What have you been tying lately?

[redneckdan]

More flies for big toothy stuffs.

My version of the leftys deceiver, tied on 3/0. I'd like to get a bit more tail...but those are the longest feathers I have. Probably would have to go to a synthetic fiber.

I am itching to order some zonker strips and brass cone heads (pike bunnys) but this propane crunch is destroying my budget.

[UpperSippi]

I've been working on some more natural looking ones over the weekend.

[Flyhammer]

Nice tie! Also, if you tie your dumbbell eyes to the top of the hook, I've found that the fly will tend to fish upside down because of the weight. If you want it to fish green side up, you can either tie the eyes to the underside of the hook or else reverse your colors so the green is on the bottom. It probably doesn't matter, but just a thought.

[Flyhammer]

Bleeding-heart Sucker

[Icefishfun]

I just started tying jigs and wondering if you guys could tell me what kind of easy flies I can tie with the materials I have. Here are the materials- maribou, chenille, flashabou, and pearl tinsel. Thanks in advance for any responses

[redneckdan]

Okay mister 8", how's this one for ya? Taped it at 8 1/2.

Kind of an articulated mash up of Leftys deceiver and bobs clouser. Tied on triple 3/0 hooks.

[Ic3wind]

Looking good. that will be great for bluegills......... Just kidding....... the pike will get after it for sure. Now go for 12" cause that's when the magic starts to happen

[Icefishfun]

I just started tying jigs and wondering if you guys could tell me what kind of easy flies I can tie with the materials I have. Here are the materials- maribou, chenille, flashabou, and pearl tinsel. Thanks in advance for any responses.

[redneckdan]

Google up the Mickey Finn. Use your tinsel or flashabou to wrap around the hook to form the body. Use the marabou in place of the deer hair for the wing.

Could do a wooly bugger type fly. Use the marabou and chenille like normal. Tie in some marabou by the tips instead of hackle. Wrap it forward like the pattern calls for. I like this method better when trying to imitate a leech.

[Flyhammer]

A tribute to my Winter tying ADD, some toothy stuff, followed by some smallie stuff, followed by some trout weenie stuff.

[Flyhammer]

The smallies

[Flyhammer]

Trout

[Flyhammer]

And then a few more randoms for good measure

[UpperSippi]

Flyhammer, I like that last one!

I'm still stuck on the same general shape as my last ones I posted, but these are with EP fibers instead of the laser dubbing. They shed water really quickly so they should be easier for my son to cast.

[Icefishfun]

I am just starting out tying and wondering where you guys buy your hackle. I would like some good hackle without completely breaking the bank. Where do you get your hackle? And can you use schlappen instead of hackle, and if so where do you get that?

[Flyhammer]

It really depends on what you want to tie up. Good hackle will cost you money, there's not really a way around it that I have found. My advice would be to buy a book on tying nymphs, and crank out a bunch of mayfly, caddis, and midge nymphs first. The allure of tossing a dry to rising trout holds a lot of appeal, but I think you will find that the amount of time you spend nymphing deep pools and runs will outnumber (and outfish) the times you spend throwing a dry mayfly pattern probably 10-1 or more. Not saying that learning to tie dries isn't important, but if I could go back and do it over again I would sharpen my skills tying nymphs before jumping into the tougher hackled dries.

[Icefishfun]

Just tied my first flies!!!! Thank you guys so much for all of your tips. I didn't have any hackle so I palmered some marabou and it looks really cool! Thanks again

[Icefishfun]

One other question, how do you strip chenille that is really thin so you can tie it in?

[redneckdan]

Try pinching it between your thumbnail and the pad if your index finger then pulling. Should strip the fuzz of the strand.

[Icefishfun]

Thanks for the quick response and do you guys palmer marabou

[Icefishfun]

Does anyone palmer marabou?

[JP Z]

Man it has been Tooooooooo long since I've sat behind the vise. For grins I wanted to see if I still had the touch. Well, all I can say is the "touch" isn't what it used to be. But I did manage a nifty little size 16 bead head pheasant tail for my troubles.......I missed this!

[JP Z]

Icefishfun,

As for your question, when I was tying pretty heavy (4-5 years ago) I did do some leeches with palmered marabou and they had amazing action.

[Ufatz]

Sure, you can do almost anything with marabou. Biggest drawback of course is that it is not very durable stuff...like peacock herl-both deadly materials but not long lasting.

Can you imagine how deadly a #10 curved hook would be, just wrapped with herl an then a bunch of marabou tied through it so it looks shaggy.

Probably be the only fly a guy would need half the time.

And marabout leeches are deadly!! Black, brown and purple.

Have fun!!

[OnAFly]

BUMP