Piscineidiot

Thanks Utyer, I don't have actual burners, so was resorting to using a pair of strategically placed tweezers. Will keep the shape thing in mind. Thanks! Owen

They are intended for fishing, though I haven't fished them yet. I tend to fish bulky/air-resistant flies habitually considering where I live and get to fish for, so I honestly didn't think they'd be too bad compared to what I normally throw. Was the concern the wings spinning/twisting the leader? Is there a reason why they'd be any worse than other mayfly patterns people tie with organza type wings? I'm more of a salty flyfisher, so the whole trout thing is new to me. I would certainly appreciate some pointers.

Just a little mayfly pattern I invented the other day. These are on No.14's and 12's. Wings are organza. The abdomen is made of stripped peacock hurl coated in clear cure goo with an underbody of foam to help it all float. The legs and tails are heat kinked paintbrush bristles. The red foam back was left that way to make it more visible. Hope you like them!

A pleasure! :-)

Thanks Murray and Mike, I guess I'll just have to go fishing and post up some photos...

Thanks guys. Mikechell, the flies are all foam and herl, so in theory, they should float all day. Smudge a bit of floatant into them and they might even hover!

My realistic 'fly flies', tied with the intention of being fished, so I compromised a little on the 'realism', and focused a little more on buoyancy, durability and movement. These ones are tied on a No.14. There are some No.12 Klinkhammers behind for scale. The bodies are peacock herl over a foam underbody. The legs are black stretch cord. The wings are cut from plastic grocery bags. The eyes are red foam trimmed to shape. Hope you like them! Owen

Hey guys, sorry for the belated reply. I'll try and get around to posting an SBS for you. RE: the tail stiffness - it is stiff, it's tied on a bent piece of stainless steel wire to prevent fouling. Because it's quite thick, it doesn't quite manage a full rotation to the front, and with a quick little strip, the tail lays back like it should without a worry. You could certainly incorporate a stinger hook, I just haven't so there's less to foul things and because the fish we have up here are pretty aggressive when it comes to eating things like these - I'd suspect they'd shoot for the head on something like a mantis to stop themselves getting a mouthful of claw... Glad you guys like it! Owen

Hey guys, Just invented this little fellow a while back. It's a forward swimming, articulated mantis shrimp pattern. The hookless articulation idea came about after I saw some trout flies with a similar sort of idea. I'd been wrestling with how I could build a mantis shrimp with the correct body proportions (little head, long body) for ages, and this was a real light bulb moment for me. Enjoy! Owen In case you were wondering how the tail stays on... (The lump on the shank is formed using CCG and a few wraps of thread).

Yep, colour it before coating with goo - that way the fragile acrylic paint gets sealed in and protected.

Hey guys, Yeah, the theory behind knotting EP fibre and only coating the ends was for just that - movement. I also feel it gives the legs body while offering little resistance while sinking like suede chenille legs tend to. That way, the fly will sink faster with less weight and still sink hook point up. How long is a tricky question... The actual tying itself takes no more than 20 minutes. The prep is the big time consumer - It simply depends on how good you are at knotting and coating etc. I took a coupla hours at it myself, but I'm sure there are people out there who could knock one out in 45 minutes or so. I do intend to fish it - just gotta pick my battles though. I'm thinking clean sandflats... Owen

Thanks Mike Chell, The legs are made by knotting EP fibre and coating with Clear Cure Goo and marking with permanent markers. I'm pretty happy with the way they turned out, being slightly translucent like the real thing. utyer, Thanks buddy, that's the look I was going for

Thanks guys, Will try and invent a little more often in the future. Glad you all liked it - here's hoping the fish do too... Owen

I introduce to you: The Obsessive Compulsive Detail Crab Just a crab pattern I made up a week or so ago - my last for the year, and I think, one to be duplicated in the new one... Hope you like it. Owen

Thanks for the compliments guys. Don't know if I'm going to put it in the database just yet - takes time to load everything up etc. It's actually a pretty simple tie - Just a little unorthodox. The claws are made by knotting unique hair and coating them with Clear Cure Goo and cutting them into shape. The back is clear vinyl available at any hardware store coloured with permanent markers and with notches cut into it for segementation (and to make strapping it down easier). The underbody is dubbing of your choice. Weight-wise, I'd suggest using the heaviest dumbell eyes you're comfortable with and making sure you strap them on underneath the hook point - this should make sure it sinks the right way up even with a minimum of weight.

Hi guys, While mucking about, I decided to tie a fly to imitate what we call the bass yabby in Australia, but I believe is called a ghost shrimp in the US. Anyway, here it is:

Hi djgunter, Like others have said, there's no wrong way to fish a clouser. Mind you, if you're in Fiji and your flats are covered in GTs and barracuda, you might want to use larger ones (4/0 and up). Big flashy profile flies also work quite well, as do over-sized deceivers etc. Generally speaking, the best retrieve for either of these is to strip as fast as you can. Often you won't be able to strip fast enough. As the larger specimens of these creatures tend to be relatively few and far between, I'd advise sight-casting over blind-casting unless you can find some obvious pressure points where the reef drains out etc. that you want to propsect. Besides, sight-casting's much more exciting anyway. Don't forget to use heavy leader too - I daresay a 50lb bite tippet would be an ABSOLUTE minimum. You'll get more bites on mono/fluroucarbon leader, but wire might just help you hold onto that cuda for a little longer. If you're new to saltwater, you should also acquaint yourself with strip-striking and low rod angles. These two are very important if you're going to be playing with big saltwater fish. Strip-striking is the only way you'll reliably manage to sink a hook into a big, saltwater critter, and low rod angles will not only prevent your rod from exploding in your hand, but will also allow you to apply maximum pressure. Using rod angles to confuse and disorient fish is a great way to win the battle quickly. With things like GTs, if you just continue to apply pressure from the same direction, you'll be there for a VERY long time. Their big broad sides and thick shoulders help them turn side on to you and just plane back and forth, saving energy. Mess up their pattern, and they'll knock up quicker. Above all, don't expect to land every one, you'll lose a lot of tackle to begin with. Enjoy! Owen

Thanks mnorton, Tying flies is my creative outlet these days... Like to fiddle with a bit of feather and fluff.

Sorry, Flyfishin'Jam, I didn't have any pizza shapes on hand. Not a bad alternative though. No probs Peterjay, always glad to help out if asked. The fishing down here is pretty good, but you do still have to work at it... I laboured under the misapprehension that it would be completely, blissfully easy when I first moved up here from metropolitan Melbourne (about as far South as you can get on the mainland). Found out I was seriously mistaken. The rewards are much greater, but the knowledge, timing and skill still need to be there. Thanks Angrypinfish - a 6kg (12lb) trevally thought so too, and took it home. Good thing I can tie more...

Thanks for the compliments guys. Sorry, it completely skipped my mind that I hadn't mentioned where I was... I live in Townsville, North Queensland, Australia - About halfway up the Great Barrier Reef. Oh, and yes, the crab's carapace is tan felt with acrylic paint and covered with clear cure goo for durability. Golden trevally are from the same family as your jack crevalle, but these ones feed much more like permit, doing the whole 'tailing' thing and specialising on crustaceans etc. since they have no teeth. They do eat fish too, but have a distinct fancy for things like prawns/shrimps and crabs. They certainly fight like jack crevalle too, taking long, fast runs and being incredibly hard to roll over. Unfortunately, I don't have a direct link to Hiromi Kubaki's crabs... I just typed his name into google and sifted through the files until I found his crabs. They're the ones with deer hair/felt backs and silicone looking legs. He also ties his crabs with lead wire under the body instead of dumbell eyes, which I use (I like a bit of weight). Thanks too for the warm welcome from all of you. I'm sure I'll enjoy being part of this forum - some very talented tiers here. Cheers, Owen

For those who don't know, but are curious, here's a picture of a golden trevally too.

Hi everyone, I'm new here and just thought I'd upload a couple of fly patterns I've been mucking about with lately. I designed these flies with golden trevally and permit in mind. I'm sure they'll also work on what we locally call 'blue bastards', a member of the sweetlip family that turns up on the flats here from time to time. Golden trevally feed a bit like permit, but are generally, much easier to tempt. Either way, all of these fish like crustaceans and feed off the bottom, so the best flies are typically heavy ones. I drew my inspiration for the bird turd crab from Hiromi Kubaki's crabs (Thought I'd tie an easier, more durable version). The mantis shrimp is inspired by one of Dronlee's (a member on this forum) patterns. Anyway, enjoy. Piscineidiot