"Veering" a fly on purpose?

[Hatchet Jack 0]

A friend of mine gave me a nice muskie fly that always veers right on the strip.

At first I was dismayed to see the fly constantly turn right but then I discovered that

if I stripped/paused/stripped just so, I could actually make the fly 'swim' with a life-like motion.

 

So what makes it veer to one side or the other so much?

Looking at the fly, it appears nicely proportioned, nothing grossly out of balance.

 

 

[Crackaig 0]

Sorry but I can't help much without seeing the fly.I doubt I could even if you posted a photo.

 

What I have seen is the use of odd sized eyes on pike flies, to make them wobble and veer when retrieved. The first person I know of to do this was Herman Brorse. I've tried it out on larger salt water flies for sea trout (sea run browns), but haven't fished them enough to offer any opinion on them yet.

Cheers,

C.

[Adam Saarinen 0]

Must be really clear water where you are? Does the hook have a noticable bend to the left or right after the bend in the hook? I mean like the barbless partridge pike hook, forget the name, but it has a Funny bend in it!?

[mikechell 0]

It doesn't take much. In the boating world it's amazing, how a very small deformity in the hull can create a noticeable drag and steering problem.

Just a slight difference on one side (weight, bulge even texture) will cause the fly to "steer" off center.

[Philly 0]

Could be just rod action. I've got one fly that I tie that I can get to "walk the dog" by moving the rod tip as I strip the fly in.

side

front

 

Even without moving the rod tip it retrieves erratically because with me tying it there's no guarantee that the foam strips on the top and bottom of the hook are in line with the shank or each other. Or that the head is perfectly centered on the hook shank. If it's off to the left or the right the fly will not track straight. You can do that with any popper or Crease fly to create erratic action on the retrieve by not centering it on the shank.

Another way to do it would be to tie the popper on a an articulated shank and use either a single, double or treble hook on the back. You remove the keel effect of the hook which should allow easier manipulation. This one is based on what the salt water lure chuckers call a "pencil popper"

 

 

You add some weight to the back either using a heavy hook or some lead, a piece of a worm weight works nicely. The rear rides down and by adding some rod action you can get it to walk the dog.

 

Adam:

It's called the Ad Swier Absolute Pike Hook but looking at the one I have here it doesn't look like the bend is off-set and I'm not sure an off-set hook would impact the how the popper would behave when retrieved.

[tidewaterfly 0]

Hatchet Jack, what type of knot are you using at the fly? I've caused flies to do that somewhat by tying an improved clinch & moving it to one side of the hook eye.

I got the idea based on a riffling hitch. If a tight connection is not centered, that might cause what you're seeing.

 

Most times I use a loop, and really don't notice the fly moving consistently to one side or the other, but it will dart around with each strip.

 

I tie some flies on offset hooks, specifically Eagle Claw 066 hooks. I primarily use them for Crease flies & cannot say they track funny because of the offset. Of course, with a thin body like that they can track funny anyway, even with an inline hook.

 

Also, when you strip, are you pointing the rod tip right at the fly?

[flyfishingdom 0]

Some flies are designed to go sideways on the strip. For pike and musky they will see the broadside of the fly as an attack position and t-bone it. I think it is a predatory instinct.

 

I believe chocklett has a pattern called the t-bone that veers.

[Hatchet Jack 0]

Gents, to answer some of your Q's:

 

The hook is flat, no bend out-of-plane.

 

Not sure what you folks mean by 'rod action' (?)...the fly veers

right after the strip & during the pause, whether it's out 60' or 16' or 6'.

 

The rod tip is low to the water and generally pointed at fly during the strip/pause retrieve.

 

My 'knot' is an AFW Duo-loc snap; there is no snug knot to influence the fly's tracking.

 

I'm going to study this fly some more before hard water hits us and see if I can

finger out what the heck is going on. It' really cool to see this fly swim like a big fat tasty minnow.

 

[FIN-ITE 34 0]

99% of all the pike flies I tie kick to the side when stripped and paused. It is a desirable trait because as stated by another, the sideways kick is a trigger for a pike to strike that broad side profile.

I don't intentionally tie in some sort of offset get this result, it just happens because it is next near impossible to tie completely symmetric big streamer. Reverse tying at least one bucktail section will enhance this motion in almost all cases.

[flytire 0]

does the fly catch fish?

 

a wiggle here a wiggle there sure can trigger a response

[Goose77 0]

Hey Hatchet, I agree with flytire and FIN-NITE. These big streamers usually kick more to one side than another...I'm also sure it's a balance thing [not necessarily a problem]. Especially if it then sinks slowly, there's great action...rubber worms and sluggos do it all the time. As long as it doesn't twist, I'd bet you're cool. Good luck with it. Cheers, Ed

[Jenky 0]

I'm not sure what the fly in question is comprised of, but like mikechell stated, symmetry is a big deal. Most streamers that I tie have a spun deer hair head, and if the head is not stacked or trimmed symmetrically (same density and shape on either side of the hook) the fly will tend to "kick" to one side more than the other. Collars can have the same influence.

[nick2011 0]

Gents, to answer some of your Q's:

 

The hook is flat, no bend out-of-plane.

 

Not sure what you folks mean by 'rod action' (?)...the fly veers

right after the strip & during the pause, whether it's out 60' or 16' or 6'.

 

The rod tip is low to the water and generally pointed at fly during the strip/pause retrieve.

 

My 'knot' is an AFW Duo-loc snap; there is no snug knot to influence the fly's tracking.

 

I'm going to study this fly some more before hard water hits us and see if I can

finger out what the heck is going on. It' really cool to see this fly swim like a big fat tasty minnow.

 

it might just be the way the different length of materials used work independantly in the water. or if its a articulated fly it will veer. thats the purpose though, its more natural, as a wounded fish does not track straight. pike like to hit from the side on weak prey. I have been tying a bunch of pike flies and they almost all turn when stripped and paused. but there is no real trick that i have found to make it happen

[nick2011 0]

Gents, to answer some of your Q's:

 

The hook is flat, no bend out-of-plane.

 

Not sure what you folks mean by 'rod action' (?)...the fly veers

right after the strip & during the pause, whether it's out 60' or 16' or 6'.

 

The rod tip is low to the water and generally pointed at fly during the strip/pause retrieve.

 

My 'knot' is an AFW Duo-loc snap; there is no snug knot to influence the fly's tracking.

 

I'm going to study this fly some more before hard water hits us and see if I can

finger out what the heck is going on. It' really cool to see this fly swim like a big fat tasty minnow.

 

Not using a tight knot will also allow that fly to dance to the side, gives it more freedom in the water