dayhut
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Posts posted by dayhut
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For foam poppers, I go simple - Flip Flop Poppers
https://palmettoflynfish.blogspot.com/2018/05/flip-flop-popper.html
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DAYHUT !!!
How you been, my Friend??? Where have you been???
I haven't seen anything posted from you for a what 6 or 7 months?
I am fine, other than freezing my patootie off for a few weeks in Chicago. Company needs to show how much it hates me once in a while, so it sends me to the American version of Siberia.
Chicago? Yeah, frosty. I used to live in MN, so I feel your pain.
As for me, I've put up a page on facebook and do more with that than anything.
I’ve also stopped tying flies just for the sake of tying. I may pick one up for a new technique, or to modify something that already works. But simply idling time by lashing stuff to hooks is out. I’m more purposeful, I guess you’d say.
I’ve come to the inescapable conclusion that I probably only need a half dozen flies in my box, anyway. In a way, I’m glad I’ve come on this revelation early.
Combined, I spend less time puttering around on fly sites. At this rate, I may never upgrade my vise!
For the purpose of this discussion, here are the top three flies that did the best for me last season:
1. Cockaroo – emerger mimic, peacock/hackle type.
http://www.warmwaterflytyer.com/patterns4.asp?page=3
2. Moodah Poodah – foam/deer hair/rubber leg floater
http://www.flyfishfood.com/2015/05/the-moodah-poodah.html
3. Gierach-style bugger– a Wooly Bugger variant with dumbbell eyes. Kind of an extended length dragon/damesl nymph
Other notables were standard Wooly Buggers, Chernobyl Ants, small parachute-style dries, Briminators
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You've got streamers covered, Joseph. That's the only thing I use exclusively for bass. I fish panfish flies and catch a good share of bass with those. Although, with my latest rod from Steve, that's likely to change.
Here's a list of my flies that I tie up for panfish.
Fluffy popper
Panfish Attractor (my go to pattern)
Copied foam hopper
Floating ant
Newest floater ... the katydid
And a rising star in my box ... soda can minnow
Old Mike Chell - The Florida Fishmeister
How are you doing?
I like the Soda Can Minnow, you guys adding a tail feather. Ive always known them as the "Flutter Fly," without the tail dressing.
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a. I've used tenkara flies for a long time - on standard fly gear.
b. I've also completely disregarded all propriety and hung them off of telscoping poles of every size.
c. I've noted something - they work.
Are they the end all, super duper, best-in-class, only way to catch fish?
Well, I suppose if it was all you had, the answer would be yes.
I also imagine that if you've sunk the equivalent of a mortgage payment into specialized tenkara gear, you might be inclined to rationalize them that way.
But most of the time, I'll refer you to item "c" above.
I now return you to your regularly scheduled debate.
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Jim C., my man! You freeze your keester off yet?
hows it going mcscruff,i mean dayhut
Those would be Jim Cosgrove poppers and spiders... Now, wherever did you get so many??DSCI0001 (2).JPG these work for me
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These are the poppers I cut from foam; the ones on the bottom are natural cork.
These all have various tail dressings, mostly marabou.
This is the bug in question. Instead of tying the legs to the rear, I went towards the front with them.
A bit of Ice Dub at the waist is all that I've added.
I also had a lot of good result from this sort of 'bottle brush' fly. All size bluegill and bass eagerly took them off the surface.
When they finally sink, they make a decent stripped wet nymph and are also likely to be snapped up.
They worked for me in brown, orange, and the black you see here. It's just a variation of the classic "skater" fly.
2x shank length hackle
Gold tag butt on bend
Tie in tag, and hackle, wrap thread to front.
Wrap hackle in touching turns to front and tie off.
Super simple. A fancier version can be found in the famous trout dry fly, the "Crackleback."
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Agreed; but "spider" is essentially a generic term.
The British have wet flies called spiders, flies used successfully for centuries - and they have NO LEGS as we are discussing them here. So the term "spider" is somewhat loosely applied.
However, most will agree that insects, as a whole, have six legs. And that's what were mimic'ing - insects. So while we're calling them 'spiders', we actually mean to simulate any of a gazillion different insects.
The usual thing is to tie a total of four legs (2/side), mostly I think because it's easier...and most people also reckon bluegill to be poor at math.
But, I tend to believe that the closer you can get to reality - while remaining practical - the better. So, I scratched my head for a while and got on to a way to add the third pair of legs.
If you look at 6x insects you'll also note the legs dont all sprout from a single point on the body, the way we usually tie them.
What I did was tie in the legs so one pair swept forward, while the other two swept back.
What I ended up with was a foam insect that splays it's six legs like a real bug.
Am I falsely believing these are better, because I went to all the trouble to figure them out?
Probably.
But I can live with that.
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Ditz,
Yes yes yes.
I do better with bluegill on foam spiders/gurglers, as well.
I added a third leg, for a total of six, and got even better results. This is unscientific, but it SEEMS like the fish went for them more.
I have poppers, and I tote a dozen or so, in orange, black and natural cork. Whether I use them is up for grabs.
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Those would be Jim Cosgrove poppers and spiders... Now, wherever did you get so many??DSCI0001 (2).JPG these work for me
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I tie the same thing with a few changes:
- Dark eyes: black or brown
- I do the twisted rop body like Ditz.
- I add hackle legs.
Same general thing with good results.
Dont wanna fool with all the intermediate wing case business?
Just tie a Briminator and trim away the hackles on top.
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Offsetting the hook, or bending the point out of line with the shaft, has a name:
"Kirbed" and "reversed"
Kirbed or Reversed hook points are said to provide a better hook-up rate as the point does not get deflected by the shank. I've seen what you say; it does seem to make for better hook ups.
Strictly speaking, a kirbed hook point bends out to the right looking straight-on to the shaft, and the reversed hook point bends out to the left.
Hook trivia....
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I reckon a big, furry Briminator should do the trick for carp. Size 6-8.
Olive and orange brown seem to be the favored colors.
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The last one I caught was not exactly an epic battle, either.
I hung the beast on 6 lb test, with a 4 lb leader. A Little Cleo spoon was the lure.
To say I played him gentle is an understatement.
For his part, he got all the line he wanted and allowed me to lead him more than fight him.
He was all of 30" and I was able to get the hook in my pliers. A quick twist and I was relieved of having a big, sharp gar in my kayak.
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Up, whenever possible
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Yep the rope fly.
I take old buzz baits and affix a stripped poly rope. They hit that... All the noise of the prop.
I've never caught them on plain rope lures, though.
But, I do catch them on everything else:
Beetle spins
Little Cleo spoons
Classic Rapalas
Worms on a hook
Live bait beneath a float.
During the summer, they lay up in the back of every cove, around any log or cover.
You can spend a day catching only them.
Their flesh is also delicious, if you can get the skin off without slicing your hand open.
Kinda like shellfish.
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Skip Morris calls this spanning the Bass-Bluegill Lap.Big fish big bait....large or small if you know a big bass haunts a stump, tree, brush, etc. You can often elicite a savage strike by antagonizing or harassing him by repetive retrieves. Spooking him doesn't work of course. I've come back after discovering a good fish and after 10+ casts finally get the brut to bust it. I think it's more invading his space and anger than feeding for sure. This can work in bright sunshine when normal behavior is quite the opposite... Another point is a big bite in the hook gonna land lots more than all those lost w/lil bream bugs. I like to use midsize bugs that will get the occasional bream, make for easier casting, still have enough bite to get bucket mouth. When lots of good bream are around I use small trailer bug or wetfly about 2' behind the popper. Have caught 2 bass at once a few times.
There is a size range in baits and lures that appeals to both - it's an overlap.
I tend to stay there too, especially in crankbaits.
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With all the dressing tied on top, the weight of the hook itself rights the lure so it swims properly.
This is undoubtedly one reason why streamer hooks are made from very heavy wire.
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I fish for bluegill, I often hook bass.
I fish for bass, I don't catch bluegill.
Bluegill it is.
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The still? No.
I'm waiting on the next load of corn.
It takes it a while to get up here by mule train....
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My other favorite bit of lore along these lines, Mike, is the "swatting fish."
Basically, the deeper large fish don't like the surface all that much. They will feed there if compelled to, but they only reluctantly leave their deeper hides. This is one reason why it can take an exasperatingly long time between movements motion to get a strike.
But often enough, when the t
strike comes, it is "short" or seemingly halfhearted. We even think of it as a miss. But it seems the larger fish will swat at a critter they don't immediate recognize as food... To see what happens.
So there's your day-glo popper, all festooned with rubber bits and feathers, just "flub-flubbing" about. The little fish are pestering it, but that's more nuisance than any use.
Suddenly, this action ceases and you wonder what's up. That's when a heart stopping splash erupts right where your popper is... That isn't those little paddlers!!
Seconds tick by and you eventually start breathing again, only to find you got nuttin. You leave it there and flub it a few more times, with no result. Mumbling under your breath about "dull hooks," you pick up the fly and fling it elsewhere.
Wrong move, sir. Instead, calmly and meticulously put it right back in the same spot. There is a fish nearby, hiding, and he is now on the alert. He sees this thing come back, it bubbles a few more times, and he gets irritated. Another swat with his tail and he goes back to watch. This might go on several times, but the game is on; he has tipped his hand.
Eventually, you may rile him enough to commit. This time, he NAILS the popper with his mouth. In his mind, it's put up or shut up. And you have him.
The alternative is the fish leaves, not liking the disturbance. Maybe you knocked the kayak with your paddle in all the excitement. Or your shadow fell the wrong way.
Or he just recognizes that no critter the size of the popper is normal, and they never keep coming back, so he's tails up and retreats.
But there is a good chance you will get him if you just keep putting that bug into his territory.
Besides, what else you got to do?
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I find I get as many bluegill on subsurface nymph flies. The best ones are those that mimic damsels/dragons.
My two faves are the SB Nymph and the Briminator. These are tied small, 12-14 size.
Last season, my two best surface flies were small foam spiders, and bottle brush hackle flies.
I don't wade around the mucky bottoms locally, and I haven't had a drink in weeks. Fishing is about fish and catching them.
Whatever and wherever, in my book.
I do drive a pickup, though... This is South Carolina, after all.
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The most memorable bass take I recall was the first "slurp" I encountered.
I was flinging the oddest little dry fly for bluegill, a small deer-hair G&H Sedge. Pretty random to most folks, I suppose, until you consider how common is the caddis or sedge fly. Bluegill will grab a caddis adult or emerger in a minute.
But I was watching the fly half closely, as action had slowed. Then I noticed movement around the fly, like a hand had brushed the waters surface.
While trying to figure out just what had occurred, my line began to move off in a lateral direction.
I took slack and felt the weight of a fish. Reacting instinctively, I popped the rod tip up... And set the hook on a sprightly bass!
I'd like to say it was a record breaker - seems everyone but me catches only those. But, what I had was a two pound 'rocket bass'... A name I've since given to these smaller 'green trout.'
For all it's frenetic, even manic, gyrations after the hookup, it took that small fly almost lovingly.
Looking back, it only makes sense. We are led by the sporting literature (and perhaps our own selective memory) to believe only monster bass exist, fish that only take giant lures in lake-emptying explosions of rage.
And that's bull.
A 1994 summer study from South Dakota found every game fish netted, of every size, was stuffed with nymphs: damsel fly, dragon fly and a few others. And every fish was there: bluegill, perch, bass, walleye - even pike. It seems that once the water warms and the aquatic drama unfolds, bass feast on the more numerous, if smaller, unobtrusive things.
Sure, they'll take a black bird lure or giant rubber worm if it pisses em off enough. But it appears they feed as readily, and more often, on diminutive things.
Which leads me to wonder: How many decent bass have I missed because I cling to large poppers and sliders... The traditional "bass bug?"
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One of my fave dries is the bottle brush fly.
Trout bums will know the classic Bivisibles, and the lesser Renegade. A close kin is the Griffith Gnat. Real old timers or historians might recall the Stewart Black loch fly or the Hewitt Neversink Skater.
The name, "bottle brush fly," is mine - it's not an 'o-fish-ial' designation. Such a fly is nothing more than a fairly stiff hackle feather tightly wound on a light wire hook. Thus the name, "bottle brush" fly. This is palmering, but each wrap of the quill is tight to the previous one.
I use #10 and #12 hooks for bluegill.
Tie a thin segmented foam body along the hook shank to add a bit more flotation, if you like. A little hook-gape length tail of stiff hackle fiber can also be added. I think a tag of holo-tinsel is nice, but you needn't bother with more than a hook and a feather.
Cool, huh?!
(I've included an example of a Holo-Gold Tag Black Bottle Brush at the end).
I wrap a thread base to the bend, first, and tie in a hackle feather. Then, I lay a light bed of cement on the thread. As the hackle feather is wound on, the quill is "set" in the cement. I end with a small varnished black thread head, just because I like em.
I like a three-fish fly, and these will last that long. Once the cement is cured, the fly is pretty tough - much more so than your average foo-foo dry fly.
The fly can be handled like a common dry on floating line and light mono tippets. I use 3-4#, as a rule. I'd use smaller but I can't see it!
Just cast and let the fly float down to the surface. When it lands, I've seen bluegill come from far off to grab the thing. This is because it settles SLOWLY and the fish can see it coming.
Dangle it a foot above a calm surface and you'll see the bluegill follow it back and forth!
If nothing happens straight away, gently lift your rod tip to drag the fly across the surface. Do this gently and the fly will "skate" across the film. Let it settle again and wait - - BAM! It's liable to be nailed again.
Finally, bottle brush flies can also be fished wet. After a bit they get sodden and will go under. Or you just snatch the fly beneath the surface and twitch it back on the retrieve
Brown, black and orange are good colors, and a little peacock herl can't hurt. Tying them with longish, inexpensive saddle hackle is fine, as long as there are plenty of stiff barbs on the feather.
Edward Ringwood Hewitt said he thought his skater resembled a fallen moth. Others have likened them to a ball of mating midges. Okay, sure, why not; either would represent a hefty meal for a bluegill.
If I was to select only one of these to tie, Id go with the Renegade, as seen here:
http://www.flyanglersonline.com/flytying/fotw2/032403fotw.php
Even simpler is just one feather wound on a hook.
Here's an example:
Poppers Divers etc
in The Fly Tying Bench
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Nice wri
Nice take on the ol' Sneaky Duck