Chefben4

LOL. On my tarpon trips fishing a 13-14wt was a trip. Its a LOT of rod. Luckily with the Mako's I dont think distance is critical, more placement. Ill leave it to the guide to unhook them. I happen to like both my arms. Plus itd be quite a feat to fly fish with one arm.

Im coming to see you!!! You didnt get the message? Haha Im going to San Diego. Ill be fishing for Mako's as well as Dorado and Yellowtail. The shark fly will be attached to a 16wt aka BROOMSTICK. I always tie way too many flies and leave a bunch with the guide. Its kind of like a business card. If they work out he knows where he can get them :-)

Here are some random baitfish and a squid I tied. The squid pattern is a squid deceiver, the baitfish are all based of some Rich Strolis videos (just upsized), and the bucktail fly is one I found online called the G&S Hybrid. This is my first time really tying with fish skulls. We will see how they fish.

Some poppers of varying sizes. The pink/red one is intended for Shark or other large predators. It is on a 10/0 4x strong gamakatsu hook!!

Ive been tying quite a bit lately for a trip Im going on (leave tomorrow). Finally got around to taking some pictures to post up. Ill start a couple topics to separate them a bit. These sliders are some of my custom "predator poppers" basically turned around for a sliding action. If you have questions about the construction..ask! Id be happy to explain. Enjoy.

NIcely done. I will second what everyone else has said. Keep at it!

The sharkskin line feels like 200 grit sandpaper. It is the most I've ever spent on a line. You are. Man up. And stop using that Lippa tool to "protect" the fish and just admit you're scared to touch them... When you guys strip line, do you relax your stripping finger momentarily? That's what I do, then snap it tight at the end of the strip. Maybe that's how I can get away with it. If I was keeping tension I could see how it would burn... Im not sure what kind of fish you fish for but regardless of the line you can get your fingers tore up pretty good from burns. In MI I primarily fish predator fish (aka Musky) and when a 50" Musky grabs your fly and runs its no joke. I had the same experience in Florida with "fast" fish like Spanish Macks, Bluefish, etc. I will say your hands can get conditioned to it to help (aka calluses) but I still have had line burn through and cut me. I always have some tension on line so I can quickly strip set when I get a grab. Without tension I would most likely miss the fish. To each there own! If you can fish sharkskin without em' more power to ya! That stuff is like sandpaper, no doubt there.

I have a custom 10wt Steve (midwest custom fly rods) made for me. The blank is a CANNON. I routinely throw very large flies up to probably 14". Sometimes even with spinner blades on them (I KNOW!! How could I throw a Fly-Lure/flure!!)

No problem! I saved the link of the picture to tie some for my arsenal over the winter. When I get around to making one Ill post a picture. But you are correct, however you want to build the underbody would work. If you use ice dub or something similar it will probably look pretty cool through the mylar.

Nicely done Simon!

No matter how much stuff I have I always seem to be missing something that I want to tie with for a specific pattern idea or wha t not. I go through so much bucktail thats probably where I am the worst. Hard to remember what I have or dont. Not to worried though, Ill eventually use it

I use the same ones as Mike. I go through several of them a year. Between textured line, big fish (sometimes), and long days of fishing, I wont go without them.

Damn saltwater. Haha. PJ is right I have to heavily dose myself everytime I get on a plane coming home from the salt. Love it. I dont have much to add from what everyone else has said at this point. However here are some pics of flies I keep in my box..

Longer leader and weighted flies!

I agree with JS. I love the matte black

I agree great photos! The set of intruder looking flies photo is VERY cool.

Ive tied up to 10/0 with my saltwater jaws without a problem. I guess I shouldn't just say 10/0. They are actually gamakatsu 10/0 4x strong hooks so they are probably even bigger then a regular 10/0 hook.

Id have to agree. I cast a Midwest Custom 10wt all day long for Musky and im no worse for the wear. On top of that the flies are massive!!

To prep this rod I used a razor blade and VERY VERY carefully removed the old grip a little at a time. Being careful the whole time not to nick the blank. Once that was done I CAREFULLY began removing guides by cutting into the threads. If you stay on top of rod foot it makes it harder to hit the blank with the blade. After this I wet sanded the blank VERY lightly with 1000 grit wet sand paper. I used Valspar spray paint for Lowes in I believe sunshine yellow. It took a TON of light applications as Steeldrifter recommended to me. It eliminates drips, heavy paint, etc. After that it cured for about a week before I started on the top coat. For my top coat Steeldrifter mentioned it doesn't matter too much on what you used. I had some expensive Polyacrylic topcoat that I was using for a desk so I used that. I put it on with a foam brush in really light coats, buffing in between. My piece is this restoration was quite small. I just prepped and painted. Steeldrifter is the artist that turned this thing into a beauty. It also marks my 4th rod from him and couldnt be happier.

Double post, my bad

In my neck of the woods Pike are not fond of really warm water. Depending on the water temps you may be into the "dog days of summer". Last year one of the lakes I fish got so hot we had a huge pike die off. In my experience they tend to get lockjaw. One of the flies I tie quite a bit for inland pike is actually the Thomas Harvey Wedding veil pattern or trophy wife patterns. I make them in several colors (bluegill, red/white, all white, all black, black and orange). Try them out and keep at it.

Muskyhunter.. If you are chasing musky on the fly you wont find many useful in there if you ask me. I tie and sell musky flies and would be glad to help you out with some good patterns. Shoot me a PM if youd like.

I have fished the Redington Predator and think its "ok". If you ask me the 10wt is too light. I have heard issues with the TicrX but am a fan of TFO rods. I wouldnt expect to see any discounted rods out of them just because its being discontinued. Dealers are gonna keep them on the shelfs and the normal price if I had to guess. I had my 10wt made custom from Midwest Custom Fly Rods (member "Steeldrifter" on forum ). Its a bada$$ stick made to my specifications for a really reasonable price. I'd suggest shooting him a message and telling him what you want for a quote. You will not be disappointed and many other members of the forum will agree.

Man that rod looks familiar!! Thanks again Steve!

Nice job on the squid! Great picture too.