Weekend

I've been finishing up my two new saltwater builds this weekend. While I was waiting for the finish to cure, the mailman delivered a package from Japan. Hitoshi Takemura sent me some wonderful teas from his homeland. I am already brewing some as I am writing this blog entry and getting ready to apply another coat of finish... Thank you Hitoshi!!

If you like fiberglass fly rods and vintage flyfishing gear, check out Hitoshi's blog.

Red Foam Gills

More floating baitfish... These have floating foam pads made of red foam-they represent gills perfectly!

More Floating Flies: Firetiger

Floating Pinfish and Bunker

Floating baby bunker (top) and a floating pinfish imitation, with a piece of foam concealed in the head. Vary the size of foam for different effects (floating vs. suspended fly.)

Mustad vs. TFS Jig Hook Comparison and Bill's Foamberg

Yesterday I got a nice surprise in the mail... I received a beautifully tied foam diver and some samples of Mustad 32786BLN jig hooks from Bill Ninke (aka wildwilly on Stripers Online forum.) Foamberg, as the fly is called, is a foam version of the classic Dahlberg Diver, and it looks like a perfect fly for many predatory fish species.


I took some pictures of various hooks. All of my jig-hook flies are tied on either The Fly Shop TFS 5444 hooks or Gamakatsu 60 degree models. I have never tried Mustads, though. As you can see from the photo above, Mustad 32786BLN hooks are shorter in length and have wider gap than comparably sized TFS 5444 hooks. The finish, sharpness and consistency between TFS and Mustad hooks are very similar.

On the bottom photo you can see how TFS hooks compare size-wise to the more popular saltwater fly hooks.

Soft Hackle Dries, Emu & Pheasant, Fly Sketching

Pollock, Night Floating Fly, Tutti Frutti

Three new flies with common characteristics: reverse tied polafibre, "painted" with angel hair and Hard as Hull cement. The pollock/coalfish imitation is weighted for fishing around structure, and features flashy kinky fibre/fishair mix along with emu feathers. Floating Night Fly has a triangular piece of foam (a hidden crease fly concept) in the head, and floats perfectly. The Tutti Frutti colored fly is a four feather flatwing, with some polafibre and firefly flash mixed between feathers.

From Fly Archives

Nothing really new in this post, only photos and old scans of flies tied in the early 2000s. Top to bottom: KT Squids, Kinky Minnow, Gurgler & Bass, Circle Hook FPF & Surf Candy, ALF.

Classic

Wet Daddy's

Just Worms

Baitfish/Crayfish

A combination of styles...baitfish shape, prawn or crayfish colors.

Big Baitfish

These large baitfish imitations are tied using the big fly fiber for the tail, craft fur/polarfibre for the head, and shredded mylar (such as angel hair, wings 'n' flash, etc.) for the veiling. I used Hard as Hull head cement to bond the flash material to the polarfibre, which gave the fly its final shape.

Tying sequence (given for the middle fly, since that one has a magnum bass rattle inside, which adds extra step):

-tie the heavy duty rattle on the bottom of the shank , so the hook rides correctly;

-tie the big fly fiber over and around the rattle, along with some polarflash for the flashtail. Fold the material over so it doesn't pull. If you don't want the rattle, add the twiston strip to keel the hook before tying. Omit this if you are using regular hook;

-reverse tie (hollow style) four clumps of polarfibre for the head: three white for belly/sides and one for the back in contrasting color. You can also use craft fur, or both. Polarfibre will give you smoother texture of the finished fly, though. For bunker fly (top), add another bunch od polarfibre to create wider profile. Comb the fur before folding;

-add a bunch of shredded mylar to veil the fly, fold and tied down. You can vary the colors, or add red under to simulate the bleeding gills. Comb the mylar to create a shroud around the fly;

-coat the fly liberaly with acrylic cement (I used Hard as Hull.) It dries quickly and it is easy to shape the fly to give it more round or oval cross profile. The cement will bond mylar fibers to the fur. Adjust the shape (leave it round or squeeze for flatter profile). Goop the eyes and you are done!

Oliver Kite

A rare footage of Oliver Kite from his TV series Kite's Country is available on Youtube... It is fascinating to watch this legendary master fisherman and naturalist uncover the hidden world of chalkstreams through beautiful narratives, while taking trout on Mibro glass rod with his Bare Hook nymphs (and refusing to wear the polarizer glasses, considering them an unfair advantage!) Kite was a true gentleman and a true pioneer!

Sneak Peek

I am wrapping up two new saltwater builds... Here's the picture of reel seats. More photos to follow next week, once they are done!

Mummichog/Striped Killifish

A common baitfish in estuaries and salt marshes... Rabbit strip for the tail, white/tan/olive craft fur, and angel hair for the body.

Candy Baitfish

Ingredients: craft fur for the tail, polarfibre and angel hair. The body is reverse tied polarfibre, veiled with angel hair and sealed with Hard as hull cement.

Toad Time

Toad flies are so cool, since they resemble many things at once: crustaceans, baitfish, squid, worms... I like flies you can fish confidently, letting the fish decide what they look like. I tied these for stripers. Even though originally designed as a tarpon fly, toad flies are becoming popular for many other species of marine gamefish.

Tidal

L/R (T/B): Saltwater Sculpin, Long Legged Shrimp, Easy Jig Crab

Little Shrimps and Sand Fleas

Surf perch flies: Shrimpalicious (top) and the sand flea (mole crab) imitation...

Bon Appétit

Top/bottom: Bon Appetit (small generic shrimp/crab imitation), the natural, Pudgy Bait, Hen Pheasant Flounder (a version of D. Skok's fly, tied entirely with hen pheasant feathers.)