BassMouth87

Simple, flashy, clean and beautiful, very nicely done man!

http://www.allenflyfishing.com/w501-wet-fly-nymph-1xl/ Pretty close. Cool chart from allen: https://store-cb329.mybigcommerce.com/product_images/uploaded_images/allen-fly-fishing-hook-equivalency-chart.jpg

Someone has gone through and answered every poll from the last 5 years bringing them all to the front page...is driving me bonkers as well.

Digging the look of that fly, we shall see where my next tying binge takes me, need some more practice with Speys and a few more in the box. That fly box is a cheaper wooden box I ordered from Japan last year, the construction is cheap but solid, and wished the magnetic side had stronger magnets.

I have spent some time this weekend replenishing the Tenkara box for this season....only a few more dozen to go! P.S What the hell is with the poll necromancy on the front page...getting really annoying.

Jam:That will swing for sure...saw a few come out of that river we talked about last week...

Iv recently made the switch to veevus, running out my current stock of uni and utc, then all my tying needs will be met using different veevus threads. www.flymart.ca has some reasonable prices on their products.

Some great baitfish patterns so far this month! Eide: That first pattern, care to elaborate on materials? Antron wing? Habanero: Are those tied like the Low Fat minnow?

With what I purchased I have a lifetimes worth of hackle (well almost lol). I have been using lots of the larger feathers from the saddles and capes for intruder wings and hackle of palmering larger steelhead patterns such as fish tacos.

Loon Knot Sense, about $5-7 per small tube, it is not sold for fly tying but is the exact same stuff as their thick uv resin, a cheap way to get playing around. Next you need a U.V light to set the resin, the cheap 9 LED U.V lights off ebay work fine.

Played around some more, think that the combination of the hooks I am using and the pheasant feather shell backs are causing the flip of the fly. When I removed the pheasant feathers and replaced them with a feather slicked with uv resin as a shell back pulled over it stopped the problem of the fly flipping in the water and landing hook point down. As well I changed the claws to some zonker strips for more movement and that fluttering look as the crayfish scutters away from a predator. Love this pattern as it has lead me to create a variation that I am very happy with, looks REALLY good in the swim tests, cannot wait to swing this bad boy for smallies.

I tied up a few to play with and they look fantastic in the water for the most part. My only problem is they don't want to ride hook point up and instead want to fall and land on the bottom hook point down. I love the look and motion of the body and legs but find the claws to stationary for my liking, think I may play around with some other materials, puffs of rabbit perhaps. Love the pattern though and thanks again for sharing, I am betting that these bad boys will be deadly for smallies in the summer.

Amazing, thanks for taking the time to do a write up! I am betting that these bad boys will work wonders on smallies...going to be a bunch tied on my days off here! I am curious about coating the claws with the uv resin, does this create more durability I am assuming? I wonder if leaving them without any treatment would increase the movement of the claws when hopping or swinging it. Amazing pattern, will be playing with some different color variations for sure!

Chef, appreciate it, looking forward to it, materials are ready to go!

Chef, I must have some more information on that pattern and materials, looks like it would be deadly for smallmouth.

If you are from Canada let me know what supplies you are looking for specifically and perhaps I can help, have gotten pretty good at sourcing supplies and materials at really good prices from within Canada.

Posted the step by step for the bead head mirage back scud. Would be interested to see how they work for others on the gills. I plan on posting an article and a step by step each week. The articles will cover all sorts of topics and I have some great ideas and plans in store! The weekly SBS will also be varied from panfish and trout flies, to classics, speys and steelhead patterns. Hope you guys enjoy!

Beautiful tying area, mega jealous!

Thanks shoebop and Mickalo. Expect more pan fish content as I prepare for the spring time thaw....already miss the little guys tugging on the end of my line.

I will be anxiously awaiting to hear how they work for you!

Thank you very much ScottK. If you have the materials I would suggest trying out the bead head mirage back scud...was easily the most deadly pan fish fly I used last year. I am working on putting together a SBS for future posting to the blog but its a simple enough tie. 3/32nd bead head or even some lead/lead free wire around the hook shank. Start your tying thread, work back to the bend of the hook, you can tie in a small tuft of dubbing to form a bit of a tail if you want, sometimes I do this othertimes I do not. Bring your thread back to the front, tie in your copper wire along the near side of the shank to the back, then catch in your mirage tinsel along the top so you can pull it over like a shell back. Make a dubbing noodle and dub the body so it is tapered. Pull the tinsel over the top of the body, secure it behind the bead and then rib with your copper wire. Quick tie, works good in sizes 8-14, and is easily my favorite fly at the moment for pan fish and small trout.

Not sure exactly what you are trying to say? You think its inappropriate to post a link to a blog I have just started about fly tying and fly fishing on the boards of a fly tying/fishing site that I frequently post and participate in so that others can see what I am posting and perhaps learn, question or ponder the content I am posting about? Seems like a relevant post to me considering I have no financial or other interest in people visiting my blog other then sharing ideas.

Huh?

For the last little while I have had the thought of starting a new blog focused mainly on fly tying to share my thoughts, ideas, flies and interest with other like minded people. In the few other hobbies that I have been obsessed with over the years I have found myself writing articles and tutorials to help share my ideas and passion and hopefully get other people interested and involved. I feel that it is now time that I do the same with my current obsession, passion, addiction, that being fly tying and fly fishing. It has been a few years since I have written or shared much with anyone so please bare with me as I work the kinks out and blow the dust off so to speak. I have started the blog with an introduction of sorts explaining how I came to hold a fly rod in my hand, and then the first article that has been posted today to kick off the blog is something I call the Pan Fish Formula. After spending a few hundred hours each year fishing the same pond for pan fish I have made some observations about fly selection in relation to catch rates. I am posting this as more of an idea and method of how I approach this pond now after putting so much time in on it. I am curious if this method translates to other ponds, bodies of water and am sharing it in the hopes that perhaps it does, or at least maybe some small tid bits and sections can be used on other anglers home waters to create more excitement and action while on ponds. Expect to see fly tying step by step's, articles on my ideas, theories, trouble shooting through different tying dilemmas and much more. It will sort of be a catch all for fly tying and fishing so that I do not have to constantly harass my facebook friends with posts that relate to my fanatical obsession with the sport. Without any further a due I present to you my new project for 2014, Fanatical Fly Tyer . Any input or thoughts would be greatly appreciated.

I have heard good things about howards hackle but never have ordered from them personally. Seems there lower grade saddles and capes run around $50-55 but are great for tying, the grade 3 saddles I have seen are huge and beautiful. Aside from that I would recommend finding a friend in the states to re-ship you some hackle from Collins hackle farms. I got 6 saddles and 6 capes for $200, would have cost me around $600-700 for the same saddles and capes here. Also if you have any fly tying events in your area it makes for a great way to get some good deals on tying supplies.