Fly tying and patterns sharing thread

very nice, I like the stoneflies, like a Brooks stone with legs.
Michael

fun with glass beads. . .

fun with glass beads. . .

About 10 years ago I got a tube of beads from a bead shop on Hawthorn, I was after the small translucent green ones but, the beads were kinda mixed up so the whole tube ( around 1000 ? ) was $1.95. One of the greatest spur of the moment purchases I've ever made. . . . .

Here's some of the beads:



I use 'em for both heads:

PT:


rockworm:



and bodies:

caddis:


emerger:



Super cheap, easy to tie with, and the trout love 'em. . .

I've read about light diffusion a bit, all I know for sure is if I drop one of
these little beads on the carpet and hit it with a flashlight it lights up like
a beacon. . . I can only imagine what the fish see.

jimmy said:

......
I've read about light diffusion a bit, all I know for sure is if I drop one of these little beads on the carpet and hit it with a flashlight it lights up like a beacon. . . I can only imagine what the fish see.

Click to expand...

What do they look like if you put them in the water and shine a light on it? It's a great idea and my wife happens to be a beader so there are lots of beads around our house. I may have to try them when I get back to tying, if I can.

Jimmy,

Those smurf stones look very buggy. Those bead variations look awesome. Those are some good ideas. I try to make bead body flies but they never look right to me. I really like experimenting and fishing with different beads. Craft store treasures are on every aisle for the adventurous tyer.

Fisherwilly

fisherwilly said:

Jimmy,

I try to make bead body flies but they never look right to me. I really like experimenting and fishing with different beads. Craft store treasures are on every aisle for the adventurous tyer.

Fisherwilly

Click to expand...

thanks, I was just trying to show the different styles of glass bead uses, I know a lot of us use brass etc.. . . . 10 brass beads for $5 at the store. . BAH!! 1000 glass beads at the hippie bead store ( no offense meant my hemp-lovin' brothas and sistas ) for 2 bucks : pretty good deal. I've had much success em, any input is welcome.

rubberbands and garbage bags?

rubberbands and garbage bags?

why not. . . . with trout season on the horizon and the cold, wet weather keeping me close to the woodstove I've been messin' around with all kinds of goofy materials to pass the time. .

The "Rubber-Butt, Garbage-Back Salmon fly Nymph"

the recipe:

body/underbody - a rubber band
legs/tail - turkey biot ( or 'other' material )
thorax - dubbing ( or yarn, or chenel, or whatever else you want )
shellback - 1/4" strip of a lawn and leaf bag


tie on the rubberband (tight, so it wont twist) and the tail biots backwards as shown.




wrap the rubberband ONCE and bend the tail biots back over the first wrap. Continue to wrap the rubberband adjusting the overlap to form the ridges.




tie on the strip of garbage bag and the legs. Notice they aren't evenly spaced, I'll use the underbody and dubbing to space and keep them separated.




wrap the band the rest of the way to space the legs and add bulk.




wind the thread back and add the dubbing thorax, notice I started BEHIND the back legs. ( In hindsight I should of went a little further back with the dubbing, the naturals are close to 1/2 abdomen and 1/2 thorax+head )




half way to the head pull the plastic strip forward and tie it off, pull it back again and add more body material OVER where you tied it off.( this will prevent the 'ant body' shape and make more of a shellback effect ) Keep using the body material to space and separate the legs.


add body material until you like the shape, pull the rest remaining plastic forward to create a second shellback and tie it off. ( I didn't really leave room for a head on this fly, It's more of a salmonfly imitation and they have little heads, adjust as you see fit )
. . .


note: the "turkey biots" are just what I used, this same look can be achieved by strips of 'garbage bag' trimmed to shape, monofilament colored with a sharpie pen, feathers ,rubber leg material, whatever looks good to you, If your WAY OUT OF CONTROL; tie knots in your material to form knees and elbows on the legs, if you think it looks cool. . .

grab that black sharpie pen and color/mottle/darken/fill in the rubberband abdomen.
I filled in side to side on the top and lightly brushed front to back on the underside.


top view:


underside view:



there it is.

This isn't something I'll tie a bunch of and fish with or anything ( I like my smurf stones just fine ) just messing around and thought I'd share another "look what I found around the house and made a bug with" pattern.

Thanks for lookin,
~Jimmy~

wow jimmy, thats very nice. it goes to show you can make a fly out of a lot of different items. it definitely looks a like a fish catcher to me



brandon

I like it... the fly and the innovation!

Sinkline, I am getting older too (54), and have seen a lot of damsel patterns, yours is the one I'll tie from now on, very nice fly, and looks to be an excellent imitation. Nice pics too, thanks for posting.
Michael

First time I tried to burn down mono to make eyes, I thought it was simply done with a Bic Lghter. I was amazed to see how violent the fly flared up especially with all that flammable head cement. LOL! So how is it actually done? This fly would come in extremely handy on Gold Lake.

.

Thanks Randy. I'll try it. Witnessing a fly get torched and burst into flames the way that one did was something to see but I don't recommened trying it. It took my eyebrows weeks to grow back.

.

I am but not by much. You ever read the warnings on a bottle of head cement? Yeah....that's what i'm talking about.

.

Seems like a good thread to ask this question on...

Usually use a spinning and casting reel fishing for trout and bass, and just got a fly rod from a buddy. Probably will go into a tackle shop and ask this also but.. What flies would I want to use right now for steelhead in the coastal areas? and what about for trout in the local rivers? Know most of the basics from my dad as a kid but don't know the fly types.

My answer is this. Your question is TOOO big and TOOO open. So my advise is to read. Search through the threads on this forum - many people have asked the same q's - and see what is told to them. If, after some research, you have more specific questions, then you will get specific answers.

Fly fishing is a blast and offers great joy! So do some homework and go have a blast!

Sinkline, Those flies are perfect!

You could do fine nymph fishing for steel, using dark colored nymphs, stoneflies, buggers, prince nymphs... or just toss egg sucking leeches, yarnies (glo-bugs), or marabou streamers - either something dark and subdued, or flashy and bright like pink, purple, blue or chartreuse.