Kelvin,
Hope you do well with the Omoe Brush. Let me know. Gold Pheasant is actually sometimes available dyed, and if you could get your hands on a blueish version, it might be worth considering for more naturally colored clam worm imitations for your waters.
I fished in Puget a long time ago, but had no luck (or skill), but certainly realized the potential there. With all those rivers and streams with spawning fish, there should be lots of options for fishing in the salt too.
Martin
As you point out, Photoshop is an expensive piece of software for most hobbiests. An Open Source (Free) alternative which has 90% of the features of Photoshop is the Gimp (Google Gimp for download site). I'd highly recommend it to anyone looking to get started. Both the Gimp and Photoshop have a fairly high learning curve so be prepared to spend some time with it.
Martin,
Thank you! that is what I thought.
We have the same type of clam worms here (althought ours are a very blue in tint) and have always thought a pattern that looked like a clam or pile worm would be highly productive.
I have tied up a few and am planning on being on the water for our sea run trout this weekend.
Hopefully I will send you a few pictures of some hungry searun cutthroat in next few days.
Happy New Year!
Send me your address and I will send you some highly productive bait fish patterens
Good luck and tight lines... aka get some GRAB!
Love your sight and all the sharing on how to tie these flies!
I Live in USA in western Washington State in Seattle on Puget Sound and I love the thought of hooking a trout or salmon on a fly first tyed in Denmark truely a global experience!
Thanks again
Hi Kasper,
nice fly with good pics/descriptions - will be in my box soon... Just one question: What is the used hook or the shank length 2x or 3x?
Rgds,
Ole
Steve: Do you cut the foam wings after you tie them in to make 2 wings or just leave them in a loop?
Hi Ripley,
Nice article....well done!
More information about fly fishing in Lithuania you can get from Grayling Society.
Tight line,
Tomas Kolesinskas - flyfisherman.Lithuania
www.lidex.lt
Ron:
Great comments! I have used zonker strip crawdaddys as well; successfully for smallmouth and bass for sure. However, I have found that the carp I go after are quite sensitive to a fly landing on the water; hence the light unobtrusive nature of this pattern. Zonker strips tend to help the fly land hard on the surface, despite a gentle cast. That may be just enough to scare shallow-feeding carp away. I've also noticed that tail material on crayfish tend to make the fly spin while casting, in essence furling the leader unintentionally. All this is well and good...Maybe I am just a bad caster :)
Regardless, I am glad other folks tie and use similar patterns to this...this pattern is just one idea to help you get started in thinking how to design your own for your needs. Tie on!
Now we all know what Martin found under his Christmas tree......
The DVD is cool, one of the most "rocking" - to use my precedessors phrase - I've seen.
The good thing this that there are DVD's like this coming out....an entertaining change away from the instructional "how to" DVD's which monopolized the market in the past. The Trout Bum Diaries Vol 1 & 2, Fish Bum 1: Mongolia, Soulfish, Drift......
Happy New Year 2009....and thight lines
Matthias
San Diego
Super great movie.
The last scene with the "what to do when stung by jellyfish" had me laughing.
/Allan
Kelvin,
Stripping pattern is a very individual matter, which depends on what you are fishing for, where and many other factors. When used for sea trout here in Denmark, most flies are stripped in foot-long medium speed jerks. Nothing I would consider special in any way. The natural worms move in long, undulating movements, which cannot be imitated easily by this fly, but honestly I don't think it matters much. Do as you usually do with most flies where you fish, and I think you will be fine.
Martin
I have tied a similar pattern that is even more realistic and just as easy. The only differences are that I use zonked squirrel for the claws, and I put a tail made from deer hair that points downward. The reason for the fan tail is that it will create the signature signature cloud of a crawdad in retreat.
I've seen the DVD and trust me - it rocks! On the none-fishing side the scene where cows are violently chased out of the flowerbed is priceless.
And what's more 'Running down ...' displays Baja what it is like - hot, dry, remote and stunningly beautiful. It makes you wanna go there (again).
Keep on rocking!
Drew,
The easiest way to get measurements for the bench is on the provided PDF's - linked in the middle of the article. There you can get the approximate distances and diameters.
Hope this helps.
Martin
Jan,
Great idea, can't wait to try both beches. I have converted some of the measurements, however, can you provide the spade bit size(s) for the larger holes and the spacing for some of them on the larger tying table? Perhaps the distance from the front of the bech inward and then the size, then spacing from the first to the second, then I can go with some latitude for spacing. Thanks for the great idea again. You have solved one of lifes great mysteries, how to do something well and not pay a fortune for it.
bob,to me the most important thing that was not mentioned,and probably the one that is always forgoten, is your creativity,unique to every individual,copying a fly or tecnique is easy almost borring after awhile,the beaty of your fly,is your experiance,and as time goes by,and you are willing to experiment with different materials,the marriage of color and flow will come with trial and error,remember there are no rules to creativity,none, to have rules limits your fly and your creativity,the secret, take it to the next generation of tyers,or be imprisoned by the past,the flys of the future are waiting?, Phillip Catania
Hi Liam Tying Hackle tips in is very easy, pick two tips out of a cock hackle cape to match size of the fly you want to tie.place one of them on tour knee curve of the hackle facing donwards then place the orther one on top match the tip points together, making sure the second tip curve facing out ie one convex one concave never both the same.Once you have them set together place then on the fly to what length you think is right hold them tight and tie in. Use the same method on Daddies as well have a play. Hope this helps Jan
Kelly,
I don't know what happened to Fly Tying Chronicles, but the cauterizer is available from many other outlets. Search the web for "fly tying cautery" and you will find tonnes.
Martin
Awesome pattern Steve! Thanks for publishing this. My personal patterns have always been more complicated than this, and took a lot longer to tie. This fly looks great, and I look forward to fishing it in '09.
hello. i am a young fly tyer, and i do not know how to tie hackle tip wings. mow do you tie them?
… I have a small favor to ask.
Support the Global FlyFisher through several different channels, including PayPal.
The Global FlyFisher has been online since the mid-90's and has been free to access for everybody since day one – and will stay free for as long as I run it.
But that doesn't mean that it's free to run.
It costs money to drive a large site like this.
See more details about what you can do to help in this blog post.
