Been Busy Tying Flies

[HeaveToo]

I am working on tying some new flies for next season. The weather isn't that great so I have been busy.

I fish a pattern called Shenk's White Streamer for Smallmouth a lot. I hate tying the pattern because the original pattern calls for a dubbing loop with rabbit hair in it. It is messy and the rabbit hair is a pain to spin in the dubbing loop. I think that I have found a shortcut for it by using Patons Bohemian Chenille in white. I had it on hand from tying another pattern called a Shannon's Streamer. It looks dead on for Shenk's White streamer. See the picture and be the judge.

I have also played with a EP hair Bunker Pattern for stripers and reds.

The other picture is (From Top to Bottom):
EP Bunker Pattern
Shannon's Streamer
Red Headed Flasher (I created this pattern and I tie it in Chartreuse and Pearl)
Clowser's minnow (I tie mine with a zonker strip with a zebra pattern to match the common bait fish in my area, bandit killifish).

[Mark]

Nice work!

[silasvirus82]

You might try leech yarn as a replacement for the rabbit too. It's cheap, easy to work with, and durable. Those look nice though.

[DanMarino]

Cool. I made a Shannon's Streamer the other day. It didn't seem very hard to me with using white chenille or Estaz. Do you add any weight to it/lead wire to make it sink? I'm going to make more of them this weekend. The instructions I saw talk about applying clear silicone to the head of it.

[HeaveToo]

I used a product called Powergrab by Loctite. I put it on with a Q-tip and spread it over the first 1/2 inch of the fly, approximately. The last 5 I did I put eyes on them and ran over the eyes with the PowerGrab. The stuff dries semi-transparent and feels a bit rubbery. It is important.

The Shannon Streamer is a big fly and a bit to cast. I wouldn't want to cast it from a smaller rod than my 8 weight.

One issue I noted with them is that the back side can come unwrapped. I have changed the tie a little bit so that when I get to the end of the fly and make the last wrap before going forward with the Chenille I do a small knot and then wrap forward very tightly. I was tying on a 2ot hook and doing about 8 wraps behind the hook bend. I sometimes tie flashabou on top of the marabou to give it a little more action. Usually I wrap a little lead wire around the hook but you don't need too much. It will sink on its own and hover below the surface. They have a very nice action.

Last night I bit the bullet, made a mess, and tied up some Murray's Madtom Sculpins with rabbit hair. I made a bit of a mess. I also tied them on a shorter shank hook than I usually use but they turned out looking good. The reason for the shorter hook shank was that I was using #4 stainless steel hooks that I already had. I have stopped tying on regular hooks and only tie on stainless steel hooks since I tend to tie bigger patterns. I had a few regular hooks rust in the past before I got to using the fly so I quit messing with the regular hooks.

Is it a bad thing when you tie on a size 4 hook and think that is small. Seriously, I use to tie on size 6 all of the time but I have started using much bigger hooks and flies. I think that I catch bigger fish in the long run and my production hasn't slowed because I still catch about the same amount of fish. Honestly I don't miss tying super small trout flies! They were a pain in the butt.

My shad flies are even tied on a size 4 stainless hook. That is partially because I have caught everything under the sun on them. I have caught flounder, bluefish, stripers, large mouth, small mouth, big bluegill, and even a catfish (that was a random hook up but it was about a 10 pound cat that bit the fly).

[DanMarino]

Thanks HeaveToo, I'll make some this weekend and post a photo.

[Mark]

Regarding the use of stainless steel hooks for flies, I have used them but I am not wedded to them, even for flies I use here in the Bay.

I prefer bronzed or nickel plated hooks for the very reason that I know they will succumb to the elements. If I break one off in a fish my hope is that the fish will not wear that hook for long. I want it to rust out.

Also, I view my flies as expendable. I don’t expect a fly to catch as many fish as a hard-plastic plug, for example. While there is no set number of fish I demand from a fly, it’s rare when I use one for more than a few outings. A coating of rust is rarely a problem in that short window of use.

I am mindful of rust. After every outing, I give the lures and flies I have used a freshwater rinsing. I let them dry thoroughly before returning them to their waterproof storage boxes.

Despite their cleansing shower they may get a little tarnished after exposure to tidal water, or even after prolonged use in freshwater. I don’t mind that because I use a sharpening stone to keep the business end of the hook primed for its purpose. The very act of sharpening will remove the protective coatings on my hook points. Again, that’s OK. The hook will usually still outlast the body of the fly. That's why I tie a bunch of them.

[HeaveToo]

Stainless hooks will come out of a fish that breaks them off as well. Stainless just doesn't rust. I get irritated with a box full of rusty flies. Even fresh water will eventually rust flies.

Good luck with tying the shannon streamer. I have to say that a year ago I lost the biggest smallmouth of my life on a Shannon Streamer. I had it on for about five minutes and I got to see it well. Clear water and I stripped the streamer. I then saw a bass come up and look at the fly. I made a short strip and then I saw the bass open its mouth. That is when I knew how huge it was. It had to be every bit of 22". That smallmouth jumped and pulled. Finally it jumped one last time and spit the streamer. Ugh...so painful to think about but one hell of a rush.

[On the fly]

Here is a good article on hooked fish: http://www.saltstrong.com/articles/f...a-fishs-mouth/

And here is an article that explains that of the two steels used in hooks Stainless steel is actually weaker but it has a lot to do with overall construction of hooks not just the steel but coatings like nickel: http://www.sportfishingmag.com/techn...k-construction

Here is article on helping prevent rust: http://www.gameandfishmag.com/fishin...ver_rests0410/

Scientific Anglers has rust prevention strips inside its boat fly boxes I use in my kayak.

[Mark]

Nice research Harry.

It's good know that fish can shake a hook in time. Many pickerels I meet are good at doing that in the short term!

Please check your third link. It's the same as your second. I'd like to read the rust prevention article.

[On the fly]

Nice research Harry.

It's good know that fish can shake a hook in time. Many pickerels I meet are good at doing that in the short term!

Please check your third link. It's the same as your second. I'd like to read the rust prevention article.

Sorry, link corrected

[Mark]

Thank you.

[PigPen]

I used a product called Powergrab by Loctite. I put it on with a Q-tip and spread it over the first 1/2 inch of the fly, approximately. The last 5 I did I put eyes on them and ran over the eyes with the PowerGrab. The stuff dries semi-transparent and feels a bit rubbery. It is important.

The Shannon Streamer is a big fly and a bit to cast. I wouldn't want to cast it from a smaller rod than my 8 weight.

One issue I noted with them is that the back side can come unwrapped. I have changed the tie a little bit so that when I get to the end of the fly and make the last wrap before going forward with the Chenille I do a small knot and then wrap forward very tightly. I was tying on a 2ot hook and doing about 8 wraps behind the hook bend. I sometimes tie flashabou on top of the marabou to give it a little more action. Usually I wrap a little lead wire around the hook but you don't need too much. It will sink on its own and hover below the surface. They have a very nice action.

Last night I bit the bullet, made a mess, and tied up some Murray's Madtom Sculpins with rabbit hair. I made a bit of a mess. I also tied them on a shorter shank hook than I usually use but they turned out looking good. The reason for the shorter hook shank was that I was using #4 stainless steel hooks that I already had. I have stopped tying on regular hooks and only tie on stainless steel hooks since I tend to tie bigger patterns. I had a few regular hooks rust in the past before I got to using the fly so I quit messing with the regular hooks.

Is it a bad thing when you tie on a size 4 hook and think that is small. Seriously, I use to tie on size 6 all of the time but I have started using much bigger hooks and flies. I think that I catch bigger fish in the long run and my production hasn't slowed because I still catch about the same amount of fish. Honestly I don't miss tying super small trout flies! They were a pain in the butt.

My shad flies are even tied on a size 4 stainless hook. That is partially because I have caught everything under the sun on them. I have caught flounder, bluefish, stripers, large mouth, small mouth, big bluegill, and even a catfish (that was a random hook up but it was about a 10 pound cat that bit the fly).

To prevent the tail from unraveling i've started adding a little glue. Also you could try a thin mono line weaved through the tail. Bluegills are the worst at unraveling a fly and I've been fighting for 20+ years trying to prevent destruction of my flies. Either over engineer them or make lots of them cheaply and throw them away. The old hooks used to get dull so throwing them away was a good option. In salt I'm thinking cheaper/faster might be better than corroded dull hooks. For my repalas I'm replacing the trebles frequently for rust and sharpness. Small cost really.

Just my thoughts.

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