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Propellor Flies?

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I tied a few small chartruese over white bucktail streamers with props and went to the river. river was pooled and high. SO, I went to an upper stretch of the river where is was low and clear and not a fish for miles...SO..I went to a local lake and chucked the flies for a while. Found some schooling shad over a submerged weedbed on a mud flat....took 6 or 8 little fat dink bass in a matter of moments. Tried the same pattern for the gar on a creek (much later in the day) and had MANY hits and a few hook ups....have now incorporated a prop on my Gar Getter fly...hoping to be able to share some good photos at the first of the week. Had great fun experimenting. Did find I had very little trouble beading the hook with the smallest beads I could find. I simply "micro-mashed" the barbs just enough to force the bead on. One thing I found perplexing was the flies with the small props seemed to produce more fish. could it be that the smaller prop spins at highe revolutions and creates higher frequency vibrations? :dunno: Any thoughts?

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I tied a few small chartruese over white bucktail streamers with props and went to the river. river was pooled and high. SO, I went to an upper stretch of the river where is was low and clear and not a fish for miles...SO..I went to a local lake and chucked the flies for a while. Found some schooling shad over a submerged weedbed on a mud flat....took 6 or 8 little fat dink bass in a matter of moments. Tried the same pattern for the gar on a creek (much later in the day) and had MANY hits and a few hook ups....have now incorporated a prop on my Gar Getter fly...hoping to be able to share some good photos at the first of the week. Had great fun experimenting. Did find I had very little trouble beading the hook with the smallest beads I could find. I simply "micro-mashed" the barbs just enough to force the bead on. One thing I found perplexing was the flies with the small props seemed to produce more fish. could it be that the smaller prop spins at highe revolutions and creates higher frequency vibrations? :dunno: Any thoughts?

 

Sorry that i haven't posted pics...turns out i lost the software to my camera when my computer had to be fixed about 2 months ago...shows how seldom i use a camera.

 

I don't fish gar (or others) so i don't know for certain that you are experiencing the same problem i did on trout. I think the prop makes the fly move enough that when the fish grabs it it forces the fly's hook gap to twist and only scrape the fish's jaw. When there is no barb it will literally push up ward and out of the fish's flesh, but with a barb it helps force it into the flesh. This has always just been a guess as to an answer as to why i can very seldom catch a fish with-out the barb or if the barb is flattened (even partially). I seem to land almost any and all strikes with a full barb on the pistol pete.

With a larger prop i have noticed that the entire fly starts turning and shaking erratically in the water. So much so that i have seen the leader create small bubbles as well as the fly body. try pulling it around you in clear water to see what i mean. This kind of action seems to scare fish rather than attract them. if the prop is equal to the diameter of the body this doesn't happen. Read what i posted earlier. So if i am right the larger prop will work with a larger fly...i have never tried that out. But it could just be that the fish can also feel the amount of water displaced by the prop and instinctively know it doesn't match the fly's size??? But it seems a smaller prop catches less water on a smaller surface and turns less even though physics says different.

Good luck trying to get a proof of any of these ideas or any others though. They are just my guesses after years of playing with them.

In the end just enjoy that you found a way to get more strikes at least.

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People said those Hummers we used to sell at the Warehouse worked really well. I have to admit I wasn't impressed with the way they looked, but we sold a bunch of them. They just had the propeller in front of the the head of the fly with no bead.

 

Water's been a bit low up here... guess y'all have had a bit more rain down yonder?

 

 

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Doc,

 

Good thoughts to pnder...I haven't yet tried them for trout, but they do seem to produce a few fish in the warm water. Not terribly impressed with them for larger fish, but may be a great fly for the white bass and the crappie this spring...just playing with them.

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I have used small spinners on flies with trailing hooks. Stinger hook - bright bead - spinner - front hook and fly. Just make sure the spinner and stinger hook are out far enough to not foul in the fly. The bead and spinner are placed on the line connecting the stinger to the fly not on the stinger hook. Mostly for trolling lakes but have used :unsure: them for steelhead. :whistle:

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Hi Guys: Do well with this Fly in NJ......But my strike to land ratiio is 50% and I enjoyed this article an will incorporate the tips.

 

I know this is a very old Thread...but did anyone try and tie these as a balanced Leech/Bugger to get them to ride point UP?? 

 

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Not a Bugger fan at all, so many other choices.  But they work. No clue about point up.  Sorry, but you can browse the WarmWater section and find spinnerflys, click poppers, plopper bug, etc. that I have made.  Kinda unpopular with purist around here.  KODA!!!               

 

 

 

 

 

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