November flies from the bench

[Crackaig 0]

Henrik, For a first go at the Peter Ross that's very good. The hackle could be shorter but that one isn't too long. The same with the wing, you could make it wider, but I wouldn't. Wide wings in teal flank just don't look right. Yours is about the size I aim for.

 

Which method have you used to make the wing? (There are at least 4 I know of). The one that consistently produces the best wings is tri folded single strip.

 

The only thing you could work on is the tail. it is something I see a lot these days. You can get away with less than 1/4 of the number of fibres you used. For a GP Tippet tail 4 to 6 fibres is about right on a trout fly. There is also a trick to getting them level. Hold the feather by the tips at the section you want to use. The grip should be "end on" and deep enough to let you position the fibres. Cut through the fibres. Pull the feather away from the cut fibres, NOT the fibres from the feather. Offer them to the hook without changing your grip.

 

Hope that helps,

Cheers,

C.

[Flyunder 0]

18's for the olives

[mikechell 0]

I've decided to try for a bass. Rather than fish Bluegill sized flies and be happy with a bass, I'll tie up something too big for Bluegill.

So, I tied a frog. I am hoping the hook won't be too heavy for the foam. If it sits the way I want it to, the hook and legs will sit below the surface.

 

The foam will float on the surface. When I give it a jerk, it'll dive a bit.

If it works like that ... the shape should draw the appropriate attention.

 

 

Fish's view.

 

[Fish For Life 0]

Thats a really cool frog you got there Mike!! Make sure to report back how they work

[Stippled Popper 0]

mikechell: That frog looks like a winner. I am sure you've thought about putting it in a bowl of

water to get a preliminary idea of the attitude it will assume in the water.

[mikechell 0]

mikechell: That frog looks like a winner. I am sure you've thought about putting it in a bowl of

water to get a preliminary idea of the attitude it will assume in the water.

I've never done that. As Wife says ... we're not lazy, we just enjoy sitting around doing nothing. I'll test it on the water. If it doesn't float as planned, then I'll keep on fishing with the flies I have that do work. If it works ... I hope I have a good video of catching a big one.

[kimjensen 0]

Polar Magnus. Softhackle version.

[Harold Ray 0]

I have been tying a few of these, no name, just smaller woven flies with Flashabou underbodies and an over weave of 10# Mason Rock Hard Type Nylon Leader Material. These do well down here for just about everything and any depth depending on the weight of the eyes.

 

Took the images with my iPad in not the best light; we'll see how they turn out.

 

Ray

[tommylee 0]

Have you used a synthetic hair for those?

Artic fox

[bellevue.chartreuse.trout 0]

Mike, as Stippled stated, that DOES look like a winner! Maybe take a picture of it in a bowl of water? If it doesn't 'sit' right, don't toss the idea, I really like how it looks! Maybe all it'll need is a little tweaking of materials or position of materials. Happy Thanksgiving Mike n Stippled!

 

BCT

[mikechell 0]

Mike, as Stippled stated, that DOES look like a winner! Maybe take a picture of it in a bowl of water? If it doesn't 'sit' right, don't toss the idea, I really like how it looks! Maybe all it'll need is a little tweaking of materials or position of materials. Happy Thanksgiving Mike n Stippled!

 

BCT

You misunderstand me. I didn't say I'd toss the idea ... just that I'll spend the rest of that day fishing other flies. I don't have any reason NOT to test it in a bowl of water, other than

getting the bowl

filling it with water

floating the fly

taking a picture

dumping the water

cleaning out the bowl

drying off the fly

cleaning up the drips and any other mess made while "testing" the fly.

 

For me, a better way to test a fly, is to fish it. If it's a hit, I'll catch fish. If it's not, then I can see what tweaks I need to do to it in actual use.

With foam flies, if there's too much foam ... I can do the trimming and tweaking right on the water.

[add147 0]

I've decided to try for a bass. Rather than fish Bluegill sized flies and be happy with a bass, I'll tie up something too big for Bluegill.

So, I tied a frog. I am hoping the hook won't be too heavy for the foam. If it sits the way I want it to, the hook and legs will sit below the surface.

frog (1).JPG

The foam will float on the surface. When I give it a jerk, it'll dive a bit.

If it works like that ... the shape should draw the appropriate attention.

frog (2).JPG

 

Fish's view.

frog (3).JPG

That would work wonderfully on Lake Fork which is the Bass Capital of Texas! I think I will try to try that myself. Great looking fly Mike!!!

[add147 0]

I have been tying a few of these, no name, just smaller woven flies with Flashabou underbodies and an over weave of 10# Mason Rock Hard Type Nylon Leader Material. These do well down here for just about everything and any depth depending on the weight of the eyes.

 

Took the images with my iPad in not the best light; we'll see how they turn out.

 

Ray

Ray,

I love these flies! I know you posted the materials but can you go more into more detail on how to try them. Those are COOL looking flies and I bet the crappie and blue gills would gobble those up.

[add147 0]

Polar Magnus. Softhackle version.

IMAG0406.jpg

Like the colors on this fly. It looks proportional...Great job indeed!!!

[Piker20 0]

Mike, even if it sinks im sure a drowned frog will work very well.