gfen,

Were you using a steel leader? I bet that would be a nice little snack for a hungry gator.

Here's an example of my mouse fly. It's tied on a long bend plastic worm hook which is cut and the shank modified/extended and bent upward at the eye. The goal is to get the mouse to stay upright on the surface. At the base of the large hook bend is several wraps of lead wire. Under the hair body is a foam under wrapping that keeps the mouse bouyant. The rubber legs help with the balance too. Obviously, an effective mouse pattern doesn't need to be this realistic to catch fish but I enjoy experimenting with fly design and realistic patters have an aesthetic appeal to me. A lot of time and experimentation has gone into this fly and I rarely fish without a couple of these critters in my fly box.

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Ill take four please.

You cut and rebend the hook?

That's a level of attention, dude.

That is a stellar mouse pattern. Can I buy one from you?

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Thanks for the compliments. I generally don't sell flies unless they're decorative streamers that are part of a framed art project.

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The photo shows a hook prepped for a mouse. I'm still trying to work the bugs outa this pattern but basically the hook set-up is geared towards having a "high eye" and a low slung hook bend that keeps the hook downward (hence the lead wraps at the base of the bend). The wire is flexible but fairly heavy gage stuff I use for making spinner lures.

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That's dedication. I love it!

Ever try a Daichi Swimming Nymph hook? Looks pretty similar to what you're trying to engineer.

No kidding, the cutting and rebuilding of the hook is damned hardcore, although I do see exactly the why of it.

Just for reference. Daiichi 1770.

Although the right shape, the Daiichi hooks are way too small for this application. I use plastic worm hooks - I think they are 2/0 or something similar. The mouse's body is between about 2-3 inches in length.

Thats an awesome idea!

How do you guys think these would work? They're Truform hooks, I think Daiichi makes them. #1230 I think.

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I don't think the gap is wide enough. A popper style hook, because its a popper style body, is what you're shooting for... You're just giving it a bit more bend to the shank.

Ok I got ya....

I've never tried tying any yet, I buy mine. I would like to give it a shot, though. I think I'll try foam first, then move on to deer hair.