salty fly

Thanks, The brass tube in the pic is 5/8'' I think. For smaller bodys the tube fits in the chuck of the drill. The nut driver is held in with JB weld Kirk, JB Weld, you can fix any thing with that, held the nut driver in there good,I have 2 sizes that way. The pencil sharpener for the larger bodys is from one of those jumbo pencils at the dollar store, I have 4or 5 sizes of them for different body sizes.The tip on the other post with the sanding block is a good idea, it could work good for my small pan fish poppers. I have seen your your youtube videos, found them looking at Copic air brush videos,really cool. Your paint jobs are insane, so much depth.

Kirk, Time spent, Then I will be around a while I guess more time to make stuff, fish and be with my famley. It does take time but what else do I got but time.Do all this work just to feed them to fish. Thanks for checking out my stuff.I just did a new post on how I make my bodys.Ya know, the pencil sharpener does chew the wood, some worse than others, mabey the grain of the wood? I just sand and sand. then sanding sealer and some more sanding,,,Ya know. I should give the spin trick a try.

Tools I use brass tube in drill. Drilling plugs.The drilling tool is as long as two popper bodys, the blue tape line.I do not drill all the way through the balsa block, I stop at the tape line on the bit I cut the block at the marked line. This way the plugs dont get stuck in the bit, the plug falls out of the block.. Useing a pencil sharpner you sharper bolth sides of the plug. Then cut at a nice angle,no set degree just nice. Now I have some popper bodys,kinda,almost. Then a lot of sanding, a little zip with the Dremel tool for the cup in the face, just nuff to make a nice pop. Now the bodys are ready for hooks, primer, paint and epoxy finish. up on the fly tuner they go. Now you have finished light, tuff, home made balsa popper bodys. Tie on some simple dressing and rip some lips.

I forgot to say that I use a pencil sharpener to get the body first shapeing. I am gona do a post how I stard the popper bodys. Thanks Bryan

Hey thanks a lot you guys. Keeps me out of trouble. Kirk, To make the bodys I use a brass tube,useing my drill,I make plugs cutting it out of a solid block of balsa. Then it is sanded by hand to shape. I put about 4 coats of 2 hr. epoxy thined out a bit with 91% isoproply alchol.For the cup in the face I use my dremel tool,I like it if my finger tip "feels" good in the cup.The dubbing on the chart. is simi-seal dubbed in a dubbing loop.The purple one has a rabbit fur collar in a dubbing loop.The poppers cast like a dream,I can chuck them all day. IF you guys want I can post some pics how I make the popper bodys,It is eazy and fast way to make nice balsa popper bodys.

Thanks guys

I did tie some for carp. on a size 6 hook.Insted of useing wire dubbing brush,I did a dubbing loop, to keep it lighter. works good fpr carp.Also I tied one with TMC 8089 #2 a bit larger than the TMC 811s #4. I have landed three speices of fish on this fly,Barred surf perch,Carp and Large mouth bass. Thanks for checking out my stuff

I saw this the other day,my wife said, is this guy a joke,how can you watch that.I did not tell her it was a joke.

This Daddy Is Tied on a TMC 5263 #2.I put a small bend in the shank of the hook about a third way back,to put some kick in the tail.Not that you can see but there is a gold 7/32 dazl-eye right about where the claws and legs meet,it is all wraped up in dubbing and feathers.The first 2/3's are wraped with non- lead wire. -legs are tied with, coffee grinder rug yarn spun in dub loop,orange grizzly schlappen,orange/orange-black flake sili legs -The shell is thin craft foam,colored with sharpies. Then coated with Softex.Ribbed with red uni-wire. -claws are rabbit strip. -mouth parts/eyes/feelers/ we got the quill from hackle,squirrel tail mouth parts and little mono eyes.

Getting ready for top water as spring and summer come on.These are the first batch of basla poppers I have made with the fly tuner I made with microwave motor.Thay are hand painted with a brush,Testors and finger nail ploish are what I finished them with.The larger poppers are tyed onTMC 8089 #2 hooks. The pan fish poppers are tied on a size 8 hook. deer hair bass bugs,TMC 8089 #2 Thanks for checking them out.

I SUCK at casting, surf fishing I get a lot of fish in close rips and holes,. But the outer sand bar or more "fishey water" always lay just out of my casting range. With a 330 grain shooting head, a good cast for me is around 60-70 feet?. most of the time 50',some times I need to be 75+ feet out to be in the fish.I want to be able to clear the line,the whole running line 100'. I want to get some casting lessons.I saw Lefty on youtube, he zips the whole line, hadrly moving.If one man can do I can do...maybe.

Well I tied this up as a saltwater fly I use for surf fishing,The main body is made from a dub brush I made with squirrel tail rust brown and orange,Rootbeer krystal flash, coffee grinder rug yarn dubbing. Under wing is burnt orange marabou. Collar is orange grizzly schlappen.All tied on a TMC 811s #4 with 3/16 gold dazl-eyes. Well tonight I found it works good for bass,I put in my bass box right be for I left for the lake.The colors of the fly are very crawdadish,This fly has a lot of "life" in the water.

Hook up with this one tonigh, on the rootbeer/orangeish one.looks kinda crawdadie.

Nice hide out

Crotalus, I think we talked. a few weeks I did a post on how i did my brush,they are not the best but it works.I can see the wire a little but wraping the hook, it is just fine . If I really pack it in it slips through the wire,If it is sparse it looks thin and wimpy.I am just messing around and seeing what the fish like. The hand crank works good for me.

That is what I am talking about,I love the fly with just with the dubbing brush body. These flies are made with brushes I spun up,then wraped on the hook.Like Russia said, takes two minutes.I will make a few brushes at a time so I can tie a bunch of one pattern in one color.It has been a lot of fun getting more into blending my own dubbing and makeing the bruhes,Really makes my flies mine.

I had some Mustad 94151 size #1 live bait hooks around,worked good,some white craft fur from the thrift store,BAM cheepie bait fish,catch fish too.

I saw that on youtube a year or so ago,I did some deer hair sliders.The weight of the wire tied on the rear and bend of the hook make the rear end of the fly kick back and forth,It helps to have a little skill with the rod. Nice popper.

I tie them for Barred surf perch,surf fishing Cali.central coast,Tied smaller it is a good carp fly,After work today I got a nice Large mouth bass.on the root beer, kinda crawdadish. It doesnt look like any thing really but has lots of "life" in the water,I guess it looks like fish foodBarred surf perch,this an avg. fish. The fly in the pic is a precurser to the dubbed body fly on the post. Thanks guys,its fun.

and never put down your tools

I can hardly hold one pair without stabbing my or someones eye out(probley my wife)

Some dubbing brush flies.The orange one has a kip tail and peral krystal flash dubbing brush body.grey marabou under wing,grizzly saddle hackle collar.Pearl sili-legs. The root beer has orange and rust brown squirril tail,root beer flash,acrylic rug yarn dubbing, all spun up in a brush,so thts the body of the fly.The under wing is burnt orange marabou with a orange grizzly schlappen collar. All tyed on TMC 811s #4 with gold 3/16 dazl-eyes

Out here in the west,for me the Elk hair caddis.Even I dont to get to fish trout much,but an topwater hit on the Upper Owens river as the sun sets over the Eastern serria,Does not get any better.

Get some! I was able to tie some good deer hair bugs the first night,thay caught fish too.I got a DVD "Working with hair stacking and spinning with Chris Helm and Wayne Samson"I could not have done with out it. Way to go,Gota love those deer hair bugs.Just gets crazer from here.