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Showing posts with the label flytying

Booby Bloodworm

  This floating bloodworm pattern is perfect for those cold winter days when you have to go deep. Fished in a team with the foam stickleback or a booby, this fly will often pick up better fish that are looking for something a bit more natural. To support the channel, join the monthly tying classes and enter the giveaways, head to https://www.patreon.com/flickingfeathers or https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/flickingfeathers and sign up Material list Hook: Kamasan B175 size 10-12 Thread: Red Uni 8/0 Underbody: Silver holographic or globrite no 3/4 Body: Small red V-rib or micro tubing Head: half of a 6mm booby eye Body junction: UV red ice dubbing Book of the month 6 is available here https://amzn.to/3jwznCE Amazon.com https://amzn.to/3DuHvM1 Amazon UK

Damsel Booby

  This is a fantastic booby that will catch you fish year round. I find these larger boobies work best on the point or fished singly and really lend themselves to slightly faster retrieves that get the tail moving. For some reason I have found this particular pattern less effective when tied smaller in a competition size format. To support the channel, join the monthly tying classes and enter the giveaways head to https://www.patreon.com/flickingfeathers and sign up or contribute through https://www.patreon.com/flickingfeathers . Materials list Hook: Kamasan B175 size 8 Thread: Olive Uni 8/0 Tail: Medium olive marabou Body: Olive chenille Rib: Med silver holographic Hackle: Grey partridge dyed yellow Eyes: 6mm yellow foam cylinder Book of the month 6 is available here https://amzn.to/3jwznCE Amazon.com https://amzn.to/3DuHvM1 Amazon UK

Bunny Bug

  The bunny bug or pike bunny is an absolute classic pike fly that has been around for decades. It may be less popular nowadays because of modern fly development but is still absolutely deadly and is ideal for days when a smaller fly is what you need, either because the fish are focused on small bait early in the season or simply because you can't get them to commit to eating a bigger fly. Tie some! To support the channel, join the online tying classes and enter the giveaways head to https://www.patreon.com/flickingfeathers and sign up or donate through https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/flickingfeathers Materials List Hook: Partridge Universal Predator X size 2/0-4/0 Thread: 210 denier UTC or Danville's Flash: Polar flash or similar Tail: Magnum or Texas cut rabbit zonker Body: Magnum or Texas cut rabbit zonker

Glyn's Mini-Fry

  This simple little fly from Glyn Hopper is a good choice for trout feeding on small fry. Although it works all year, it generally comes into its own a few weeks after the tiny pin-fry start showing up, but before they get up to finger size near the end of the season. It's well worth its place in the loch style fisher's box whether for fishing wild hill lochs, lowland lakes or reservoirs. It has even reportedly taken seatrout in the salt. Materials list Hook: Kamasan B175 size 10 Thread: Red Uni 8/0 Tail: Natural rabbit fur Rib: Silver wire Body: Silver holographic tinsel Wing: White rabbit fur topped with olive rabbit fur Cheek: Silver holographic To support my channel, join the online tying classes and enter the giveaways head to https://www.patreon.com/flickingfeathers and sign up or donate at https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/flickingfeathers

Peter Ross

  The Peter Ross is a great fly for lochs and rivers. Tied in various sizes it can be a deadly midge imitation, a small baitfish imitation or an attractor for salmon and seatrout. Materials list Hook: Kamasan B175 size 6-14 Thread: Black Uni 8/0 Tail: Golden pheasant tippet Rib: Silver wire Body: Silver tinsel & red seal fur Wing: Teal Hackle: Black hen To support the channel, join the online tying classes and enter the giveaways head to https://www.patreon.com/flickingfeathers and sign up or donate at https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/flickingfeathers

Bigfoot Floating Snail

  Peter Dobbs's floating snail pattern is a quick, easy tie that works wonders when fish are switched on to floating snails. When you encounter one of those days, the fish feel like they are full of marbles it's time to tie on a Bigfoot snail which will almost certainly outperform more complicated imitations. Either fished singly or washing line style with a black and peacock spider on the dropper with no retrieve, expect takes to be long definite draws much like fishing a static buzzer. This pattern appears in Bob Church's Guide to New Fly Patterns which is available here https://amzn.to/3k1BE8h Materials list Hook: Kamasan B170 size 10 or 12 Thread: Uni 8/0 in black Body: Peacock herl Foot: Yellow ethafoam To support the channel, get access to the monthly online tying classes and enter the giveaways, head to https://www.patreon.com/flickingfeathers and sign up or donate at https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/flickingfeathers

Teal, Blue & Silver

  The teal blue and silver is an absolute classic wet fly. Although it's probably most popular as a seatrout fly, it is a good choice for brown and rainbow trout as well as salmon. Fish it big in the salt or in rivers for salmon and seatrout, or slightly smaller for loch style brown trout fishing. Material list Hook: Kamasan B175 size 6-12 Thread: Black Uni 8/0 Tail: Golden pheasant tippet Rib: Silver wire Body: Flat silver tinsel Wing: Teal flank Hackle: Kingfisher blue or teal blue hen To support the channel, join the monthly online tying classes and enter the giveaways head to https://www.patreon.com/flickingfeathers or https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/flickingfeathers and sign up

Brown Sedgehog

  This sedgehog is a cracking puller for wild browns and stocked fish alike. The flash and hot spot combined with the strong silhouette from the dark brown body make it a good top dropper choice for pulling through the waves on dull days. Material list Hook: Kamasan B175 size 10-14 Thread: Fluo orange Danville's/ Uni 8/0 black But: Peach or orange seal fur Tail: Hot orange crinkle mirror flash Wing: Dark tipped roe deer hair Body: Brown seal fur Hackle:Red game or furnace hen To support my channel, get access to the monthly tying sessions and enter the giveaways, head to https://www.patreon.com/flickingfeathers and sign up or support through https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/flickingfeathers

Claret & Hare's Ear Emerger

This pattern has been around for ages, and in my opinion is a perfect stillwater emerger. It's simple, buggy and floats low and flush to the surface film offering an excellent impression of a midge breaking through the meniscus. Materials list Hook: Kamasan B170 size 10-16 Thread: Uni 8/0, Black Shuck: Pearl crystal flash Abdomen: Claret seal fur Rib: Pearl crystal flash Thorax: Hare's fur well picked out   To support the channel, access the monthly tying meetings and enter the giveaways head to https://www.patreon.com/flickingfeathers and sign up or support through https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/flickingfeathers

The Raghead Crab (2ways)

  This is a Crab that is on most Yucatan and Belizean lodges fly lists, and for good reason it has accounted for hundreds of permit and bonefish. It can be tied in any colour and in a range of sizes to suit every flats location or target species. Material list Hook: Gamakatsu SL11-3H size 6-1/0 Thread: Danville's Flymaster Weight: Lead, brass or tungsten dumbbells Claws: Marabou flanked by hackle tips Antenna: Crystal flash Legs: Medium round rubber Body: Wool or Mcfly foam glued together. To support the channel, get access to the monthly online tying meetings and enter the giveaways, head to https://www.patreon.com/flickingfeathers or https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/flickingfeathers and sign up.

Bauer Crab

  Will Bauers crab pattern is a great permit fly that works all over the Caribbean. It's a style that lends itself well to size, weight and colour adjustments, making it a good option for other species such as golden trevally, large bones and triggerfish. Material list Hook: Saltwater size 4-1/0 e.g. Gamakatsu SL12 Thread:140 den Weight: Lead dumbbells to suit Eyes: epoxy/mono crab eyes Legs: Square rubber ( https://www.lurepartsonline.com/Old-School-Flat-Rubber-5 ) Pliobond or contact cement To support the channel, get access to the monthly online fly tying meetings and enter the giveaways, head to https://www.patreon.com/flickingfeathers and sign up or donate at https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/flickingfeathers

Bunny Bone

  Designed by Florida Keys guide Jeffrey Cardenas, this shrimpy little number is a great addidtion to the bonefish box. Even when lightly weighted, this fly finds bottom quite quickly because of its sparse design, with slightly bigger eyes it is great for deeper water or stronger currents. DIY Bonefishing https://amzn.to/3AvD81Y Material list Hook: LS11-3H size 6-10 or your preferred bonefish hook Weight: bead chain or dumbbells Thread: Danvilles 3/0 Antenna: Crystal flash Body: Rabbit fur To support the channel, join the monthly online fly tying meetings and enter the giveaways, head to https://www.patreon.com/flickingfeathers and sign up or donate at https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/flickingfeathers Book of the Month 9: A Perfect Fish This beautifully illustrated book is quite hard to come by but you'll probably be able to find a copy by following my amazon links. Amazon .com https://amzn.to/3DKxadM Amazon UK https://amzn.to/31BKYul Using the link will help support my chan

The Clam Before The Storm

  This is another specific prey species imitation from Craig Mathews, inventor of Pop's bonefish bitters. Although it's designed to imitate snails and clams, I suspect it might often be eaten for a worm. Whatever they eat it for, it's best fished static near tailing fish or muds. To support the channel, join the monthly online tying meetings, access the members' only content and enter the giveaways head to https://www.patreon.com/flickingfeathers and sign up or donate at https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/flickingfeathers Materials list Hook: Gamakatsu SL11-3 H size 10-6 Thread: Tan Weight: Lead substitute fastened as a keel Body: Cream, tan or olive furry foam Siphon: Small ultra chenille, pink tan or light brown

Fleeing Crab

  The fleeing crab is a great choice on flats where you can encounter a range of species as it will work for permit, bonefish, triggers and more. I usually like this fly to be on the small and light side for a crab, but you can tie bigger and heavier versions to suit where you fish. To support the channel, get access to the monthly tying meetings and enter the giveaways, head to https://www.patreon.com/flickingfeathers and sign up or donate through https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/flickingfeathers Material list Hook: Gamakatsu SL11-3H or LS11-3H size 10-4 Weight: Bead chain or dumbbells Thread: 140 denier tan, orange or pink Legs: Centipede legs or similar Collar: Hen hackle Body: Sparkle yarn Weed guard 16-20lb hard nylon

Bonefish Puff

  The Bonefish Puff is a great little fly for tailing fish & shallow flats. It's full of movement and the bright head lets fish spot it even if you've had to lead them by quite a distance. Resist the urge to tie this large and heavily weighted, there are better flies for deeper flats. To support the channel, get access to the monthly online tying sessions and enter the giveaways head to https://www.patreon.com/flickingfeathers and sign up, or donate through https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/flickingfeathers Material list Hook: saltwater size 10-6 Thread: Uni 6/0 in tan, pink, olive or orange Weight: Bead chain Wing: Calf tail in white, tan, pink, olive or brown Flash: Pearl crystal flash Claws: Grizzle hackle tips Body: Ultra chenille in, blue, olive, pink, orange tan or brown DIY Bonefishing https://amzn.to/3AvD81Y Book of the Month 9: A Perfect Fish This beautifully illustrated book is quite hard to come by but you'll probably be able to find a copy by following my

Punctures

Another old one from www.sexyloops.com   With the spawning over I'm back on the water again and because of the current restrictions, I'm staying local so had my first float tube session of the year on Monday. The local lake has a decent population of largemouth bass although it's fairly featureless which can make them hard to find. More interestingly, it has a thriving snakehead population which keeps the bass fishermen away most of the summer. Fishing was slow after an overnight temperature drop from the mid twenties down to single digits. In fact, under normal circumstances I'd have changed my plans and went looking for a quarry more tolerant of cooler temperatures than largemouth. There was certainly no chance of any topwater action and all I managed was a half hearted pick up on a bottom dragged worm fly. So I basically used the day to explore and refamiliarise myself with parts of the local lake. I've certainly identified a few places to hit when it's warme

Catchy Titles

 An old one I wrote for www.sexyloops.com I'm terrible at naming flies. Or at least, terrible at it most of the time, when I actually come up with a fly that's reasonably original I can come up with something. It's probably because, I don't really think most patterns warrant a new name. We're probably stuck with the old style naming where there essentially only a few different flies, but loads of names for what are essentially just colour different colour combinations. I mean, look at the Kate Mclaren for example, is it really anything other than a black & brown bumble? No it isn't. And that's by no means unusual. Almost everyone calls hedgehogs sedgehogs now,  because Stan Headley renamed it after putting a hackle on it.  I think the hackled version didn't need a new name, even if sedgehog is probably better branding.  The thing about names though, they have some kind of power. I've noticed this several times recently. Folk raving about the blac

Bonefish Bitters

  Pop's Bonefish Bitters is an absolute classic bonefish fly imitating small crabs. It was developed by Craig Mathews for Belize, but works universally and also catches permit. It's fairly snag resistant because of the deer hair wing and I find it works best over rock, coral flats and broken ground. It's well worth tying up in colours to suit your fishing location for fish that are refusing the less imitative, attractor type flies like the gotcha. Materials list Hook: Your preferred saltwater hook size 10-4 Weight: bead chain Body: Epoxy coloured with nail polish or acrylic paint Legs: Silli legs or flexifloss Underwing: Zelon or antron yarn Wing: Deer hair Book of the Month 8: Strip-Set is available here Amazon.com https://amzn.to/3kizn9F Amazon.co.uk https://amzn.to/3wvglSo Using the link will help support my channel at no extra cost to you. To support the channel, get access to the monthly tying classes and enter the giveaways head to https://www.patreon.com/flicki

Big Ugly

  Aaron Adams's Big Ugly is an effective ghost shrimp mantis shrimp imitation. It's on the big side for a bonefish fly, but it's simple, durable and deadly in the right situations. Look for mantis holes or the little humps made by ghost shrimps to indicate where bones and other species may be receptive to this pattern. Materials list Hook: Gamakatsu SL11-3H Thread: Fluorescent "Gotcha" pink Danville's Weight: Bead chain or dumbbells Tail: Tan craft fur (barred with marker) Body: Root beer cactus chenille Wing: Tan craft fur Weed guard: 16-20lb hard mono Book of the Month 8: Strip-Set is available here Amazon.com https://amzn.to/3kizn9F Amazon.co.uk https://amzn.to/3wvglSo Using the link will help support my channel at no extra cost to you. To support the channel, get access to the monthly tying classes and enter the giveaways head to https://www.patreon.com/flickingfeathers and sign up.

Gorrel's Hackle Shrimp

  Gorrel's Hackle Shrimp is a seriously underrated shallow water bonefish fly. It's incredibly effective, especially on broken coral bottoms or sand with sparse grass, I have supreme confidence in the pattern and it's accounted for hundreds of bones for me in several locations. Materials List Hook: Gamakatsu SL11-3H or similar Thread: Tan, olive, pink or cream 140 denier Weight: Bead chain Antennae: crystal flash Body:Saddle hackle( grizzle, tan or grizzly olive are good) Belly: Crystal flash Book of the Month 8: Strip-Set is available here Amazon.com https://amzn.to/3kizn9F Amazon.co.uk https://amzn.to/3wvglSo Using the link will help support my channel at no extra cost to you. To support the channel, get access to the monthly tying classes and enter the giveaways head to https://www.patreon.com/flickingfeathers and sign up.