swinging fly

[turkey]

with all of this Steelhead talk, I felt compelled to tie something for this Fall. Its not my pattern...I borrowed it from someone. I'm still working on smooth floss, and I need to change the way that I wrap the body because the floss is already starting to slip back over the tag. This one prolly won't hold up for fishing...although Slammer would probably fall for it.

 

[Ramcatt]

dig it

 

[flipnfly]

i likey....... anyone have anyclue which of these swinging flies is best to use in erie i have never tied these or fished them looking to develop different than chucking and ducking and staring at an indie

 

[sandfly]

I fish swinging flies all the time for steel. wore out the chuck and duck back in the 80's. still carry them for the occasion when swinging isn't practical but would rather run a wet style through the runs.

 

[Ramcatt]

personally i don't have much luck on irons
tubes and waddington shanks produce for me

my opinion for Erie
i really only fish OH/PA when the water is up... ie swing-able
and i fish the big NY water
So a low water style fly really doesn't do much in my box
i enjoy tying them... i have them... so i fish them... but not often

 

[turkey]

Ramcatt wrote:
personally i don't have much luck on irons
tubes and waddington shanks produce for me

my opinion for Erie
i really only fish OH/PA when the water is up... ie swing-able
and i fish the big NY water
So a low water style fly really doesn't do much in my box
i enjoy tying them... i have them... so i fish them... but not often

I agree. The most productive fly I've used in Erie is an all white or cream bunny, stinger hook style leech. I always clip off the fore hook. Its not the most attractive fly but it has worked well. I actually found a materials list from last Nov and I have Waddingtons on it, but I never got them. Maybe this year.

I still don't have the correct stuff to tie a decent Intruder.

 

[Ramcatt]

after reading this lastnight... i decided to pull out some irons for the first time in 6mos or so
rusty and nothing special

 

[Heritage-Angler]

Nothing special, my arse. Nice work!

Do they glow in the dark? ;-)

I think you just answered the questioning of your tying skills - in spades.

 

[gfen]

Heritage-Angler wrote:
Do they glow in the dark? ;-)

:-o

 

[jay348]

i agree w/ HA...very nice work.

 

[Ramcatt]

about the wadington shanks...
I'm a big fan of the 35mm... partridge or steelhead anglers...Hareline is coming out with a similar product this year, so they should be in/available to shops

I have tied on clipped heavy wire mustad hooks... but not a fan
- i always end up sticking myself... blood worthy sticks
- proper clipping leaves the sharp cup deep in the fly... not easy to flie
- doesn't have the dispursed weight of a shank
BUT- they do make a nice thin round body

 

[sandfly]

A few I use in Ny. waters

 

[BPS]

Ramcatt- You gotta watch leaving so much of the hook exposed. You're gonna end up hooking into something with the pointy end of that fly.

Nice flies. I hope my ties look that good someday.

 

[BelAirSteve]

Ramcatt wrote:
after reading this lastnight... i decided to pull out some irons for the first time in 6mos or so
rusty and nothing special

Ramcatt,

It's about time you finally posted a fly on the board! ;-)

 

[turkey]

Sandfly, I like those patterns. The 2nd one reminds me of a Rusty Rat. I bet the purple one kills.

Ramcatt, that picture made my day. The ties look awesome as usual. What did you use for hackle on the top 2?

Im feeling motivated enough to fill a steelhead box before September. Here is another for this fall. I hope the pic is ok...its from my phone.

 

[jjsjigs]

Turkey, your fly reminds me of a "Steelhead Pat" fly which work very well on the Salmon River. Very nice tie.

 

[Ramcatt]

Nice fly turkey-ish
The long black is whiting Spey hackle
I bought a full cape a few years back when is came out...before there were all the issues with the spey hackle product line
I'll pull some for you

 

[Ramcatt]

 

[turkey]

Ramcatt wrote:

I bought a full cape a few years back when is came out...before there were all the issues with the spey hackle product line

I just looked at getting a spey neck about 2 weeks ago. I asked the seller what Whiting graded her particular cape as...she said Whiting doesn't grade spey hackle...but I see you got an old neck that was graded.

I would've bought the cape but I started hearing about how a lot of the feathers weren't usable for their intended purpose. If I found a neck for the decent price, I'd jump on it just to try it.

I have a decent pheasant rump and the feathers at the base of the tail are perfect for hackle...nice color, long barbs, not webby...the feathers are just a little too small for most flies tied on irons.

 

[Ramcatt]

yeah.... there was alot of negative talk about the spey hackle
and then last year there was a harvest error (and from what i'm told) little to no birds were usable
so there is a huge range in pricing 25-150
the fibers are very fine and its not an super easy material to work with
doubling feathers up can produce good results
i like them over single sided black schlappen/coque tails (top right fly in the pic with reel)

since intruders style flies came up... figured i'd knock the rust off those
shorters are on clipped salmon hooks... longer is waddington shank
working on new methods and new materials
grizzly hackle hasn't been in most of my previous flies... also trying some coyote
(junky cell phone pic)