter shaft but wide gap hook (and Gamakatsu Octopus hooks are readily available around me)  As always, thank you for your input.

How about a Royal Wolf ?

I saw this youtube video on the subject of tungsten beads recently and it might give you some food for thought.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ocflyEmdHKk&ab_channel=EricLeslie

Also, though I've never used them, Tube flies generally have their single hook at the most posterior portion of the fly and not near the head, so I'm presuming it works.

4 hours ago, Easternfly said:

You can reuse them if you secure them at the hook eye and not behind the fish eye. 

Do you mean by placing mask on and then starting thread and really over wrapping in front of the mask and just behind hook eye ?  I didn't know if the mask would rotate and not stay in proper orientation ?

Easternfly, off topic I know, but are those Fish Mask fish skulls reusable or shall I say usable without using epoxy to stay attached to the head of the fly ?  Thanks

Also in favor of Byron's suggestions, but if I had to choose, I would select the rear hook.  I'm not a trout streamer kind of guy but I've fished smallies for almost 40 years and I very often get to see the takes and most of the time they will follow up from the rear and inhale the fly from behind, they don't aim for the head like so  many think.  It makes sense because the baitfish can't see what's coming directly from behind like they can in their temporal periphery.  Now in fast water when the fly is really moving and passes by a rock where ole Mr. Smallie is laying in wait, of course he'll just jump out there and crash it without thought to direction of attack.  I've too often witnessed smallies coming up and sipping in a long streamer from behind but not fully and the hook and forward portion of the fly is hanging out of his mouth just before he says "nah" and spits it out.  This happens frequently if the fish are wary and/or the bite is not strong and they're not in an all out feeding mode.  Just my observations and they might not relate to trout at all.

I wasn't complaining as much as I was seeking a solution to the problem.  I'm sorry I didn't realize this had been an ongoing issue and had been discussed before.  Yes, I will continue to use the work around.

It's funny, one of my laptops works fine but the other one doesn't play well with those page numbers and they're set up identically. 

Can someone please tell me why when I click on a page number, the new page won't come up ?  Strange but when I'm on the thread page, I can select a page number from that page and bring it up but when I am on that actual thread, the multiple page numbers won't work.  I've never had this before and am not experiencing this on any other website.  I should also state that the "Next page" button is no longer functional along with the other carrots.

Thanks

4 hours ago, Squeezy said:

I like the sounds of the B10s, only affordable. I’ll keep an eye out for what you mentioned- thank you

Mustad Heritage C61S Streamer Fly Hook

Though I'm not partial to a specific brand, if you go through my collection of hooks, you'll find mostly Mustad, Daiichi, and Gamy in that order.   Btw, I just discovered Mustads new Heritage series with their new Titan finish and alpha point, and they have a hook that matches up exactly with the same size and shape as my commonly used Gamy B10s but of course for less money.  Seems like a really nice sharp hook but won't get a chance to set it into a smallie's jaw until spring.