Tom L

Glad to hear that everyone was doing well on the trip. I was a part of the first group, fishing 3 days from Sat 8/5 to Mon 8/7 with John L and Alan from my GE. We all did well caught plenty of fish. My highlights were 2x19.5”, 2x19.25”, 3x19.00, 3x18.75”, and 3x18.5”. Thanks my cabin-mates for making the trip even more memorable.

I like your creativity.  You’ve been producing some nice crossovers. Would love to see some report on how they cast and fish with a fly rod.

I think that is a good idea. Would love to see what you come up with. 

I tested it out a few more.

"a fly fisherman of a mountain stream"

"a bass fisherman in a boat on a midwest lake"

For those that want to play around with this, this is want I used: Amazon.com : 300 Pieces Fly Fishing Snaps Stainless Steel Fly Fishing Snap Hooks Fast Change Fly Hook Lure Snaps for Flies Hook and Jigs, Mixed Sizes : Sports & Outdoors

300 pcs for $11. Comes in 3 sizes: s = 7mm; m = 8mm; l = 9mm. There is an xl = 11mm size which I didn't get.

A well tie fly.

Asked to "design a crawfish fly for fly fishing". This is the response:

Asked to "design a leech fly for fly fishing". This is the response:

Asked to "design a baitfish fly for fly fishing". This is the response:

I think it still got a way to go, but it is not bad now.  Try it at Gab.com

It adds about 2-10 minutes to tying, depending on how many links I use. Not sure how the actions will be and if it is going to out fish the original or not. On another thought, if I link them long enough, I can create a worm fly, easily.

This is the skeleton of the fly.

So, I thought I had a bright idea to save myself sometime and money in tying one of the flies that I was working on by incorporating a stainless steel fishing snap in the process;  but it didn’t pan out the way I envisioned it. I ended up with 300 stainless steel snaps that I ordered from Amazon that I had to find some use for them. Finally, I came up with the idea that I can daisy chain them and replace the rear hook on my Cajoler with these daisy chain stainless steel snaps to form a Game Changer style fly. I also replaced the craft fur that I typically use on the Cajoler fly with arctic fox tail. So, the Game Changer Cajoler was born.  

Eric, for what it's worth, I had learned quite a lot from you too, particularly your swimbait fishing technique and success. It had prompted me to design a fly to match the swimbait and it had improved smallie game immensely also.  Thank you.

On 1/30/2023 at 8:19 AM, Philf said:

Now, this is very interesting. I wonder, how many minnows would it hold? Being made of glass, it probably breaks easily. 

As for the bass toying with the goldfish (nipping at the tail), those were short strikes that we experienced quite often. The bass were still catchable, but you have to show them something different to look at by changing to a different kind of fly or even the same fly but in a different color, as I had often mentioned in my fishing reports, 

After watching this several times, I become more convinced on the theory that "panic bait gets eaten more often than injured bait."

The shiners in the jar were panic and trying to get away, that's why the bass attacked them. Once they settled down in the jar and not moving as much at the end of the video that's when the bass ignored them. At first, the bass ignored the injured shiner (the one on the hook) and only attacked it when the hooked shiner panic and tried to flee. 

This tells me that if I want to catch more bass, I have to present my fly or lure to act more like a panic/fleeing bait than an injured bait. I am sure at time the bass would eat injured bait when they are hungry, but if they are not in that mood, I still can trick them into eating with a fleeing fly or lure.

A fly on the SWING acts more like a panic/fleeing bait than an injured bait. Just a thought..........

Amazing how good AI has become. Heard on the news the other day that many students are using this technology to cheat on homework. 

Nice!  Try to keep the rubber legs and the hackles shorter than the hook shank and you are good to go.

Thanks everyone for tuning in and a special thanks to to Bart and Terry for setting this up. It was wonderful to chat and talk smallmouth again.

Here is the link for the dumbbell eyes that I used. They were size L or 3/16 (4.8mm).

BRASS DUMBBELL EYES - Hareline Fly Tying Beads Black Gold Nickel in 4 Sizes NEW! | eBay

Looking forward to it.  What’s on the menu Tom? 
 

Pad Thai and Tom Yum…🤔

Foxy Craw

Something like this.

I use a lot of dubbing loops, whether craft fur or other materials, on some of my flies. I enjoyed making them and tying them that way. I can see the benefit of premade dubbing brushes, but haven't try it yet.

While tying flies, especially articulate ones, I use a piece of plastic tube or foam to cover the hook points, so that I don't poke myself. As for treble hooks, try cutting a piece of thick foam (e.g. an old flipflop) into a quarter sized disks, make a small hole in the middle, and slitted one opening from the outside edge to the middle, and use it to cover the treble hooks. Carry several spare with you, in case you lose one. Just an idea. I haven't tried yet.

A fish catcher for sure. Craft fur  and zonker  strips are my 2 favorites for flies. Now just add water. 

This is quite entertaining. Makes fly tying even more enjoyable. Thanks for sharing. 

Sorry for your loss Ed. Our condolences to you and your family.