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Who's tying what?


Rob G

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On ‎1‎/‎30‎/‎2018 at 4:21 PM, Rob G said:

A sampling of the articulated flies I've been tying.  Adding a couple new colors to the arsenal, and hoping that fluoro. shrimp pink might be the new chartreuse. 

Also, from Timothy's inspiration, an articulated McGinty : )  

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Nice articulated steelhead popsicles.

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Tom, I had never heard of a popcicle fly.   It's neat when you adapt a fly that was originally designed for one species and make it work for another.

Mike, nice poppers, I rarely tie in weed guards but I definitely should tie some in that fashion.  I've only used stiff mono, what type of spring wire is that ?

And finally, tying up some small craws.  Was talking to a well sought after guide at the Indy Fly show a couple weeks ago and he was telling me that his go-to fly for warmwater days on the Muskegon is a small crayfish.  He claimed like others I've heard say, to stay away from real large claws  Good for what ails ya.  I've had success with these on smallmouth, largemouth, rock bass, carp, and I'm told that they're even good for big drum (but can't vouch for that yet....Ha)   Tied on a Mustad  #4  3xl streamer hook.

 

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Thanks John, I will give your excellent crawfish another shot. One of my main goals this coming year is to catch at least one nice drum. I know a couple pools where they stack up and so I plan to really go after them,. ........until I become too frustrated . Ha

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On 1/31/2018 at 9:25 AM, Mike G said:

It's called Bubblegum, Bubba. No real man would use a sissy color like pink or shrimp. 

Rob, from your scientific background, would you say that Bubblegum would fade to grey 2-3 ft under water? They say Cajun Red line is invisible under water.

 

On 1/31/2018 at 10:20 AM, Rob G said:

Mike,

you're correct in that those teeth will often put an end to a fly quickly so I'm not wasting a lot of time tying up a bunch in yellow.  I generally tie my pike flies up in rabbit, which is tough enough to withstand their abuse.  I think the smallies might be willing to chase that extreme yellow at times, especially in stained water.

As to the red line question, there are several variables involved, the water clarity and amount of dissolved solubles, the amount of ambient light available and most importantly the depth.  As you go deeper into the water column, less of the longer red wavelengths of light are able to penetrate down there in order to be reflected from that line so it can't appear red.  In most cases, that would mean it would take on a much darker color but I'm not sure how the translucency of the material itself would affect the outcome?  but I do know that red solid materials do appear black at lower depths.  This is one reason why UV colors at the other end of the visible spectrum are being touted for lures and fly tying materials.  I do know that in 3 feet of clear water and probably deeper, that enough sunlight is able to penetrate down that far so that the red is very visible.  I have seen this first hand up in northern Wisconsin when a buddy of mine fished that Cajun Red line next to me while we were fishing bedded crappie in 3 to 4 feet of clear water.  I have read reports that often the line doesn't lose its color until even 9 feet down in some cases.  We really need an ISA pool and/or beach party to evaluate these lines and fly tying materials underwater though many or most fish might not perceive the visual spectrum quite the way we do.  

 

 

Hey guys, perusing the forum when I saw this and wanted to weigh in... In the human eye, there are two things to detect color and light, these are rods and cones. Rod cells perceive contrast in low light. Cone cells provide color vision. Like your eyes, fish eyes contain both rods and cones. Their eyes are replete with the three chemicals that allow humans to see in a seven-color spectrum, plus a fourth chemical. The fourth chemical, common to most predatory fish, permits them to experience the ultraviolet range. Another fish-eye feature is "eyeshine." Eyeshine helps fish like walleye and deep-sea species to see well despite their dimly lit world. Reflected light bounces off a mirror-like layer near the back of the eye allowing light to pass through the eye twice. (Raccoons and other mammals that favor the night have the same layer in their eyes). It's important to keep in mind that the medium fish see in is denser than air, you need to remember that long wavelength light (red and orange) disappear in the first 15 meters of water. Short wavelength light (blue and ultraviolet) penetrate far deeper. Basically, in that first 15 meters of the water column, color matters. Now that that's out of the way.. take this into consideration: hold an object up to the sun and look at it. It doesn't matter the color, you won't be able to discern it, all you will be able to make out is the silhouette. This is why in dry fly fishing (or any topwater fishing) size and shape come before color. Now if you were fishing streamer patterns, nymphing, crankbaits, or soft plastics in gin clear water on a sunny day, nuances in color absolutely matter. If fishing in murky water or at night, contrast is more important (Choose a dark color like black). Hope this makes sense. Sorry for the long reply, I get excited when I can fuse science and fishing.

One more thing- as far as colored line goes (Cajun Red).. its all bologna, just a marketing ploy. A red monofilament line past 15 meters will actually appear black in color, perhaps this is beneficial because the deeper you go in the water column the darker it gets due to light penetration limitations, but it doesn't just disappear.  The important thing to consider when talking about fishing lines is refractive index.  The closer an objects refractive index is to that of water, the more invisible it will appear. We could get REALLY in depth with this but just know that the line with the refractive index closest to that of water is fluorocarbon. That being said when fluoro is knicked or frayed it will be very visible (more so than mono or other lines) so you need to be hyper-aware of that factor. Graduated with a degree in Biology and Chemistry this past May.. As you may have gathered, I am applying all that knowledge to fishing.. haha!

 

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On 2/3/2018 at 11:12 AM, Rob G said:

Tom, I had never heard of a popcicle fly.   It's neat when you adapt a fly that was originally designed for one species and make it work for another.

Mike, nice poppers, I rarely tie in weed guards but I definitely should tie some in that fashion.  I've only used stiff mono, what type of spring wire is that ?

And finally, tying up some small craws.  Was talking to a well sought after guide at the Indy Fly show a couple weeks ago and he was telling me that his go-to fly for warmwater days on the Muskegon is a small crayfish.  He claimed like others I've heard say, to stay away from real large claws  Good for what ails ya.  I've had success with these on smallmouth, largemouth, rock bass, carp, and I'm told that they're even good for big drum (but can't vouch for that yet....Ha)   Tied on a Mustad  #4  3xl streamer hook.

 

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Very nice. 

This storm will force me to work from home tomorrow. I guess I will turn on my laptop at the fly bench.......

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OK more "stuff"

Tied up a bunch of hollow flies, mostly on size 2 Mustad C52 bln hooks,

more smalll craws

some poppers created out of cork stoppers, size 4 Mustad popper hooks, the  larger yellow is a size 2 (reserved only for largemouth or the typical smallie that Johnny G tends to land)

more stealth bombers (really stealthy in black)

 

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Jon, I've been preaching the same thing for years.  Color doesn't matter in topwaters.  I throw  topwater 90% of the time, and it's always a white Judebug. White so I can see it. Like you said, hold a fly up to the sky and tell me what color it is.  

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John,

I remember 25 years ago when that Zonker (especially in white) was the go-to smallmouth fly in all the magazines.   It must have fooled a lot of fish and then some new girl probably entered the party and it got placed to the back, because it sure doesn't see the same affection that it used to., and yet you know it's still a fish catcher.

What do you use the humpies for ?   

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Stealth Cougar

39530799015_2b4ff28c1e_o.jpgStealthCougar by Michael Gerharz, on Flickr

Real Cougar

39530783455_f5d92de129_o.jpgCougar by Michael Gerharz, on Flickr

I can't take credit for this one. It is from Slide Inn MT. I used it to gauge proportions.

 

40426667551_57e37906f6_o.jpgStealthCougar3 by Michael Gerharz, on Flickr

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