When I was this kid’s age I wasn’t tying flies. I was still in the grips of gear fishing and was dreaming of steelhead trips with my dad. I think this kid is going to out tie me pretty soon. Maybe this won’t be your next saltwater tie, maybe it will, but I just think it is cool this kid is focused and doing this stuff.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8wuR5X3l3s0?rel=0
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I’ve been playing around at the vice a bit and maybe there is already a name for this style of fly but since I don’t know it, I’ll just call it a Reversed Gotcha. Basically, this means putting the eyes toward the back of the fly. In truth, I have a hard time staying that focused at the vice. I find myself tying one this way, one that, one a third way. If I sit down to tie a half dozen flies, I end up with six flies that are all unique. Tying is fun though, so I won’t beat myself up for that.
I’ve also been putting a strip of Clear Cure Goo or Rio Knot Sense on the top and bottom of the fly and I really like the way it looks.
Here are some of the recent ties.
Clear Cure Goo under the UV lamp.
The reverse with a little hot bunny tail.
Bigger fly, a #1, I think, with Fox as the wing.
Throw in some rubber legs.
Heavier eyes, in case I get over to the West Side.
A #6 with just the flash for a wing.
I’ll bet these will catch fish, but I understand a great number of flies will catch fish out there. I look forward to throwing some of these flies at those Androsian fish. Catching a fish on a fly you’ve tied is a great feeling… one I hope to experience over and over and over again.
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The thing really isn’t even that old… I think it is about three years old. I don’t think it should be breaking at this point… but alas, it has. I was putting a #2 in the jaws there and “snap.”
Damn.
Yeah… it wasn’t a really expensive vice, but still… should probably last more than a couple-three years. So… I’m in the market for a vice. The price points are really, really varied…
If I wanted to break the bank I could spend $690 for one of these… A Master Swiss Vice.
Damn... that's a lot of scratch
I am probably just an ignorant fly tier as I can’t imagine what this can do for me to justify the price. The truth is it probably can’t do anything for me, as I probably lack the skills needed to demand any Swiss tool beyond the army knife.
Michael Gracie has a more viable option for me…
That's $9.57
In truth, I’ll probably spend more than $9.57, but I’m not breaking the bank. Andros is coming soon… going to have to get on this.
UPDATE: Through the generosity of strangers, I’ll be getting a lightly used Griffin vice. Awesome.
OK, so, back in December I had several dozen flies land in my lap… well, they came in a box really, probably best they didn’t actually land IN my lap… barbs and all.
Anyway, I got a bunch of flies and I’ve been pondering a good way to distribute them to folks… good folks like you… you are good folk, aren’t you? Sure you are.
I’m figuring I’ll do a photo contest and that contest will be done on Facebook, as it’s the easiest way to get folks to upload their own photos. Upload a photo and whoever has the most “likes” at the end of February will get four dozen flies.
That there is a lot of flies... a LOT of flies.
So, put up some fish and let’s have some fun.
If you are not on Facebook… wow… how are you not on Facebook!? Send me a pic and I’ll try and get it up in there.
The folks over at Deneki Outdoors have some advice for fly selection at Andros South. This, of course, is particularly relevant to me, since I’m headed there in March.
Just a friendly reminder that big, light flies with rubber legs (OK, Sili Legs in this case) work really well for the un-pressured bonefish of South Andros Island.
I am a good listener.
Here are a few variations I’m pounding out for the trip (although I am now out of chain bead eyes and have an order in to re-supply).
Hot Nosed Bunny Rubber Legs Gotcha
Legs again, but a bit of bunny on the butt... burnt orange
Pink Gotcha with some white fox tail
Legs Legs Bunny Gotcha
Just in case... a Big Ugly for deeper water.
Once I get my big eyes, I’ll be tying a bunch more. I’m still tinkering around… playing with patterns… not really in the production mindset yet.
So… time to sit back down at the vice and start turning out some flies. Unlike my flies for El Pescador, this time I’ll be moving right on past those #8’s and #6’s… kind of past the #4’s and focusing on big flies… 2’s and larger with, of course, the 4’s and 6’s… just in case. Looks like not many of these patterns will need weed guards, which is nice as well.
Big Steel for Big Bones
It is nice to tie with a purpose… with a destination in mind… with a real reason to turn the bobbin.
Andros South, as you might expect, has some thoughts on flies you might want to have along. The Deneki Blog is content rich.
Compared to most in the bonefishing world, the flies that we like to fish on South Andros tend to be an unusual combination of big and light. For anglers wanting to load up a fly box before their trip, that can make it a little hard to buy commercially available flies – most widely available bonefish flies are either light enough but too small (probably designed for places like Belize and Christmas Island), or big enough but too heavy (probably designed for the Florida Keys).
via Bonefish Flies – 5 Favorites For South Andros.
Yes… I think I’m going to enjoy this…
That should work...
I posted about the windfall of flies I lucked into… thought I’d share exactly what was included in this treasure trove of sharp, pointy goodness.
Deceivers
Cockroaches
Clousers
Bonefish Critter
Half/Half
Bendback
Crazy Charlie
And… for some reason… 12 steelhead flies, 10 white mayfly nymphs, 12 small white spinners and 3 deer hair frogs.
I really don’t know what I’m doing with all this just yet, but it is kind of fun to look into that big box and know that there are hundreds of fish that will be caught on those flies… even if I’m not the one that does all the catching.
I was on Blanton’s Board, looking around and I saw “Belize Report” from Lee Haskin. Good stuff about permit and tarpon and a little about bones. The pictures though… well… the “Shrimp Neutralizer” pattern… well… what?!?! FOAM?! I certainly hadn’t seen that before. Really creative and it looks as if it caught fish. Now that would have been handy to see before my Belize trip.
The Shrimp Neutralizer was very effective on bonefish and even had an “eat” from a big permit!
Great to use a fly that suspends and doesn’t hang up in the grass or coral!
via Trips, Flies and Fish: Belize-Rumble in the Jungle!.
Lee's bone and FOAM fly. Cool.
Lee... that's innovation. Well done.
Check out the trip report… you’ll see that Lee’s permit and tarpon were a littttttle bit bigger than mine… like… A LOT bigger. That’s what Belize has to offer.
I was reading a paper by Dr. Alan Friedlander (out in Hawaii, has been studying bonefish around the Pacific, has a tagging program in Hawaii) about the bonefish in Palmyra and this sentence caught my attention…
The remainder of the prey items consisted of various crustaceans (e.g., shrimp, isopods) and polychaete worms, with a few small fishes and one terrestrial beetle.
Let that thought sink in for a bit. Bonefish. Beetle.
The odds are not with you. It is a one in a million shot. Still… marinate on it for a while.
It would be cool.
Hmmm...
I was looking around for some different flies to tie and came across the Avalon Fly, named after one of the big boys of Cuban fishing. It had a mono loop on the underside of the fly with beads hanging loosely on the loop. This was something I hadn’t seen before, so I tied a couple up and asked around about the theory behind the fly. I was directed to the Bouncer Flies website, which sheds some light on the topic.
A new construction method that can make exciting new patterns, and will improve many old favorite flies.
via BOUNCER FLIES.
While I didn’t have all the colors that I saw on the Avalon, I did try to tie some up to see how it might all come together. The Avalon is supposed to be primarily a permit fly, but it might be fishable for bones and maybe even tarpon… we’ll see if it even gets broken out of the fly box in Belize. Something new at the vice, which is always interesting.
A first go at the Avalon.
