Hey Fly Tiers...What's In The Vise?

[rgfixit]

A few more gobies.



Just a few more and it's carp fly time.

Rg

[Raquettedacker]

Are they weighted so they stay on the bottom?

[rgfixit]

Yeah they are basically a Clouser with lead barbell eyes on the bottom of the hook. In theory the hook point stays on top. It works pretty well if you get the eyes in the right place.

Rg

[rgfixit]

I could make them heavy enough to cast

Bob

[Raquettedacker]

And a little bigger,  for smallmouths  ??....  

[fishgalore]

Tying session with Lee Weil tomorrow. Tying exclusively with deer hair. I have no experience with it yet but was shown how to spin it last week. Another lesson to learn.

[KingPerch]

And a little bigger,  for smallmouths  ??....  

my thoughts exactly!

Very nice Bob!

[Bluegillonafly]

Very nice Rg.

[choo choo]

Nice flies guy's. I used to tie flies all winter and have my boxes all filled up and ready to go once the season  started. But the last 2  years( since retiring) I have really enjoyed tying during the season. In fact I like just waking up , have breakfast and tie up a few flies to replace ones I lost recently, or flies imitating the bugs that will be hatching that day ...or in the next  day or two. My boxes are pretty well stocked , so it's basically just maintenance tying during the season now for me, replacing worn out, chewed up, flies , and tying extra ones that have been working real well, and some experimental stuff.
 But had to tie a few the other day, as I dream about the spring and summers warmth.....and needed a little therapy due to the bitter cold and rough ice fishing conditions. I really don't share my patterns on the internet, this site, or anywhere, but this is a" large" generic long tailed, white wing black, trike :trico pattern, that everyone uses and is a good fish catcher . Good therapy during this crazy winter...a dozen little trikes in #22...got some #24 and tiemco #26 hooks that get more takes...but maybe i'll just wait for summer to tie them up.

[rgfixit]

my thoughts exactly!

Very nice Bob!

Those  are about 3 1/2". Good rock bass size

Fishgalore, may I ask who Lee Well is? Speaking of deer hair, my friend gave me Dave Whitlock's book, "The Fly Tyer's Almanac". Circa 1975. A great reference for deer hair techniques. I tie Adirondack style flies for him. He's tried to tie but has problems with it. He's a heavy guy with fingers like sausages and hands like hams. They just don't work well.

I'll need a bump in my bifocals for those teeny tiny Tricos    Nice ties Choo Choo!
 During the season I also tie to experiment or replenish. When I worked ( Happily I retired last year) I would get up,early and tie a few before I left for work. Then again when I got home in the evening. I can get lost at the bench or in the stream. The world just melts away I also build rods, but that's more like work.

What line/leader combinations are you using to fish those?

Just a couple months now boys.

Rg

[choo choo]

 RG...I use a 9' 3wt. rod , 3wt. double taper Cortland Line, 9' tapered mono leader with a 3' tippet -7x, or sometimes 6 or 8x.
 The tippet I blood knot to the leader and  use a tuft of poly yarn as a fly locator (not strike indicator) a foot or 18" from the teeny trico or midge,ant etc.....so I can find it and see the take  with these old tired eyes !
Midge fishing is a pain sometimes...but very challenging and super addicting.

I think you have a winner with those gobies...bet they would work for big old  trout too.

[rgfixit]

The boys asked for bigger...so....



Choo Choo,

Thanks for the info. Have you ever tried furled leaders? I'd love to send you a couple to play with. I started making them a few years back after seeing an Internet forum dedicated to their construction. I've never seen a tapered or tied leader turn over a tippet and fly like a furled. I made a jig that allows me to make them any length up to 10'. The last couple of seasons I've been playing with hi-vis butt and tip sections. I've been very pleased with the results.They last season after season which makes an old cheapskate like me very happy

Rg

[choo choo]

 Maybe 10 years or so ago I tried and used a "braided butt" woven leader from Orvis for a season on one of my rods. It was amazing how well it turned over, and floated well too.  What I didn't like about it was when dry fly fishing and I picked up after completing my drift, it would hold water and, hundreds of tiny water droplets would come down on the water as I false casted. I felt it was spooking and putting down some fish as I "sprayed" the water with those droplets . So I began false casting after the pick up, way off to the side of my target zone until the water droplets quit, then would re direct a false cast or two on the right line and then make my  final  power forward cast to the target. I did not like having to do that, especially when fishing caddis or other flies when you need to get that next cast right on 'em , real quick after the pick up. So I stopped using those braided butts and went back to mono. I guess for wet fly, nymph and streamer fishing they would be good...but just went back to the mono, so it was easier to switch fly types streamside.
 I'm not sure if your furled leaders are the same as those braided butts, but would definitely like to try one sometime....thanks for the offer, really nice of you to do that.

[Gump]

nice ties guys !

I've tied a little bit of everything this winter from some tiny #16 and #18 blood midge and scuds for Spring Creek, up to my minnow and baitfish patterns for some salt travels and the larger trout/bass up here in the lake.  Also I built 2 more rods on vintage glass blanks...

[rgfixit]

Nice job on the flies and the rods. Making good use of those blanks I see 

Rg