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Stuart_Van_Dorn

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About Stuart_Van_Dorn

  • Birthday 01/24/1950

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    Buffalo Grove, Illinois

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  1. Hi Josh, Nice fly, there is a technique that you can use to make a nice diving collar. From the hardware store buy a section of small clear plastic tubing with a diameter small enough to cover the wing of the fly. Cut a section about 3/4" inch long and cut a slot in the bottom. After tying the wing in, slide the tube over and spin hair on to form the collar and head. Shape the head and then using the tube as a guide, trim around it to form a round even collar. The tubing will act as a guide and protect the wing. This makes it easier to form a symmetrical collar.
  2. Schedule is open. Might just make it, clear me a spot. Stuart
  3. Interesting question Matt, but the answer isn't as clear cut as you might think. It's like asking is a fly with eyes more effective than one without? Some will say yes, some will say it doesn't matter. What makes a clouser effective is its action in the water. What makes marabou jigs work is the flowing action of the marabou coupled with the action. I had good success with a number of bullet head flies this year, floating and weighted, such as the thunder creek series for minnow patterns and a bullet headed tarantula for top water. Yet, I also had a number of fish on clousers, sparkle minnows and craft fur minnows. So my personal list of smallmouth bass flies is divided more by depth in the water column than by neck or no neck. My llist looks like this: top water: Jude bug, tarantula, hard poppers and tarantulas. Subsurface: damsel muddler, craft fur-unweighted, and mini dahlburg divers. Bottom flies: clouser minnows, weighted craft fur minnows, crayfish and leech patterns. There are more, but these are the basics. So what works best? Ask a 100 tiers and you'll have a 100 different answers. The best answer is to do some research and find out what the forage base is for the water you're going to fish and bring or tie flies accordingly. For instance, the Turtle River has creek chubs, so a black and white clouser with pink flashabou works quite well. Or if a river is loaded with crayfish or hellgrammites, use those patterns. So I know this isn't an A is a better choice than B, because both styles, in the right place at the right time, perfect.
  4. Dear Tom, Thanks for your input on the Three Point Grip. Without seeing exactly how you are applying the Three Point, I have no way to give you an evaluation of your findings. But, let me make a few notes for you that could help. Lee Wulff said that the Three Point Grip was the strongest way to hold the fly rod, and he used it specifically with his big glass tarpon rods. I use it with all my rods, 2 wt through 12 without any difficulties. I have noticed, when I’ve taught casting classes, that often times the students have trouble because they hold the rod too much in the palm of the hand. The rod should be held in the cupped fingers of the rod hand so that the thumb makes a 30 to 45 degree angle with the rod handle. The rod should rest up against the bottom edge of the heel of the hand. With the rod in this position, one can use either the Trigger Finger Grip or simply move the index finger up to touch the side of the handle to create the Three Point Grip. Have a close look at the photos that accompany the article, and note the angles that the thumb and index finger makes with the rod handle. If the Three Point Grip still gives you trouble, then stick with the Trigger Finger Grip. It’s a very solid grip—I used it for many years. It positions the middle bone of the index finger on the side of the handle. As I noted above, the only real difference between the Trigger Finger Grip and the Three Point Grip is that the end of the index finger is moved up to the side of the rod handle. Gary Borger
  5. Best way I've found to tie this is to tie in top, bottom, left and then right. The term, do not crowd the eye, has never been more true than with this fly. So allow a lot of room for the head and if you move your tying thread to just behind the hook eye and wrap backwards, you'll find that the rubber legs will not spread forward. I then use a marker to color the GSP and then you can paint eyes on like Tom Nixon did, or use stick on eyes, like I do. I then hit it with a coating of softex or epoxy if you want. Hope this helps..
  6. Hi Rich, The Calcasieu pig boat can be tied in a number of sizes and ways. A couple of tricks...when you put the legs on, use the ones that come in bunches and strip a section that is 5-8 strands wide but don't separate the strands. Cut your tie in part to a point and then tie them in, top, bottom, left, right etc...to wrap around the hook. Also I use gsp and it holds the rubber to the hook. I tie them in a number of sizes on either 8089's or a similar bass hook. The smallest I tie is a size 10 up to a 2/0 stinger hook. You can do a number of things for a tail and here's a short list of stuff that I have strapped o the back: long hackles, rubber legs, fly twister tails, flashabou, or nothing. So almost any kind of tail material can be added. Best colors have been all over the board. White works, black works, black and white works...yellow is pretty, what I do use is large red chenille for the color behind the legs, Kind of a gill thing. I also like to put eyes on mine and coat the head with flexament or something similar. So there's a number of things that can be done with the pigboat. The trick is to remember to make a good collar of chenille so that it flares the legs out and when you strip it in the water it has a lot of movement. If you can get a copy of Tom Nixon's book, Flies for Bass and Panfish, he's got a number of variations on this fly. Hope this helps... Stuart
  7. I doubt that after reading all these posts that fly fishing is far from dying. It, like all outdoor activities is suffering from a decline, not just financial but as has been noted, cultural. You could always buy low cost fly fishing gear, even now there are fine rods and reels available for less than "premium" gear. However as someone who fishes almost exclusively with a fly rod I find it fascinating that I meet bass guys who complain about the cost of fly rods while they seem to have no trouble paying a small chunk of change for a Lucky Craft lure, or a titanium double spinner bait. Oh and when was the last time you saw a Shimano Calcutta for $35? And I have fished with guys who own, oh I don't four or five. And of course the Diawa SS tournament reel...and has anyone bought a St. Croix or Loomis rod recently? You can't buy premium rods for $50, $100 and I will debate anyone on this forum about the difference between by Winston Tom Morgan Favorite 4wt and any $200 4wt fly rod you find. I have been fly fishing since I was 7, I am 61. i have worked in fly shops, bait and tackle stores and there is always a difference between the high price gear and the entry level stuff. Any musky fisherman out there? You get that new Diawa reel, that new one pice 9" rod, and some of those crank baits and buck tails? Show me your receipts! Fly fishing was here a long time ago. It's a little like bluegrass music, for a long time everyone predicted that it had died, but it wasn't. It was kept alive by a group of dedicated guys who loved the music. And every once in awhile it gets a shot in the arm and cruises out front, then it fades to jams in church halls and local taverns. It too has premium instruments, a pro end banjo costs about $3500 and up. Guitars and mandolins are the same. So it will be with fly fishing. We waste our time asking will it go the way of the dinosaurs. Instead we should be visiting the local fly shop, organizing tying groups, encouraging the young kids to sit and tie a fly, to cast fly rod, to be on the water having fun. Make a few more diehard fans of this most difficult way but fun to fish. I'm not saying it's better or worse, I'm simply saying it's a another way to present a lure, one that you can make yourself, and when you make that perfect loop, when the line rolls out through the air in a graceful arc, carrying with it a fly that you tied the night before, and then it lands and you animate it back and then some fish just slams it and you set the hook and that rod thumps and your heart jumps, that's what it's about. I prefer fly rods. I have seen this cycle before and I don't worry. I don't debate the issue of premium versus economical gear, just as I wouldn't debate the merits between a Ferrari and a Toyota MR2. Both sports cars, both do the same thing, but have leather seats but when you sit behind the wheel of a 308 Dino...the world is a whole new place. Now, it isn't that you won't have fun with your Toyota, it's just on a different level. So let's stop the idea that what we want is $100 premium rod at a Walmart price. And yes you can buy good gear in lower range priced group. Cortland gets slammed in the midwest but they make a decent rod and I have cast a number of them. St. Croix builds a nice rod. Reddington, Temple Fork, need I go on? Cabela makes a nice series of fly rods and you can find rods on sale at Bass Pro. Fly shops might not be your cup of tea but they are important to the sport and so I continue to visit them, throw a rod, check out lines and new gear, and yep, buy stuff there, drink coffee and shoot the breeze there, tie flies there and in general, have a good time at the fly shop. If you don't want to buy premium rods, don't, go buy what you can afford or save to buy that high end rod. But don't say that they're charging too much, or saying that they're going extinct, it might make for a good discussion but wouldn't it be better if we spent our time wondering if our waters are going to be polluted and the fish die? If we worked on clearing streams, reporting polluters and caring for our natural resources? These are worthwhile discussion topics, and while it's fun to engage in this fun discussion but the fly fishing industry is fine, I've been to Montana and no one is freaking out, Italy is having a renaissance in fly tying and fishing, Scotland isn't worried, and the French are having a wonderful time re discovering their streams and rivers. So is dying? An emphatic no is the answer. It's very alive and while it' suffering as every one is in these tough times, it's doing okay, and we'd do okay to support our local fly shops. Teach a kid to cast. And an answer to pro bass fishing with fly rods. I've been DQ'd twice for using fly rods in a B.A.S.S. competition, still haven't seen a rule change. As soon as that happens, things might change. But I'm not expecting to see a hot shot bass boat pull up in the waters I fish and see a guy whip out an 8 foot fly rod and start throwing a big bushy fly. Those days are a long ways away.
  8. If you've ever cast an outbound line by RIO, you've cast something like a shooting head line. What shooting heads are are interchangeable front ends (hence head) that you attach to a running line to create a heavier front end to the fly line. I have seen shooting heads made from copper trolling line, lead lines and so on.In the old days, running line was just a heavy monofilament with a loop that you attached to your custom head. Now this is not new technology but actually old. It has been use for many years by the Spey or two handed casting groups out in the Pacific Northwest who are making very long casts in very large rivers. A shooting head will not help you cast further if your casting form is bad. Also there is a bit of science or mythology in shooting heads. Because shooting heads come in different lengths and weights, you get to choose what you want to cast for example, I have the RIO set of shooting heads that vary in weight from an clear intermediate head to a very heavy head, all designed to be used with my 9 weight, I also have them for a 7 weight rod but that rod is a 10' rod and handles the heavier shooting heads for distance casting. Shooting heads can be purchased or made. The people using shooting heads most often are steelheaders who need weight+distance because of the size of the fly they're casting. They are interchangeable heads that can be used in a variety of fishing situations but they won't help you cast farther. Also they are generally made for two handed rods or rods designed to handle a lot of line out of the tip. If your goal is to cast bushy deer hair flies I'd suggest a bass taper or an outbound line and lots of practice to get your casting to the point where you're making consistently long casts. A heavier head on a fly line doesn't necessarily make for easy casting. Chuck and duck is common and if there's not enough power in your cast of rod, tailing loops will be common.
  9. If you've ever cast an outbound line by RIO, you've cast something like a shooting head line. What shooting heads are are interchangeable front ends (hence head) that you attach to a running line to create a heavier front end to the fly line. I have seen shooting heads made from copper trolling line, lead lines and so on.In the old days, running line was just a heavy monofilament with a loop that you attached to your custom head. Now this is not new technology but actually old. It has been use for many years by the Spey or two handed casting groups out in the Pacific Northwest who are making very long casts in very large rivers. A shooting head will not help you cast further if your casting form is bad. Also there is a bit of science or mythology in shooting heads. Because shooting heads come in different lengths and weights, you get to choose what you want to cast for example, I have the RIO set of shooting heads that vary in weight from an clear intermediate head to a very heavy head, all designed to be used with my 9 weight, I also have them for a 7 weight rod but that rod is a 10' rod and handles the heavier shooting heads for distance casting. Shooting heads can be purchased or made. The people using shooting heads most often are steelheaders who need weight+distance because of the size of the fly they're casting. They are interchangeable heads that can be used in a variety of fishing situations but they won't help you cast farther. Also they are generally made for two handed rods or rods designed to handle a lot of line out of the tip. If your goal is to cast bushy deer hair flies I'd suggest a bass taper or an outbound line and lots of practice to get your casting to the point where you're making consistently long casts. A heavier head on a fly line doesn't necessarily make for easy casting. Chuck and duck is common and if there's not enough power in your cast of rod, tailing loops will be common.
  10. As Brian J. noted hook placement is important as is type of hook. I use the mustad 90721NPBR hooks and they work as will any bass hook. Just keep the hook near the bottom so that it acts as keel and keeps the fly sitting upright. You can add a rattle to the hook if you want extra noise. I don't tie a lot of them but one summer did about five dozen for myself and friends as I'd just gotten the cutter set and was busy whacking out bodies. I also use polycrlic to cover the bodies instead of epoxy, goop or hard as nails. It's an acrylic polyurethane and you just dip it in the can and let it dry. Add eyes, dip and if you like add glitter. Dry and call it a day. You can decorate as you want. All black ones look nice. And tails can be as diverse as bucktail, synthetics, or wherever your imagination leads you..just keep it sparse. I can't say that I've caught a lot of fish with this fly. A few. When going to a topwater I tend to tie on a gurgler, foam cicada or a ratty popper first. Call it habit. Then I look in the box and think, "Well, I should try this." They do give a slim profile and a different sound when popped. But they're a decent fly, more assembly than tying but if you use the thick cya and a kicker...you can tie a bunch in a hurry.
  11. In his fly fishing for bass video, Lefty Kreh uses the red and white hackle fly to catch bass from a small pond he fished. I commercially tied these flies for the bins at fly and field. They are as noted, a quick and easy tie. They can also be tied in a number of colors to sort-of match the local bait fish. They can also be tied in a number of sizes. Let the feathers be your guide. The hardest part is getting the tails on straight so that they don't turn on you and so they look good in the water. I put down a good thread base, tied one side then the other making sure that the hackles matched then put in my flashabou, and hit it all with a touch of super glue. Keep your hackle stems long and if you flatten then with a needle nose pliers they'll sit better on the hook shank. Use good quality feathers for the front, you want them to push a little water and pulsate. You can also weight this fly if you want by wrapping some lead on the front end, covering it with thread and wrapping over it with the hackles. It's a good fly to have in your box. The origin of hackle flies is quite old and they were indeed one of the earliest patterns tied. So tie a dozen and go have fun.
  12. I've been using wire weed guards that Bill Schearer uses on his musky,pike and bass flies and they work well. I have used a number of methods of weed guards from the double mono, standard single which I tie with 12# mono, as well as the mono loop. Last summer I tied flies that use a strip of foam with a slot cut into it that the hook is slid into. Tullis is the guy that came up this type of weedless fly and for some reason I can remember his first name. He ties a weedless wooly bugger on a standard worm hook, this is a pattern that I've used with some success in lily pads and grass mats. The foam is extended from the bend at the hook eye and a slot is cut where the point of the hook is slipped into and rides flush with the top of the foam. Imagine a lid and you get the basic idea. I've experimented with wider bodies and more frog like patterns. Also, if the fly design allows for it, I use long bucktail to cover the hook which also provide some hook point protection, Jack Garthside has dragon fly nymph that is tied this way and I've caught a good number of fish on this pattern. I think one thing to remember is to move the fly slowly through the weeds, in Dave Whitlock's book, Fly Fishing for Bass he talks about weed guards and how they can collapse if you strip to hard when retrieving the fly and cause the guard to collapse. However the last few years,I've been skipping weed guards and bringing enough flies so I don't worry about losing a few. After all, I need to fill the pockets in my vest with something.
  13. Nice cross between a Bett's dragon fly and an overgrown elk hair caddis or in this case, deer hair caddis. Couple of variations you might want to try is using pearl crystal flash for the wing to imitate the wings of a cicada or take some white fish hair, puglisi ep fibers or something similar and tie it across the back to imitate the wings on a dragon fly. These types of foam flies are good when you the fish seem skittish or you want to use something quieter than a popper. Nice looking fly and should work well this summer.
  14. Fly tying this Thursday at Anglers International Resources (AIR) has been cancelled for this month and we will not be meeting next month because of trade show schedules. However for those of you who need a tying fix there are several places you go and tie. One More Cast has the regular tying jam, you have DRIFT and NIFTY tying groups and Coren's rod and reel has an informal group that meets on Thusdays. So the next tying session at AIR won't be until January. See you then. Stuart
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