cornmuse

There is a pattern I've read about and tied called "The Already Crushed Craw" - I think it might be a Skip Morris pattern. I know it is an Oregon pattern. It consists of orange chenille body and white rubber legs. Might have been a sparkle chenille or similar with a green/olive back. The idea is that it mimics a crayfish that has been hit by a smallmouth and regurgitated during a fight or simply swept away before it could be consumed. Fished dead drift, of course. The white, round rubber legs imitate the muscle flesh. I'll have to see if I can figure out where I saw this - it was a couple years ago. I tied a few up to use on Twin Creek which is as clear as any piece of water I've experienced. I know the original pattern was designed for sight fishing smallies in very clear water. To tell the truth, I didn't have much success with the fly. The Foxee Red clouser is a much more effective pattern for me. It's translucent and imitates the color, density and action of a soft craw just beginning to regenerate its carapace. Joe C.

Have you checked out the Mustad Signature series? They have a kink-shank stainless 4xl hook also.

A pair of the feathers from the cape of a rooster pheasant makes for a great wing on a Homberg style fly. I tie one using the "church window" feathers that is a very nice imitation of an immature northern hog nose sucker - an important creek baitfish for smallmouth in the autumn. Also you can use the feathers from the shoulders of the wings to tie soft hackle flies - killer patterns for early summer/post spawn smallmouth. Joe C.

I haven't missed a Nixon pattern swap yet. I'm in. Joe C.

First, look for the deepest water you can find. Especially above dams etc... where the creek is a closed ecosystem, the fish HAVE to winter over. So find the deepest water you can with a rock or gravel bottom. If there is dead wood and a current break you've found the spot. What is deep? If the creek has knee deep holes and you know a place that is chest deep, that's deep water in that creek. It's relative, but find deep. If the weather is pleasant, the fish *may* move to the tail out of the pool or right up to the eddy at the head of the pool. You'll have to search for them. To rig up I suggest a version of float-n-fly I've had some success using for saugeye in the winter. I like a white-over-white microclouser (size 12) tied with plain lead eyes and two strands of flash. Even better is a 1/50 oz chrome jig head with white arctic fox tail and minimal flash. You want a fly that is short, translucent, weighted and has *minimal* inherent motion. DON'T use marabou! Tie this fly to 6' or so of 4lb test florocarbon if the hole you're exploring is 6' deep. Try to keep this tippet about the water depth or just a bit shorter. Use a right-angle leader set-up with the smallest strike indicator that will float the fly or jig. Now, find your target, cast well upstream and mend to get a completely drag-free drift. Watch the strike indicator. If it *rises* in the water column, set the hook. If it moves or bobbles, set the hook. No strikes? Start fishing *shallower* Sometime I find the sauger sit on the bottom of a 6' deep run but want a fly that is running just 2' deep. Counterintuitive for certain. But that's how I catch them! YMMV. Give us a report. Joe C.

I know the panic associated with the words "your biopsy came back positve for cancer". I went through the removal of skin cancer just two weeks ago. While I didn't face nearly the difficulties you're staring at, I can certainly appreciate the enormity of the implication. Keep your spirits up, keep your game face on - in the 21st century science delivers miracles on a daily basis. With God's grace they will deliver one for you, too. You have my most sincere and heartfelt prayers and good wishes. We'll keep some hungry fish in the rivers for your healthy return. Joe C.

If you're not fishing upstream with a dry fly you're poaching. Might as well be fishing with worms... :j_k: 100 years ago it was "traditional" to fish a strip of chamois behind a spinner on a fly rod. That's still one of my favorite artificials. If you self impose rules as to how big a hook you'll use, what kind of materials you'll use, which direction you'll fish and what fish are acceptable to the sport as you love it - good for you! This is so much more than a sport to many of us and as such it should fulfill you emotionally, spiritually and as a form of entertainment. In fact, if you like a good fish dinner, then I have no truck with a stringer of trout, bass or other fish. It's legal, ethical and acceptable *TO ME*. While I might not take fish myself, what you do is up to you.:shifty: It seems to me that if the item tied to your tippet doesn't imitate an insect, it's not a "FLY" be definition. Brits call 'em "lures" for a reason. This is a debate that's decades old and completely irrelevant to the actual practice of the sport. Speaking only for me, if I can cast it on a fly rod then it's a fly rod artificial. I'm certainly not turning my back on modern technology and materials - unlike the Taliban I have no desire to regress to a way of life hundreds of years old. I'm quite happy with modern medicine, the internal combustion engine, Goretex and epoxy flies. :yahoo: YMMV Tight lines! Joe C.

I really like that. The only changes I'd make are to use holographic eyes glued to the barbells - I like the realistic eyes much better for imitations of pelagic bait spp. Also I'd add a bit of peacock colored Krystal Flash, maybe four strands, as a topping for the back. That said those mods wouldn't change the fish catching ability but might make the fly a bit more realistic looking. This is very much like the clouser I fished yesterday to catch 50 or so skipjack herring and white bass/hybrids. They were clobbering the gizzard shads in a warm water plume on the Ohio R. Joe C.

I'm liking that one!!! :headbang: Joe C.

Will I'll be there tying, working the Country Anglin booth and the Smallmouth Alliance booth. I believe they'll have my tying in the "big" room again this year, also though that hasn't been confirmed. I'll look forward to seeing you there. Joe C.

There is a product out there called a "wiggle disc". It is essentially the same thing as the MPJ fly heads but is designed to be threaded on the leader. I've been using them for years - they work awesome with flies like rabbit strip flies - it makes them swim in a fantastic manner. I believe they are a Great Lakes design for trolling for salmon and trout but they are small enough to easily cast with a 6wt rod. Very little problem with fly pick-up if you use a roll-cast pick-up, which I usually have to because I fish these on a sinking line. They push a lot of water and set up vibrations much like a crank bait. The wiggle disc is also a good choice to use with soft plastics or top water bugs - it makes a nice wake on a fast retrieve. I'll bet it could make a killer for pike, though I've not tried it for them. Joe C.

I regulary carry and fish clousers as small as size 12. They are very productive patterns for panfish. I like tying them on Mustad 33903 double kink-shank popper hooks. For these patterns I prefer arctic fox, squirrel tail, or other soft furs rather than bucktail. My favorite is the Foxee Red clouser, tied with copper crystal flash. Tight lines. Joe C.

I'll take a few of the porcupine quills. Especially if you have the really fat ones that aren't really good for legs and such. They make incredibly sensitive strike indicators - you use a little piece of electrical tape or the smallest bit of rubber band at the end and in the middle. The quill will stand right up with the lightest take - a good winter indicator for small nymphs on the Mad! I pre-rig them using a bit of epoxy and a couple perfection loops on a bit of 15lb mono, but they never last more than a trip before they're trashed. Joe C.

Nice one. I like those simple patterns. This tie is pretty unique - I'll be the bluegills will love it! Joe C.

Ooohhh, I like that one. I'll be tying a few of those this weekend. Nicely done! Bud, what's "authentica materials" for this pattern? Just curious. Joe C.

I'll second that suggestion. A Bully's in hot pink with white rubber legs is an awesome fall pattern for late season gills. Early season I like a wolly worm tied with yellow yarn body, peacock herl back and grizzly soft hackle with a wisp of red feather barbs for a tail - lightly weighted. On the surface, expecially during early summer a delta wing Adams is my "go to" in a size 12. Tight lines Joe C.

A real beauty! Joe C.

Well it seems I'm in the minority, but I'll use scent when necessary. I find adding scent to be an excellent idea when fishing for channel cats, sometime for smallmouth. Typically we're talking about a slow (dead) day and then it's not like fishing a stink bait. I carry a small bottle of crayfish scent purchased at the local BP. One little spritz and sometimes it will be enough to convince that lock-jawed fish to take a taste. Very important trigger if sight fishing for catfish - and carp, too! No, it's not bait fishing. You still need to present the fly. The amount of scent on a size 10 crayfish imitation won't carry far in the water. Under tough conditions, though, it might bring a strike where you'd otherwise be blanked. Joe C.

While I can't help you with a guide, I can give you some guidance! There is excellent largemouth bass fishing in some of the rivers and reserviors in the mountains around Puerto Vallarta. If you want to go you'll have no problems finding a guide with the assistance of your hotels concierge. There is excellent snook fishing at daylight all along the beaches. Nuevo Vallarta especially. Short cab ride, near where the cruise ships come in. Los Arcos national marine park is within sight of the Red Onion (eat there - spectacular little dive) right off the downtown walkway. There are striped marlin, sailfish, etc... all within 1/4 mile of town. Also there are lots of snapper, grouper, snook, etc... all around. There are docks downtown with dozens of fishing boats to take you for whatever you want. If you want a fly rod adventure ask one to take you to the reef at Los Arcos and chum up some fish - cast a fly to them and you'll catch all kinds of crazy stuff. You may have a problem finding a guide who knows anything at all about fly fishing. It's not a big money maker there. Bring an 8wt and maybe a 10wt. 6wt if your adventurous but remember the wind. Lots of Clousers, shrimp patterns, crab patterns - for bass the clousers will work. Also some big poppers or hair bugs. Good luck and let us know how you do! Joe C.

I'm off on a business trip - be back Thursday and I'll try to scan a pic and post it. Joe C.

For tying the traditional north country spider, the feathers should come from the shoulder of the bird. Those are the feathers I've been most interested in. I have what can be termed an "unhealthy" :devil: fascination with soft hackle flies - I use them often for smallmouth, bluegill, trout and others. And I love the way they look when they are tied correctly. I've got a little C&F box with a swing page than holds something like 280 flies and it is almost (ALMOST :headbang: ) filled with a selection of various spiders in sizes 10 to 20 with emphasis on 12's and 14's. I love that Stewart Spider with the starling hackle! You can use paired slips of the wing primaries for quill wings on small flies, too. Joe C.

A couple things about hellgrammites... Most patterns to imitate them are much too dark. The larger the hellgrammite, the more likely it is to be the color of the stream substrate. For the streams I fish in SW Ohio that is a dirty olive color. They have a darker head and the mandibles are not noticeable when they are not biting you Hellgrammites will tend to curl a bit when dislodged and floating downstream. For an accurate imitation that can be a good trigger to imitate. I do this by using ostrich herl for the tail (Harry Murray is right - it is the very best material to imitate this animal) and bending the front 1/4 of the hook so the turned down eye is almost on line with the shank. Sort of a "swimming nymph" look to the hook. This gives the finished fly a nice, subtle "S" shape in the water. Subtle, but realistic. For the body I like to use olive rabbit fur with a bit of olive and brown antron mixed in. I also use a red thread. This give the body translucency. I like the Murray Strymph style of tying, so I guess I've re-invented the Murray's Hellgrammite without the rubber antennae. Hellgrammites don't have antenna. The fish don't care but if this was all about the fish and not the fisherman you'd be using a 3" olive Berkely Trout Worm hooked in the nose with a size 6 mosquito hook and not a fly. The head is darker than the body - for the head I mix brown and black Antron, olive rabbit and natural gray rabbit into a muddy black dubbing. I like to put lead eyes so the fly rides point up and dub around the eyes with this blended dubbing. Last, but not least, hellgrammites are common animals - but not very common in the natural diet of most smallmouth. They live under rocks in strong riffles where they are not commonly available to foraging smallies. They are a great bait (if you bait fish) and flies imitating them WILL take fish - but so will the aforementioned Berkely Trout Worm or a vernille San Juan Worm tied about 3" long. Have fun and let us know how you do! Joe C.

Don't tie the Sheep Shad other than as Whitlock shows it. It won't swim the same way. It might be a fishable pattern, but it remains too complicated. If you're going to tie the Sheep Shad then tie it as closely as Whitlock prescribes as you can - especially in regards to hook weighting and configuration. That said, Fred Vargas ties a modified sheep shad that is a spectacular trout fly - 4xl streamer hook with a body of pearl braid and wing/belly of gray over white sheep hair with a goodly dollop of pearl crystal flash. The reason I suggest using Whitlock's recipe is bacause of how involved the fly is. It was designed to accurately imitate a threadfin or gizzard shad and it does so superbly. It is my "go to" fly for freshwater stripers on the Ohio River, where the fish can be very, very selective to size, swimming motion and proportion. It's a bit foolish to go to all the work of tying in lateral lines, gills, etc.. only to find out your finished product isn't working as you planned. If you want a simpler tie, try using gray over white sheep in a clouser configuration with Mirage holographic eyes glued to the barbells. Joe C.

Kreel Tackle doesn't actuall sell directly on-line. They have a listing of retail locations so you can find a fly shop near you. They also have on-line partners - http://www.anglerslane.com/alshop_kreel.htm is the one listed and they have the product in stock for purchase. I just checked and there web site seems to be working okay. I like this idea of offering referrals - its what I do with the business I'm in. It avoids channel conflict - if you're a manufacturer you should send the retail sales to your customers who are the shops and retailers selling your product. I've corresponded with Will at Kreel on many occassions - good folks there. I'm a big, big fan of the Paradox minnow and have a box full of the little guys - its an awesome smallmouth fly! I have no vested interest in Kreel, just a happy customer. Joe C.

http://www.kreeltackle.com/ They're the guys who make them. Good product. Joe C.