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Fly Tying
Mike West

If you could only have Three Bass Flies....?

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Cockroach

 

This was originally a tarpon fly and I do believe it was created by Lefty Kreh. I could be wrong on the origins. The tarpon fly is usually tied to the back of the hook near the bend. The shank is wrapped in thread.

 

I tie it more in the common fly style. I tie to behind the eye. This keep the hook point further back in the fly.

 

One issue I have found with this fly, the squirrel tail is quite slick. I have had many that the hair has pulled out. I now put a drop of super glue on the buts of the hair as I tie it in. This seems to help a lot.

 

Michael

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Mike, what is that subsurface go to pattern called

Just something I've been tying for 20+ years. Basically a fancy Marabou Muddler Minnow.. I use to use Gold or Silver Tinsel Chineel for the body now I use Ice dub and some Marabou or fluff from some saddle hackles for the red at the gills. The rest is some Grizzly Saddle hackles,Marabou wound on like hackle and spun deer hair head. I usually put some light lead wire under the head to help get it down under the surface a few inches.

Thanks Mike, What size and hook do you use?

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All kinds from a size 10 3xl streamer hook to 3/0 bass bug hooks...I think those were tied on a Owner Straight Shank Worm hook 1/0

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Great thread! Wow, some superb looking flies here as well. There are so many good & productive styles & patterns now it would be difficult to choose only three.

 

Being old school, if I had to limit it to 3, I would go with a rabbit strip streamer of some type, a Lefty's Deceiver, and a popper.

 

BTW, the Cockroach is a style too, being grizzly & squirrel tail hair, but can be tied in either the Key's style or as a Deceiver and both are used for Tarpon, and effective for many other species. When I was tying commercially I tied some variations, various colors, and with Gray Squirrel tail, Fox Squirral tail, and bucktail. These all work & the variations are for water clarity situations.

 

Mike West, I like the way you think, and also tie a lot of my bass flies on straight shank worm hooks and other styles.

 

So many flies, so little time! laugh.png

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I do most of my bass fishing for smallies and spotted bass in small to mid-size streams. I tie a lot of flies for a lot of different situations, but these are the three I'd be lost without.

 

1) Murdich Minnow: can be tied small, medium, and large. Casts easily, extremely durable, catches fish like crazy everywhere I have used it.

 

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2) Bronze Goddess: can be tied in a number of colors to be a baitfish, sculpin, or craw fly, it's extremely versatile. Pink/gray/white in this fly has claimed almost all of my better spotted bass, and the brown/orange combo kills smallies.

 

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3) HD Craw: I fished this fly hard this summer and it was incredibly effective. I got the fall rate perfect for where I fish, weighted properly so it doesn't drop perfectly vertical, and the deer hair splays the pincers out for a great profile. Brown/orange was great, black/blue might have been even better.

 

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Rapidly gaining on the pack of those three flies is this currently unnamed streamer I have been testing lately. Early returns have been really, really good. This is just the most recent color combo I have tied in the pattern. Options for colors are nearly endless.

 

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I could live with just two patterns. A simple torpedo shaped cork popper with feather legs and rubber appendages. A simple white streamer, hair or feathers, with a red throat to set it off. Sure I have a couple of big boxes full of my flies and others including some great hair flies that are too beautiful to fish. I am going to throw some of the divers though since we are getting close to shad die off when bass are looking for struggling bait.

 

Humph...Just looked at the Left Off Weed Guards thread by denduke and you're looking at what I've caught 90% of my largemouth bass in a half dozen states on.

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