Jonn Graham Posted September 4, 2013 Report Share Posted September 4, 2013 Here are a couple of pics of the flies that have been effective for me of late. I have noticed gizzard shad schools in the river. In addition, I had a few smallies cough up fresh shad upon being caught. The pictures of the flies are kinda crappy. The flies look much better in person or in the water. The following are two flies that represent the same thing, but use slightly different materials. The above flies utilize the following: 1. bucktail and flash out the back 2. Ice fur in front of the tail to provide a transition and bulk to support the head material 3. Head created by palmering XLarge Cactus Hackle. 4. 1/4 eyes lightly covered in CCG Below are pics of another gizzard shad imitator. Basically the same as the one above, but uses different material to create the head. The different head material does give this fly a slightly different shape and is a little more 3-d. The biggest change in the above flies is the use of Baitfish Emulator Flash palmered to make the head. After palmering, you can easily take scissors and shape the fly as you wish. Baitfish Emulator Flash is really neat material. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jonn Graham Posted September 4, 2013 Author Report Share Posted September 4, 2013 By the way, forgot to include that the blue and yellow you see in the flies are created with markers. The head is covered with Clear Cure Goo. One layer of CCG brushable and then a light coat of CCG Hydro to take away the tackiness. The fly is unweighted, but the small amount of CCG on the head provides just enough weight for the fly to work down about a foot below the surface. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob G Posted September 4, 2013 Report Share Posted September 4, 2013 Shadelicious ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Gillio Posted September 4, 2013 Report Share Posted September 4, 2013 Great looking flies Jonn. Do you ever see schools of small shad in the Vermilion above Streator at all. There were once swarms of them in my neck of the woods . They have all but disappeared, along with the emerald shiners that were once so common. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob G Posted September 4, 2013 Report Share Posted September 4, 2013 There were once swarms of them in my neck of the woods . They have all but disappeared, along with the emerald shiners that were once so common. John, do you think that could be attributed to the influx of the Asian carp? I know on the lower Vermilion, you see far less than you used to and hence less gar that would feed on them. Some feel it's because they and the Asian carp feed on similar plankton / algae and hence they have been moved off. I do not know this to be fact. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Gillio Posted September 5, 2013 Report Share Posted September 5, 2013 I believe it is most likely the case since they have declined as the carp have greatly increased. The gar here are much smaller than they once were and the game fish catches are way down too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom L Posted September 5, 2013 Report Share Posted September 5, 2013 Good looking fly Jonn. How long are the flies? My CF Muddlers are about 2.5"-3.5" long for smallmouth. I also use some Baitfish Emulators on some of the flies, but only the tail portions. I like the way it simmers in the water. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest rich mc Posted September 5, 2013 Report Share Posted September 5, 2013 using markers sure saves on buying so many more colors of materials. jonn's looks like the sexy shad colored cranks .just don't use sharpies as they tend to bleed the colors when wet. rich mc Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jonn Graham Posted September 5, 2013 Author Report Share Posted September 5, 2013 John: No I don't see any shad on the Vermilion up by Pontiac. The shad I am seeing are on a different river. Tom: The flies are about 4 inches long. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Wright Posted September 5, 2013 Report Share Posted September 5, 2013 Nice looking flies! Don't want to give up the secret river? We don't need GPS coordinates... LOL Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jonn Graham Posted September 5, 2013 Author Report Share Posted September 5, 2013 The name of the river has escaped my memory............age related I guess. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Gillio Posted September 5, 2013 Report Share Posted September 5, 2013 It's hell getting old and forgetting the names of all those secret spots. Good thing you still remember how to get to them. It's funny how the best fishermen have the worst recall of names and places. Thanks for the info. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Wright Posted September 5, 2013 Report Share Posted September 5, 2013 Right on John ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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