Flies with legs. How long?

[Piker20 0]

I dont personally fish with many flies with rubber/silicone legs. I keep tying a few and give them a swim now and again but my Q is what length is it best to aim for with the legs?

[mikechell 0]

I can tell you first of all, no matter what I tell you, don't believe it. Second, what I am about to tell you is the absolute truth. Third, everything I know about rubber leg length I learn from a guru on a mountain top. He told me "Find the bugs that are present in your area, Not Grasshoppper. Then, tie the legs on about twice that length. If you keep getting tugs on the fly but no hook ups, then the legs are too long. Trim a little until you start catching fish. This, Not Grasshopper, will be the prescribed leg length for your area."

 

"Now snatch the thing from my thing and it'll be your thing that you can take as you GET OFF MY MOUNTAIN!!!"

[FlyFishin'Jam 0]

I use rubber legs quite happily for squidro or bass flies, and i like long legs but where i am going there are these damn fish 'puffer fish' that are hell bent on anything rubber, they will absolutely murder rubber legs and tear them off, it is like crack for them, i think they actually enjoy chewing the rubber and pissing me off. I once went down after dark with a bottle of wine and threw the cork in the water, they all started surfacing for it and murdering the cork! Psychopathic puffers! They seem to have personality too, it worries me.

[Piker20 0]

LOL. Dont suffer the puffer here. Maybe that'll be the next hollywood B-movie. When the Puff gets the Huff.

[rolsen 0]

I must go and wash my imagination, I have a dirty joke incoming...

[FlyFishin'Jam 0]

Hahaha damn fugu!

 

There is one spot where i believe they can smell rubber in your fly box, only thing to do when the 'swarm' appears is to move on quickly.

[Chefben4 0]

Beauty of rubber legs. Leave em' long and if they are just getting nipped or no attention, cut them short or off!

 

Im tend to leave them long, except on my panfish flies.

[Piker20 0]

So stay long and trim for nippers. OK. I'll keep my eyes open for the Huffy Puffy trailer. 'When the Swarm Descends.' That's gotta be the sequel.

[Roofish 0]

Well flies usually have legs as long as they don't land on anything sticky, like fly paper. Sometimes when they encounter an angry human with with a swatter, they will just escape being completely swatted, however they may lose a leg or 2, it does make for some difficult take-offs & landings thereafter though, but they manage.

 

I suggest you use flies for fly fishing even if they don't have all their legs, some, part or none at all. As I discovered over the years fish are really not into legs, they much more prefer a full body. Hope this helps in some small way

 

 

[Sur3-Shot 0]

Bass like them long legs on strippers...... ooopppss i ment streamers

[Crotalus 0]

For hoppers I tie them in then hold them against the body and cut at the bend in the hook, this helps them to flare. When adding them to streamers I treat them like hackle and flash, whatever looks right at the time i am tying. Also depends on the length of the leg material that I am using. I am not going to trim 1/4" from the ends of the legs on a 6" long fly. Likewise, if I can get 2 flies from the remaining material they might be a bit shorter.

[Phish 0]

Bass like them long legs on strippers...... ooopppss i ment streamers

X2

 

Like whats been mentioned above. They work great on trouts to as they are a crazy sucker for them legs.