What's in your vise?
- Thread starter Billy
- Start date
Bell's Hexagenia
Hook - Mustad 9672 3XL, size 6-8
Thread - Brown, 6/0
Tail - Pheasant tail fibers, 3 to 5
Body: - Pale yellow wool
Wing - Calf tail, split delta-wing style
Hackle - Brown, 3 hackles, tied very heavy
BellsHexagenia.pdf - Google Drive
managed to throw together a few bull trout flies for a buddy under the condition that he fish the more colorful one a fair bit...These are on TP605 2/0 (I think one might be on a 4/0 spinnerbait hook, but it has the same gape as the 2/0 TP605s, just a slightly longer shank....I think it's the colorful one).
Best served on the fastest sinking streamer line one has. I would have no qualms about fishing these for tigers either....even with the smaller 2/0.
The colorful one will slay! If you catch them in the right mood, they lose their shit over purple. Swarming and fighting each other for the fly.
Crazy Charlie
Saltwater Fly Pattern
Hook - Any brand saltwater hook
Thread - White or black, pink, orange etc
Eyes - Bead chain or dumbbell
Body - Tinsel under v-rib or equivalent
Wing - Pearl krystal flash over white calf tail
maybe I should tie some up for myself....
It's definitely an all or nothing situation--but when is it not?
Jack Devlin
Life of the Party
Change of pace. I really enjoy making these flies.
mtskibum16
Life of the Party
What base hook are you using there Lou?
mtskibum16
Life of the Party
I've always wanted this to work out for me, because I'm anal about having a sharp hook, and I hate giving up on flies. It would be much better to just tie on a new hook. That said, one of the main features that make a clouser effective is the jigging nature. I find that when you have a line running through 1"+ of tube, the jigging action pretty much dies. VS a regular hook where there is a hinge connection between the loop knot and the eye of the hook. So if I'm going to put up with casting dumbell eyes, I want the jiggy jig. I would like to play with tubes more for epoxy head baitfish or cone head patterns though.
Also note that you can change out the hook on a stinger clouser too.
mtskibum16
Life of the Party
I like these. That first one looks money. My main comment would be to watch your hook gap. With a big head and such a short shank you aren't leaving yourself with much gap to actually hook the fish. On a hook that short I'd probably tie everything on top and form the head mostly above the shank. I had a phase where I was tying on too short or too small of hooks for how much bulk the head/body had. The pattern was good and I had lots of good takes, but failed to hook or lost way more fish than a stinger clouser or larger hook would have. I still feel the sting from back to back days losing an ~20 lb king and a 9+ lb coho.
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Doodlebug
Hook - Mustad 94840 or equivalent, size 8-10
Thread - Black
Tail - Red hackle fibers
Underbody - Yellow wool yarn
Over body - Peacock herl
Rib - Fine gold tinsel
Wing - Woodchuck body hair
Hackle (crown) - Deer body hair, shaped and trimmed into a topknot
Doodlebug.pdf - Google Drive
Eggie Special
Hook: Mustad 94840, size 10-12
Thread - Black
Tail - Pheasant tail fibers, 3 to 4
Body - Pale yellow wool
Wing - Furnace, upright and divided
Hackle - Rhode Island Red (Brown) Hackle, palmered the full length of the body
EggieSpecial.pdf - Google Drive
Widdicomb
Hook - Mustad Dry Fly, size 12-14
Thread - Black
Tail - Wood duck flank fibers
Body - Stripped peacock quill
Wing: Light Dun hackle tips, tied spent
Hackle - Golden badger, tied light
Widdicomb.pdf - Google Drive
Victory Fly
Hook - Mustad 94840, size 6
Thread - Black
Tail - Red Duck Quill, tied in a ‘V’
Underbody - White Silk Floss
Over body - *Gudebrod HT Braid Silver/Black, wrapped heavy, covering most of the body
Hackle - Blue
*I used silver Bill's Body Braid
VictoryFly.pdf - Google Drive
mtskibum16
Life of the Party
That first one should be fun to cast
