Eyes

[Steve Vaughn]

Heard a smallmouth guide say he doesn't put eyes on his guide streamers but does if he is tying for the shop. To me, that sounds like eyes are attractors for fishermen and not the fish. To date, the only eyes I put on my streamers are on the lead dumbells or a dot from a Sharpie. Thoughts?

 

[wmelton]

I definitely agree that the eyes are for the fishermen not the fish. Sometimes I put them on anyway though. I posted a craft fur baitfish in the "whats in your vise" thread recently where the eyes/resin are integral to the shape of the fly. Sometimes a resin-smoothed head can change the action of a fly.

 

[Stonedfish]

I think they help for head hunting species.
I think red or orange gill throat hot spots do as well.
SF

 

[Dr. Magill]

Plus aren’t guide flies an abbreviated version of the original to save tying time?
Fish all day and still gotta tie for tomorrow kind of scenario.
Eyes can take some time to do right plus I like them

 

[clarkman]

Helped for Roosters in Baja....I notice no difference with muskies (of the tiger variety) or small mouth.

 

[Bambooflyguy]

Who fishes with a blind no eyed baitfish pattern??

 

[Jake Watrous]

Half of the time I think its a waste that I've tied eyes on the fly, but I have never been able to decide which half.

 

[Steve Vaughn]

Plus aren’t guide flies an abbreviated version of the original to save tying time?
Fish all day and still gotta tie for tomorrow kind of scenario.
Eyes can take some time to do right plus I like them

True, guide flies are by necessity quick and easy to tie. However, a guide's tip can depend on how successful the fishing is, so easy or not if eyes were key to having a successful day, you can be damn sure the guide flies would have them. You last four words make the point.

 

[Bambooflyguy]

Just put an eye on one side Jake!

 

[wmelton]

a guide in florida told me that eyes were necessary to catch snook on little glass minnow style patterns and he obviously invested a lot of time into his flies. I have caught a lot of snook on mine after the eyes had fallen off

 

[RCF]

When I first started to tie flies 50+ years ago I added eyes. Over those many years my flies lost a lot of eyes and I still caught lots of fish on those eyeless flies. Do I think they are necessary? No.

But if you have more confidence in the fly, then by all means fish flies with eyes. Confidence is so important because you are paying more attention to the fly, the presentation, the drift, and those subtle takes...

I always have confidence in myself for catching fish. Eyes do not add any more confidence... Now that my arthritic hands and poorer eyesight affect my tying skills I believe in the KISS method. No eyes for sure.

 

[Eastside]

…if you have more confidence in the fly, then by all means fish flies with eyes. Confidence is so important because you are paying more attention to the fly, the presentation, the drift, and those subtle takes...

So true!

 

[Salmo_g]

Eyes better damn sure be necessary. I have nearly a lifetime supply of jungle cock left!

 

[flybill]

There's the old addage "Flies catch the fisherman, not the fish!"!! I think eyes look great on many patterns, but really don't know if it makes a difference or even matters in the long run.. presentation and accuracy and the pace of the retrieve and pauses probably make more of a difference.

For Sea Run Cutthroat Trout, I use Leland's - Miwayki Beach Popper, it doesn't have eyes, but I'll have to ask him if he's tried them on the popper or not.

And to be clear, I use both eyes when selecting my fly and watching it do it's thing in the water!! LOL! And I think JC looks so damn good on so many flies!

 

[clarkman]

Maybe @MillCreekMinnow will chime in, since he's a self-proclaimed eye expert. (inside joke)

 

[Shad]

Eyes don't matter... unless they do! Guide flies are not all created equal and sometimes incorporate eyes and the like, but they generally are fairly minimal. Just what is necessary to get the fish to go.

Fish in crystal clear water (particularly saltwater, in my limited experience) can be very picky, and that little extra bit of convincing an eye/gill/etc. provides can make the difference between a follow and an eat, especially with slower presentations like shrimp. Of course, when fish are actively feeding on small baitfish, they don't spend much time looking at induviduals before they strike. In those (glorious) situations, eyes probably make little to no difference.

I usually use "eyes" (often the weghted variety) for functional purposes more than attraction, but that doesn't mean I don't try to use the most convincing size/color. As has been mentioned, holographic eyes (besides looking really cool) create a good foundation for creating UV bodies on baitfsh patterns. Yes, they look cool to us, but eyes can serve many legitimate purposes and can quickly turn into yet another fly tying rabbit hole.

 

[MillCreekMinnow]

Maybe @MillCreekMinnow will chime in, since he's a self-proclaimed eye expert. (inside joke)

Many fights are started with just one wrong look. That's hard to do without eyes! Stop tying passive aggressive flies....... Piss off predatory prey purposefully!