mikechell

Emergent larval stage: Very easy to mimic with a fly pattern: wrinkly, pink and smooth with very little difference among individuals.

Young adult: Much harder to imitate since each seems to have it's own coloration, fur covering and attitude.

Adult: You could imitate one with a fly pattern ... but would you want to?

You did ask about Madge stages, didn't you?

LaSpanky ... Here's my understanding of leaders and tippets.

Most trout anglers will go into a very long, in depth conversation just on the merits of leaders and tippets ... but Riffle laid it out very quickly.

Leader = tied to the fly line, heavier than the line actually tied to the fly. Allows for very small flies to be presented farther away from the fly line than might otherwise be possible. There are other reasons, but that's the main one.

Tippet = the final bit of line between the leader and the fly. As Riffle said, you can clip and tie a few flies to the tippet, then replace that when it's too short without replacing the entire leader. The tippet also allows for very small diameter line and extremely light flies to be rolled to the farthest extent, even thought they'd be too light alone.

If you are a bream and bass angler like me ... I called it all a leader because I don't have two different lines. I have a length of 6# or 8# mono from the fly line to the fly.

Coming from a former military man ... Ha ha ha ha Your Son's wearing a dress !!!! He won't live this one down even if he does get the upper hand on the "searchers." Actually, he better get the upper hand, or it'll be even worse for him.

Trust me, he has my utmost respect, but at 6'4" ... he's got NO SYMPATHY from me. You can tell him, if he keeps the burka, he can always hide his identity later.

I don't know the correct answer for your question, because I am sure we aren't fishing the same kinds of water. But from my boat, fishing for sunfish and bass, when I am fishing a sinking fly, I use a longer leader. I'll go with about 12 feet of mono to allow the fly a lot of sink room before it pulls the line under. Use some good line flotant and grease up the line before you get it wet the first time.

I am sure there are others here who will have a lot more info on this topic, but there's my two cents worth.

Nice flies, both of you. Way above my pay grade !!!

I do airbrush work, but so far I've not applied it to flies. One of the best color materials for airbrush work is food coloring. Without any water added, they can produce some very vibrant colors. And it will stain just about any thing. Once dried, they usually don't wash out easily. If you are looking for permanent colors for barring, try food coloring.

Just a thought.

Now that's a ruby throated humming bird, if I ever saw one. Pretty lure and I'll bet a LMB would slam it.

If all else fails, use a bobber ... I mean a strike indicator. Some people increase their chances of a hit by tying a sinking fly as a dropper off of a floating fly. If the floater disappears, set the hook.

I fully understand, CTobias. That one WITH the gold pheasant is beautiful. I tie poppers that aren't for "show" too, knowing that a few hits will destroy them. But then, NONE of my flies look as pretty as those Classics.

Thank you for all the answers on the blind hook. Now I've got another one, and this one is just for Mischievous curiosity, Ctobias. Aren't those Classic flies supposed to have a long gold barbel or two above and below that curl into one another at the very back of the lure? It might seem like I am just pulling your string, which I am, kind of.

But seriously, I was looking at several contest winning Classic flies, and it seemed that all of them had that feature in common.

Nice Classic, CTobias. I like the looks of Classic flies, and it's amazing the way you tiers marry the feathers of the wing. But I'll probably never tie them.

I don't want to hijack this thread but, I have a question about the hooks. I noticed some hook for sale, and it was the first time I paid attention to the hook itself. There's no eye !!!

What is the purpose of using a knob on the hook rather than an eye? It seems to me that after you've tied in a loop for attaching the fly to the leader, you've probably offset any weight difference. Just my curiosity smacking me in the head again.

Thank you. I am going to check out the site as soon as I get done typing this. SCOwens, disregard my duplicate question on PM ... got the answer here now.

September's hardly started and already there are some very pretty flies posted. I like that crab pattern, but I'm pretty sure I'm not up to that. Nice natural color combo.

And the website is???

This one's ugly ... extremely! Which probably means I'll catch a bowfin rather than a bass on it.

Poppers made mostly with dollar store materials ...

and the materials.

KayT ... I like those flies. I am with agn, that fire tiger pattern should be a killer.

I do have a question about streamers, though. I am just starting to look into tying some, and I have a problem. The water I usually fish is weedy and worst. filled with laydowns and stumps at best. Rarely am I fishing open water.

Has any one tied streamers to swim hook up? I've tied a few "carp flies" so named because I first saw them on a carp fishing thread. The hair tuft is tied to cover the hook point and make the lure fall to the bottom hook point up. I am thinking of tying streamer patterns to do the same thing. Tie all the fur and flash with the hook in the vise point up.

I am pretty sure I am not thinking of anything new or innovative, so ... what problem am I getting ready to cause for myself?

Looking at the fly tying benches ... you sure can tell who has cats!

That is a pretty looking ant.

I am in Florida, and tying an ant like that is just for fun. I am wary of fishing such a small fly ... catching most 3 inch bluegills. Great tutorial video, though.

I know this sounds simplistic, but I can't believe how many people don't do it. When you watch a video explaining fly tying steps, like whip finishing ... turn the monitor around and watch it in a mirror. You can get a decent sized mirror at most dollar stores for a few bucks.

I wasn't fly fishing, I was using a baitcaster with a rubber worm on it. As I cast down the length of shoreline I was on, a Turkey Vulture (Buzzard) Took off from eating something on the bank. It flew right across my line, which pulled up and hooked it in the neck. It went down like it had been shot. Did you know Vultures can't swim ... especially when being dragged through the water by the neck. It was flapping and croaking and making a racket ... everybody came running. By the time I reeled the bird in, there were about 20 onlookers ... none of whom were inclined to help.

I had a towel with me and was able to cover it's head, which allowed me to grab it and pin it down. I got the hook free and let the bird go. It was able to fly, which it did without even a thank you or a goodbye.

What if you are a terrible tier like me and you use too much material and it doesn't look good ... and the hackle was from some road kill?

Couldn't I call it a Black Tailed Big Ugly Stinky Butt Skunk (That Probably Won't Catch Fish)?

I cannot speak of furled leaders and the application of braided lines for that. But I did try to use some of the braided superline I use for my baitcasters. I can tell you. I was not pleased. Even with very low # mono, there is a certain amount of stiffness. With the braid, there is none. Casting mono, I almost always get the "roll over" that puts the fly out to the end of the leader. With the braid, the fly just followed the line to the water. I had to "double cast" ... or what ever you want to call it. Cast the fly line, and then give a quick pull to make the fly line "cast" the fly. And it would only work if the fly was heavy enough to carry it's own weight the length of the braid.

Cheapskate!!! 7 years? Maybe the ... aroma ... is an indicator. You know, like, it's indicating that you should buy a new pair of waders!!!

I am impressed, though. I can't get a pair of waders that last more than four years. Seams leak, or I tear a hole in them on some unseen pokey thingy in the water. Wading the waters of Florida is not good for waders, I guess.