Yes, same as yours. the pro tabs
Tuna 2023
- Thread starter SilverFly
- Start date
Dirtbag
And don't you forget it!
Looks a little light on flat falls. Digging those flashy stinger hooks. Good inspiration to switch out the trebles on my Colt Snipers.
Here's my Dirty Azz Tuna "fly" box.
Honestly, flat falls have kind of fallen out of the rotation for me. I have two: One Shimano and one Mustad (not pictured), but my six jig rod setups might have one tied up on the trip, but nobody ever grabs it. It's mostly a flatside + coltsniper show early in the season, then an all Coltsniper with some Mustad Zippy late in the season. Even if they're going hard at the boat, the Coltsniper gets the job done since they can basically be fished however you want.
And yes, swapping out those hooks is a must. I've even tried bigger/nicer trebles on the coltsnipers, but still seem to lose like half the fish. Assists is the only way to go.
"Novice"? If you say so. How many cubic yards of bucktail and hackle have you tied through?
Thanks for the offer to buy some. I have considered doing some limited commercial tying, but not quite ready to go down that rabbit hole yet. Instead, how 'bout we do some horse trading for now? I've been meaning to try some snow runner (nayat?). Looks like the ideal material for squid patterns. Send me a hank of white and I'll whip out a few for you.
Do you want bright white or dirty white? Maybe I'll send you a touch of both."Novice"? If you say so. How many cubic yards of bucktail and hackle have you tied through?
Thanks for the offer to buy some. I have considered doing some limited commercial tying, but not quite ready to go down that rabbit hole yet. Instead, how 'bout we do some horse trading for now? I've been meaning to try some snow runner (nayat?). Looks like the ideal material for squid patterns. Send me a hank of white and I'll whip out a few for you.
To be fair, I don't fish jigs nearly as much as I used to. I have one "jig" outfit, a M/H Trevala paired with a Torium 20. It works with flat falls but is really clumsy (or just me) to rip flat sides. Perfect for lobbing heavy flat falls though. Yeah, they aren't as exciting to fish, but what I like about them is they're so simple and get stupid-deep, stupid-fast. The Trevala is the first thing I reach for if we stop on marks.
I stopped bringing it on the dedicated fly trips though. Mostly to force myself to use different lines/patterns/techniques. Turns out I haven't really needed it anyway with the 700gr Depth Finder lines. I have a 14wt and 13wt rigged with those, a 12 with a 600gr Leviathan, and another 12 with a floater/popper.
FYI, I might be done for (more) charters this year, but I'll get my snipers properly dressed in case I get a boat whore invite. Just say'n.
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The flat falls do get deep, but not nearly as fast as a flatside... but that's apples and oranges since they don't fish even close to the same.To be fair, I don't fish jigs nearly as much as I used to. I have one "jig" outfit, a M/H Trevala paired with a Torium 20. It works with flat falls but is really clumsy (or just me) to fish those. Perfect for lobbing heavy flat falls though. Yeah, they aren't as exciting to fish, but what I like about them is they're so simple and get stupid-deep, stupid-fast. The Trevala is the first thing I reach for if we stop on marks.
I stopped bringing it on the dedicated fly trips though. Mostly to force myself to use different lines/patterns/techniques. Turns out I haven't really needed it anyway with the 700gr Depth Finder lines. I have a 14wt and 13wt rigged with those, a 12 with a 600gr Leviathan, and another 12 with a floater/popper.
FYI, I might be done for charters this year, but I'll get my snipers properly dressed in case I get a boat whore invite. Just say'n.
I have four Trevala M action spinning outfits for my Coltsnipers/Zippies/Flatsides, plus two M/H action conventional casting Trevalas for swimbaits and flat falls. The 12wt with a Leviathan line is usually sitting nearby, totally neglected on most trips. I've mentioned it ad nauseum on here, but I don't seem to get a fraction of the joy out of the fly rod tuna thing most here seem to. But jigs get me excited.
Bright white please! I use a lot of markers to customize fly colors, which seems to work well with synthetics. I would assume SN takes color even better being a natural material. That said, I've had the best luck with very light tones. Pinkish/cream tones especially.
Having seen the "squid-master" in a creative fly-tying frenzy
, I can verify that @SilverFly will apply his feverish imagination to produce his squiddy vision.Steve
Finding the techniques that click personally, is one of the beautiful things about fishing. I took fly rods on a float with a buddy a few years ago. After getting a couple chinook back bouncing eggs, the bug rods were put away and didn't come out again. I had forgotten just how much fun that is.
For me it's just fishery dependent... Trout, bass, carp? Fly rod all day every day. Tuna? Salmon? and I hate to say it... Steelhead? I'm a dirtbag to the core
Yup, the OCD won't let me be! (pretty sure I'm not the only member of that club in hereHaving seen the "squid-master" in a creative fly-tying frenzy
Steve
)
If anyone wants to give these a shot, here's a rough sample swatch with a 12mm FTD eye, ready for resin. This is the size I use for the 4-5" squids:
It's actually a pretty simple pattern. I've been using a mix of craft fur Congo Hair (or EP), to build a tapered profile with some flash mixed in. Craft fur moves great in the water but likes to foul so I usually start with a small "spline" of FisHair extending about a shank length past the bend. This helps with the fouling without making the fly too stiff. I layer the craft fur mix over tying forward and building the taper to max thickness about a half shank length past the bend. Then thinning down forward. Just short of the eye is where I'll tie in the eye tabs. Then finish off the final taper layers, covering the eye tabs. Tie off, trim to expose the eyes and that's it.
A quick search found this stuff at Craft Warehouse. I've got more than I need now so kinda regret looking since they've got some nice colors. Liking the ivory, silver satin, and pink for squids:
Craft Warehouse
Craft Warehouse is a locally owned craft store in the Portland Metro Area. We have stores in Oregon, Washington and Idaho. Unique craft supplies and DIY home decor.
craftwarehouse.com
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Have I ever mentioned how much I dislike jigging for tuna?
I will say, if I'm forced to fish a jig I'd rather fish a flatfall than anything else. Just think the bites are kinda cool.
I'm still waiting for an explanation from an experience jig fisherman that explains why everyone jigs at 5839473738 miles an hour. Just doesn't compute in my brain. Nothing theyre feeding on naturally swims that fast, and flat falls certainly prove that it doesnt need to be moving a million miles an hour to get bit. And now we have the super trendy and popular "slow pitch jigging" bullshit. Which as far as I can tell, when it comes to tuna, is little more than jigging at a speed that I think I would just naturally jig at if I hadn't been told so many times that the right way to do it is fast. Not sure why it needs to be called slow pitch. To me it's simply jigging lol. I suppose they gotta come up with ways to sell new shit though. Kinda like we have dubbing loops and then the ultra COMPOSITE dubbing loops lol.
If I'm gonna catch em on gear I'm happy to do it with live bait. I honestly find the bite more enjoyable. And if I'm catching them with gear it's all about meat and way way less about fun, and well, I'll put live bait over anything when it comes to sheer production, and I'll gladly die on that mountain. Of course that requires access to live bait, so I'm definitely not bagging on anyone to the south who doesn't really have regular access to it. If I'm gonna do it for fun, give me the bug rod all day long.
God I miss the ocean so much.
Not naming names or spilling beans, but I do happen to know someone who went out to take a peak after a quick Salmon trip the other day. Said the water was there and everything looked just right. Should be any day now. Hell they could be there already but they didn't have more than a couple hours to look around and frankly it's hard as hell to find em when you're the first and only boat out there. They could have had a huge school a quarter mile away and never known it.
Sure would love a repeat of last season. Quality opportunity from the first day till the last. That's all I could hope for. Hell, I ran our last trip last year and we really didn't expect to find much. Merry called everyone and told them the season was pretty much over based on our last couple of trips. Everyone cancelled except my crew on the big boat, who had a great attitude and just was happy to go offshore for a day. We stuck 33 in the ice bath that day. That ended our season but I'm sure we could have stuck it out and grinded another week or so, but at that point we had had such an amazing season with so few cancelations that we just called it.
I will say, if I'm forced to fish a jig I'd rather fish a flatfall than anything else. Just think the bites are kinda cool.
I'm still waiting for an explanation from an experience jig fisherman that explains why everyone jigs at 5839473738 miles an hour. Just doesn't compute in my brain. Nothing theyre feeding on naturally swims that fast, and flat falls certainly prove that it doesnt need to be moving a million miles an hour to get bit. And now we have the super trendy and popular "slow pitch jigging" bullshit. Which as far as I can tell, when it comes to tuna, is little more than jigging at a speed that I think I would just naturally jig at if I hadn't been told so many times that the right way to do it is fast. Not sure why it needs to be called slow pitch. To me it's simply jigging lol. I suppose they gotta come up with ways to sell new shit though. Kinda like we have dubbing loops and then the ultra COMPOSITE dubbing loops lol.
If I'm gonna catch em on gear I'm happy to do it with live bait. I honestly find the bite more enjoyable. And if I'm catching them with gear it's all about meat and way way less about fun, and well, I'll put live bait over anything when it comes to sheer production, and I'll gladly die on that mountain. Of course that requires access to live bait, so I'm definitely not bagging on anyone to the south who doesn't really have regular access to it. If I'm gonna do it for fun, give me the bug rod all day long.
God I miss the ocean so much.
Not naming names or spilling beans, but I do happen to know someone who went out to take a peak after a quick Salmon trip the other day. Said the water was there and everything looked just right. Should be any day now. Hell they could be there already but they didn't have more than a couple hours to look around and frankly it's hard as hell to find em when you're the first and only boat out there. They could have had a huge school a quarter mile away and never known it.
Sure would love a repeat of last season. Quality opportunity from the first day till the last. That's all I could hope for. Hell, I ran our last trip last year and we really didn't expect to find much. Merry called everyone and told them the season was pretty much over based on our last couple of trips. Everyone cancelled except my crew on the big boat, who had a great attitude and just was happy to go offshore for a day. We stuck 33 in the ice bath that day. That ended our season but I'm sure we could have stuck it out and grinded another week or so, but at that point we had had such an amazing season with so few cancelations that we just called it.
