gatorjoe

thanks guys

 

i think i need to be tying my clousers differently, the dumbells i use make the thing sink like a rock when i stop stripping...should i be using bead chain?... and does the placement of the eyes on the shank make a difference?

Yes the placement makes a diference. Closer to the eye of the hook will create a jigging action, and the farther back will create more of a gliding action. Try using smaller eyes if they sink too fast, or bead chain. But remember that sometimes it is the jigging action that catches fish. My solution is to tie them in all sorts of weights, lengths, colors, and eye placement.

I wonder if cat hair would make good flies?????????????????here kitty kitty......

I work with dogs and I tied a few flies with hair from the groomers. Goldendoodle undercoat is the best posting material I've ever used.

Wow, sometimes I type stuff and come across as a jerk. I wasn't trying to.

I do use GSP and I have cut it with the hair packer before. Honestly I hate GSP. I find it incredibly hard to work with. I still use it but I have considered switching to Kevlar. I know most say not to use Kevlar for deer hair, but the guy I learned from uses that and only that. I do realize there's more than one way to skin a cat. (Is there really? Isn't skinning animals a pretty universal thing? Lol). And to each their own.

I learned how to spin at a demo given locally by a guy named Tom Ziegler. He does amazing work and ties in a different manner than most. I don't even know how to explain it, but it's not just wrap wrap pull like a lot if guys spin. It takes a little longer but the results are an amazing durable fly. He told us he only spins on bare hooks. My question is, how do you pack tightly with a thread base? I use a brassie tool and it'll cut thread like crazy, so you have to pack before you bring the thread forward for the next bunch. And who knows, maybe I'm doing it totally wrong, which is possible. But I learned from a guy who is great at his art and my flies come out tightly packed and durable so I won't change.

having closely compared the Peak and the Renzetti....I would certainly say the Peak is a better made vise.

 

While its a personal choice and both will suit most people fine...look and play with both and decide!

 

To me the Renzetti seemed cheaper - plastic, aluminum, and rubber (like the previous poster said)

 

The Renzetti may take center stage at cabelas, but that does not make it the best thing out there!

Agreed, I spent a lot of time comparing the two, testing hooks in them, etc, and in the end for the price range it came down to one option, which was the peak.

Tips or tricks?

 

Don't spin on a bare hook shank. Lay down a single layer of thread first. Otherwise your spun body/head/whatever will not be stable and will likely slide around on the hook later.

 

Just my $.02.

 

Anyone else have an opinion on this? I took a class at my local fly shop and was told to use a bare hook when spinning, I'm so confused. I have been getting some nice tight deer hair with it :dunno:

I ONLY spin a bare shank. I haven't posted any pictures of my deer hair stuff cause I can't trim to save my you know what. I also us a different method than what others likely have. If you use good thread tension and make a couple tight wraps on the hook before you move on the the next bunch your hair should not spin. But I don't feel hair spins well over a thread base.

Don't get me wrong, I really like my vise, I just wanted to make others aware of the possible additional costs associated with a Peak when comparison shopping. Vise $143.95 + Midge jaws $37.95 + Riser $26.00 = $207.90 (not including taxes and shipping). In the end the cost of a Peak vise is comparable to a Renzetti Traveler. I can't comment on the quality of a Renzetti because I do not own one, and I have not tried one; however, it seems that Peak is priced competitively with Renzetti when the options are added, and not everyone will want or need the options I chose to purchase.

 

- Charlie

I understand what you are saying, but the riser and midge jaws are not "necessary". The peak has just about as much room as the renzetti, a better cam system, better overall quality. I paid the 143 for my peak, 10 for the d arm and 10 for a material clip. Jaws for the peak are 35 instead of 70 for the renzetti and the peak jaws will hold small hooks, and hold them well, just with less room to work than the midge jaws. It also has a better base than the renzetti for people using the pedestal base like me. If i had to do it again and I had even $300 to spend, I'd get the peak. Honestly. And I will tell everyone who ever asks me for advice on a vice that peak is the way to go.

Go to a craft store for foam! You'll save yourself a lot of money. I buy 12 x 18" sheets of foam in either 2 or 3 mm for 99cents

A great fly for CO is Charlie Craven's Mole Fly. But its tied with cdc which takes extra care when fishing, so if you don't like that then I would not reccomend it. But its a killer pattern and easy to tie.

I have something like 15-20,000 of these bodies around right now. If anyone wants some I can get them to you much cheaper than the fly shop will. I originally bought them they are like 10 cents a piece. I can do much less than that...like maybe 2 cents a piece. Less if anyone wants bulk. I figure 50 bodies for a buck v the 20 or so for 2 they give you at the shop. In bulk, maybe 200 or more I could do $2.50. No shipping charges, I can send them through the mail at the price of one stamp. They are a killer pattern, wrap with red barred hackle or grizzly, either way.

Sally h actually has an almost identical chemical composition as Hard as Hull and is way cheaper.

This is true but Hard as Hull doesn't yellow when it cures like Sally Hansen's does

Agreed, though I know plenty of people who use Sally H with no problems and no yellowing. I use hard as hull when I need cement, which is rarely anymore. I prefer a double whip. The only time I use cement is on the heads of my clousers, and over thin skin and UV knot sense. It takes away the "fingerprints" that sometimes appear on Knot sense if you don't dry it completely.

Fishyboy... That was my point exactly. There are two species fly tiers have to catch, fisherman and fish. Fishermen are usually easier. But I will intentionally tie ugly flies that are quicker totie than their pretty cousins just to see where the boundary is. To be honest it's a lot more towards barely recognizable than most think.

Smokinprice... I realize you were trying to help and appreciate that. I also think you said what you said well and in a very constructive manner. I hope that when I post flies on here (which since I'm experimenting with some breakthrough patterns won't be often) that you will do the same for me. I've been tying less than a year, I'm still basically a beginner and I know there are many places I can and should improve. I too get a little tired of everyone saying good job. My point was not toward you but toward the conversation in general. I hope you understand.

Sally h actually has an almost identical chemical composition as Hard as Hull and is way cheaper.

My response to this fly is simple....its a popper. Meant for bass. Does it really matter what it looks like? I've fished far worse and caught plenty of fish. Just an opinion. I think the fly has lots of potential in subsequent ties.

Thanks for the feedback and compliments, guys. It's interesting how taking a picture of a fly gives a different perspective. The tail on the bugger didn't look too long when I tied it, but when I downloaded the picture I noticed it was a little long.

 

I'm using Gamakatsu hooks for the clousers and TMC 5263 for the woolly bugger. Is that the right bugger hook? I'll play around with different ones for the clousers.

 

I'm really enjoying the challenge of tying and looking forward to trying different combinations. For white bass the clouser will be my go-to fly (when it gets a little warmer), so it will be fun to tie different color combinations and see which catch fish better.

You can shorten up maibou tails by simply plucking out the feathers that are too long. It keeps it from having a cut look and works pretty well.

The clousers look good too, my only advice is to keep them a little more sparse. The advice I got from clouser guys when I started tying is to grab what you think you need, take half of it, then take half of that and tie your fly. I would not cut3/4 out of what you used, but maybe 1/4-1/3 less. Its a personal thing, but I have noticed less is more with clousers. Baitfish in water are pretty transparent. Bob Clouser, AK Best, and many others have all mentioned this one place or another. The color on a baitfish under water is almost always just a little stripe along the top, so think of it as just a flash of color whan you tie the "back". I would shorten them up a little too so they don't get short struck. Clousers are more of a reaction bait, so the back tends to get hit the most. But they all look good and I would fish every one of them. They are much better than my first clousers.

The clouser's top wing is meant to only be tied down in front of the eyes. This allows the material to be fuller in the water and have more movement.

 

That being said, there's no reason why your flies won't or don't catch plenty of fish.

Totally agree. Clousers are one of my favorite patterns, and I tie a TON of them, When I'm rolling I can easily tie 2 1/2 dozen an hour. Just a couple tips, one, don't tie the wing down behind the eyes, not to say you don't catch fish on them, but I think you will find your catch rate going up. Also I find that my best Clousers have a "hint of color". What I mean by that is tie some like you normally would, and tie some with half the amount of top wing, and see which works better for you. Lastly, and this is straight from Bob Clouser's mouth, by way of A.K. Best... Tie Clousers sparsely. Use half the amount of hair you think you need. You should be able to see through one when you hold it up to the light. Baitfish are transluscent. Even this isn't my best example, its a little too "full". It is tied with super hair, not bucktail, I find it much easier to work with as well as being much closer to what an actual baitfish looks like underwater.

Very cool design. You might try gluing a small piece of foam to the tail to make it hang off the bottom. Add's a little more action, and the fish go nuts for it.

Actually the red on the back is mcfly foam tied in with the dubbing loop. It has great action. I know it works, we've fished it. The way its tied, stays weedless until you set the hook and then the tail moves out of the way so the hook can penetrate. I was getting hits on this fly the week before everything froze up here in colorado

A new addition to the fly pattern database has been submitted by gatorjoe:

Senko Imitation

Speed is a factor too.... Don't want to catch those slow moving bass? Speed up the retrieve. Bass will jump on most anything that comes by them if its close and moving right. Cold water means slow bass and slow bass means fish faster for cold water species. Being down deep will put you right in the strike zone as well, so keep it up a little more.

It's a cool looking fly. Some species may short strike it, but if it swims well should be a good bass fly. Bass try to attack the head, thats why texas rigging works for conventional guys. I have flies that catch bass with 4 inches of tail after the hook. Good job, keep working at it. Just remember that different fish like different profiles. Most bass like long skinny flies. Tie to the fish you want to catch and keep tying!