Stuart_Van_Dorn

Some thoughts and notes on foam. I've found that using spray glue, any of the permanent glues work and won't melt the foam. I use spraymount and spray several sheets, carefully align them and then using a rolling pin, compress them together to make one big sheet, usually about 8x10 inches. I tie mostly with mono thread and color it with a marker if need be, that way I don't worry about thread color. And then I get to use the markers to make dots and stripes and other froggy markings. I use super any thick cyano that I have around (super glue) to keep the foam on the hook. Also, keep you tails sparse and tied down the hook a bit. Less is better in a lot of cases, unless you want to use a couple of hackle feathers and splay them to imitate the legs of a frog. Rubber legs are always good. I've gone to keeping my long, but no so long that they don't foul the hook when casting. Same is true of tail material. If you think the marabou is going to wrap around the tail, put a pinch, note thats a tiny pinch of bucktail or deer hair to keep the marabou up. You can also take a couple of wraps under the tail to sort of kip it up. I just keep the tails sparse. You could use a little less bucktail. When bucktail gets wet, if there's too much it loses its action. Once again, sparse is good. You could splay it with a figure eight wrap and get a bit of a leg action going. Not a fan of the eyes. If you think they attract fish...okay but I usually leave the eyes off or put on the dome epoxy eyes. Or paint. You could paint on eyes with the marker. This pattern is bit like Jack Garthsides Gurgler, one of the best foam bug that you can tie in sizes from 12 to 1/0 if you wanted to. Google Gurgler and go look at Jack's site. Nice patterns there. Jack is insane....but in fly fishing, who isn't? But you done right here John, even got the lighter colors on the bottom. As it should be. Keep on tying...the more you wrap thread on an hook, the more you learn.

General Rules of wading etiquette for fly fishing: 1) Distance between casters is good. If you're confident in your casting skills this is less of a problem 2) If you're fishing the same spot, alternate casts in likely spots 3) If you spot fish, tell your fishing buddy where to cast in the hope he'll do the same 4) Wade quietly 5) Fish between 10-20 yards apart if you're worried about casting or fishing same spots 6) Assist in landing and unhooking fish 7) Help remove flies from trees, shrubs, hat, shoulders and other parts. Debarb hooks or know how to remove barbed hooks. 8) Share knowledge 9) Take photos 10) Be brave, leave spinning gear at home - or buy that 8wt you've always wanted! Okay so point ten is because I'm biased, but you all know that all ready. When in doubt, talk it over with fishing buddy so as to avoid hard feelings and trust to good common sense and decency. That way everyone will have a good experience, no trips to the hospital for hook removal and fewer spooked fish.

Alpaca like llama is hair. It is light, quite nice in the water and comes in a lot of different shades. My wife has several bags of Alpaca that she uses for spinning. It's good for dubbing, the fibers are long and fine. You can get it in a natural black to a creamy color. Pricey stuff though as a 1/4 pound goes for over five bucks. Rabbit is cheaper. Also some Alpaca hair is very curly. If you're loaded with cash I suggest that you get a pair of Alpaca socks, they're lighter than wool, warmer and just like wool, when wet will still keep you warm. There are a lot of Alpaca farms here in Illinois and I'm not sure but I think they're having an Alpaca show at the Lake Country Fair grounds but don't quote me on this. She guards her stash so from time to time I sneak a bit or two.

First a couple of good links with good patters: http://www.warmwaterflytyer.com/welcome.asp Ward Bean is from Iowa and his flies work on Illinois waters. Nothing exotic, but good solid patterns and his instructions on how to tie them are top notch. http://www.warmfly.com/ Has a forum on flies and there are some good patterns on this site that you can look at. As far as published : There are several good ones out there; Flytying and Fishing for Panfish by Tom Keith, Frank Amato Publishing is good albeit black and white Flies for Bass and Panfish but Dick Stewart and Farrow Allen is good but no tying instructions, just a lot of pictures and recipes And then there is the world wide web and the gang who hang out here in the ISA forums. Also for patterns: I'd suggest that you have the following: Yellow spider: Yellow floss with a partridge hackle Foam spiders: any color with legs Tiny poppers, usually white or glow in the dark work well Tarantula: size 10 or 12 Damsel fly nymphs - these work very well on most lakes I carry a few bead headed prince nymphs as well. I also tie a couple of other flies that work well, Hum Bug, Silver Wonder, Brim Bug Eye and the Marabou Miss. And for going deep, I tied tiny wooly buggers, size 12 and itty bitty marabou clousers. Hope this helps.

Buffalo Creek, buffalo Grove. It's a nice little creek that empties into the DesPlaines river. I have walked a good portion of its length from where it starts at the reservoir in Arlington Heights to where it ends at the DesPlaines river. Now there are some really good rumors about it having small mouth bass. In six years...never seen one, never caught one. However there are pike in there, carp, lots and lots of bluegills, and lots of suckers. You can park a couple of places and go for a nice walk, one is at Willow Creek Park, one is at the reservoir, both offer easy access. It's not exactly fly rod friendly but I use a little seven foot 2 wt and throw little flies at the fish. I have fished it where it enters the DesPlaines and caught LM bass but no smallmouth bass. I see it's been suggested that you get an Illinois Gazeteer. Probably the best books for finding waters that you'll ever have. The maps are very accurate and you can find put in points along most of the fishable waters. Most of the ISA guys will let you know of good places if you PM them. It's not a good idea to post your favorite spots. I used write an outdoor article and I made the mistake of giving away a good place, the next weekend, 40 anglers were out there fishing. Hence the PM'ing. It keeps some of the good places protected. Good luck and all. The weather is still a bit crummy but it'll clear up and we'll all be out there working out the casting kinks and figuring out what flies to add to the growing arsenal.

Things about setting up your fly reel. I've been using Power Pro as backing material for some time. It's available at nearly every fly fishing/tackle/fly shop around. Your reel should have come with instructions on how to do some of the basic things like changing spools. reel care and how much backing to put on. You can put it on yourself. Backing is mostly there to keep your fly line from spooling up too tight around the spool, provides a bit of a cushion, depending upon how the fly line is attached makes it easier to change out fly lines with a loop to loop connection. There's some excellent references out there how to add backing. Any of the line manufacturing companies is a good place to start: Scientific Anglers, Cortland, and my favorite, RIO. Or you can have the local fly shop set your reel up. Some shops charge for this, some don't. Call and ask their policy. Flies, like Jude says, pretty basic. Top, subsurface and bottom. Sounds like Jude and John have you covered there. There's a smorgasbord of flies out there and some work well on our streams and rivers depending upon time of year and forage base. You'll eventually develop a confidence in what you fish with. I'd suggest that you also check out casting websites. The important thing to remember is that fly fishing, as a friend of mine reminds, "The worst way possible to go fishing." And I tend to agree with him, right after I pummel him with a marabou feather. What makes fly fishing enjoyable is casting. What makes it terrible is the same thing. I always suggest that people go to their local pond and practice their casting. Practice making a good backcast and good forward cast. Don't try for distance. Work on form and technique. It doesn't take long, it just take some time. Find flies that you can cast with your set-up. There's nothing worse than having a clouser minnow whack you in the back of the head, get stuck in your shoulder or rip your sunglasses off your face. Ask me how I know. As far as leaders and tippet go. I know that I am about to get crucified for saying this and skewered by my trout buddies. but Jude is right. I use whatever my buddy has on a spool for tippet. A short piece if I'm using a sinking line, a rod length or so if I'm using floating lines. The only time I use tapered leaders is when I'm throwing dry flies on a 3wt. For bass I don't worry about taper. Mostly I worry about abrasion. Any brand name line is good. I've even used yellow Stren! And Jude about that swivel thing. Actually I'll use a small swivel when casting big poppers or big bugs with wings. Also, just to make sure that I get kicked off the trout snob list, I've been know to tie on a 00 spinner rig. You can get them at Do-It yourself. You do need an 8 or 9 wt to cast them and you'll be black listed but smallies like to smack them. Hopefully some of this stuff will help. Try not to be discouraged when the line puddles in front of you or wraps itself around your head. Or you aiming at a spot and it lands in the next county. Or you decorate the trees around you. So hit those free workshops, come to the flies of the ISA, and look for a box of flies from Jude. Show up at flies at the ISA and I'll drop a few in your hat. It's fun!

Nice flies Joe! I'm not a big fan of lipped flies unless there is a swivel somewhere on the tippet. Lipped flies have a tendency to spin and twist up the leader so for awhile I'd add a 00 swivel about 18" up the tippet. Seemed to work okay but I started tying the little fence riders (mini-dahlberg divers) and tying them on with a loop knot. They dive and wiggle like a small crankbait and don't twist up my tippet. Work just fine on bass and pike too. Have you checked out the recent article in Fly Tyer magazine, there's a nice how-to pattern in there about using razor foam to create segmented bodies on stonefly nymphs. I tied up a couple of dragon fly nymphs with the stuff and they look pretty good in black and olive. Nice material to work with and has a little more body to it than some of the latex/vinyl stuff out there. Also adds some buoyancy to the fly which can be countered with bead heads or weight to create a fly that suspends. If you're looking for a good frog pattern I suggest that you check out Peter Sang's sinking and floating frogs. Also there's the foam frogs that I have had great success with, they're from the company that makes foam cutters and they come in two sizes, small and bigger. You add rubber legs tie on the top and bottom, decorate with markers and as they say in France, "Voila, une frog!" Or something close.

Pam works. Dressing your line works. Loon's ice off product works. If your line is picking up water then you're going to get ice in the guides. When fly fishing for steelhead I make sure that I've cleaned and dressed my lines so that they shed as much water as possible. I also try to use short drifts instead of making long casts and stripping the line back. This keeps the water out of the guides. Also, keeping the tip out of the water is a big help. Good luck with the winter fishing! Stuart

There are several ways that a fly can become twisted and Jonn seems to have found two of the most common. A bulky fly that spins as it is cast or a fly line improperly put onto a line. There is also a third one, where a fly spins in the water. All the methods suggested will work to straighten out the line. I've never seen a fly line take a "set" even after being a car in the heat of summer or frozen in the middle of winter. Working at a fly shop, if it can be done, well, you'll see it. If I notice twists developing in my fly line, I cut the fly off and let the line out to unwind in the water. Then I modify the fly. And as suggested, wind the line on with a slight bit of tension. Also, it's a good idea to regularly clean your fly line and guides. I just follow the mfg's recommendations and most of fly lines have lasted five years or better. That includes some lines that have been used regularly in salt water. I use Loon line dressing after cleaning. But in the same sense, I'm the poster child for abusing fly lines. I leave my reels in my car, winter and summer. I tend to fish in algae covered, weed infested lakes and ponds and I fish deep so my lines are always in contact with rocks, tree limbs, roots and so on. But by just by simple maintenance, I've managed five years plus from most of my lines. Leaders-about two hours. Glad you like that Clouser line, it's one of the best. It's actually about a half-weight more than listed but the taper makes all the difference. Anyone out there try out the new Sharkskin? Gnarly sound going through the guides, but it really goes the distance!

I was thinking that Corey Gale could probably tie up a nice mouse pattern. The last time I saw some of his deer hair patterns, they were excellent! I used to tie a few of them a year and never had much luck with them. Are you tying the full blown pattern with ears, tails and eyes? There is a modified pattern which is the mouse shape without the ears, whiskers and eyes. It's a teardrop shaped thing. Looks good in natural deer hair. Chugs nice and leaves a good trail of bubbles. I had better success with Peter Sang's floating frog and it was easier to cast. But I found that the small frog patterns that Peter Sang developed twenty years ago caught just as many. And he had two versions, a floating and sinking one, both were fairly easy to tie. Not that I don't like deer hair patterns but fishing for smallies with an eight weight or nine weight, well, it can be a bit much. Tiemco 8089 hooks are nice to tie on. I've been using a lot of the Mustad hooks lately. I like C52S as they're razor sharp, have a wide gape and the point doesn't deform after bouncing them on rocks, and so on. Bob Clouser used to tie a silicone mouse and a few guys have used wool to craft the little rodents. But the prettiest ones I've seen were done up in deer hair. They're cute, just a pain to cast on lighter gear. As long as you're catching fish...well then I'd guess that they're your "confidence" fly.

Nice flies Joe, have you added a rattle yet? About getting them to run correctly. I've seen people put a small split shot into the lip to make the fly ride correctly. That way it keeps the weight below the hook. Adding lips to flies has been around for a bit. You can order plastic lips in different sizes from Bill Sherer's shop, "We Tie It" out of Boulder Junction Wisconsin. He also has a video titled: Bass, Pike & Musky Flies...Proven Patterns. Bill also has, for those of you into fly fishing blasphemy, a component called the "Thumper Head," which is a nifty little spinner that you put over the eye the hook. It looks like a small vinyl L, with a swivel and a spinner coming off of the long leg of the L. The small end has a hole that you slide the hook eye through. It's pretty nifty and I buy a dozen or so when I see Bill at the shows. If you've ever seen a fly called the Coyote, that's what it does for your regular flies. I tied several of his foam perch patterns which work fine but as noted, tend to be a bit of a pain to cast, especially on sinking lines, so I bought some 00 sized swivels. Tied them onto my leader and then added a 12 inch piece of tippet from the swivel to fly. It kept the leader from twisting up but didn't make the fly easier to cast. (I hope there's no purist out there saying, "He tied a swivel to his leader!") It's a simple solution that I've used for casting large flies for pike and bass that keeps twists out of my leader. It's also something that Tom Nixon, God rest his soul, used to do when he tied on large air resistant bass flies. There's also Marc Petiijean magic heads. They look like little silicon funnels and you tie them on over the hook eye so that the large part of the funnel faces forward. I've tied these on lighter flies and if you fish streams and rivers they give the fly a very tight wiggle. The can also be clipped so that you have a small diving lip and you have a fly that dips and wiggles. And also, you can push the silicone back and create a bullet headed fly. They too come in a variety of sizes and I don't know if they've made my flies more effective, but once again, I like the simplicity of tying with them, they give a lot of motion to the fly and you can read more about them at http://www.petitjean.ch/eng/MagicHead/default.asp Lipped flies are interesting to tie, cast and fish. You usually can't buy them in fly shops so you have to tie your own. Most fly shops carry the components for them or you can check out the web and see what people are tying out there. And finally, just like many crankbaits, you do have to tune them, they'll run sideways, upside down and so on. So you trim the bill, or add weight or twist the lip.

It's good to see a lot of discussion about sinking lines and sink tips. I realize I should have mentioned that the smaller diameter sinking lines will in many cases, particularly in current, sink quicker than rated. And they're easier to cast. (Thanks for bringing that up Craig, it's a very important point.) Also as Craig points out, using fluorocarbon, which sinks, can be an added bonus when using floating line. Although my experience with fluorocarbon hasn't shown me that it really sinks all that much. In part because I use it for tippet and knotted leaders and throw top water with it. I do know that it makes a difference if you toss a #12 Adams. But if you're fishing a fly that size, well, then I bet you're also a member of Trout Unlimited or catching bait. (And yes, I have used a fly rod to catch bait, and am not ashamed of it, well, not yet anyway.) And why don't I use spinning and bait casting gear? Personal preference is the best answer I can give. I like standing out in the stream or surf or boat, with a long rod, and casting a fly that I've tied or someone has tied for me and then seeing if I can get a fish to believe that it's something they want to eat. Now if I had to fish to feed my family - I'd use a net. The idea is how to get fly to the bottom, to keep there, how to animate it so that the fish will take it and so we can feel the take. Also, to make casting an enjoyable pleasure and not a dangerous pursuit. Although if you're into adrenaline rushes, a Clouser minnow zinging past your ear on a 350 grain line will get the pump jumping. And if you're into proving you're a tough guy- that lovely Clouser thump on the back of the head. For reference on weighted lines and sink tips, there's a lot of information on the web that you can read, as well as the manufacturer's websites: Cortland, Rio, Jim Teeny, 3M, and you can check some of the sites for steel headers and surf fisherman as well as looking at site called, stripermoon, Ken Abram's site for striper fishing. I recommend any of his books as he talks about fishing weighted lines with light flies. Ken Abrams also ties some of the most beautiful bait fish patterns I've ever seen. His flatwing streamers are long, light and beautiful as well. Ken is of the school of not putting weight on flies because he feels it affects the action of his streamers. Also, a final note, when it's windy, a sinking line will cut through the wind with no problem.

Tim Holschlag says that he doesn't use sink lines or sink tips. Instead he ties on a long leader and a heavy fly. But to me that's like saying that you only need jigs that weigh an eighth of an ounce, no sixteenths, no quarters or heavier. And then there's fly fishers who'll say things like, "Sinking lines are a pain to cast." And of course there's the industry itself with terms such as grains, Type I, II, III or four or Lake lines or intermediate sink lines. And to confuse you even more, there's sink tips, density compensated lines and shooting heads. So maybe Tim is right, it's easier to tie on one of his weighted flies with a long leader and cast away. But lets see if maybe I can help demystify and explain why I fish with sinking lines and at times sink tips. Rule one in fly fishing is: Balanced outfit, where you match line to rod. Same is true with sinking lines. So here's a handy chart. So if you see a sale on a 450 grain line and you own a six weight...you'll know not to buy it. Grain Sink Rod Wt. 150 4.00 ips 4/5/6 250 5.00 ips 6/7/8 (if you have a fast six weight...) 350 6.00 ips 8/9/10 450 7.00 ips 10/11/12 If you're fishing for smallies with a 12 weight, please take me! And IPS means inches per second. The larger the grain number the faster the line sinks. So match your rod wt with the proper grain line. So what about Type I - Type IV lines. Once again, the type of line refers to its sink rate. By the way, all sinking lines are weight forward, that is the weight is always in the front taper of the line. (Trivia test material...) For an excellent book on fishing with sinking lines let me recommend a book about fishing for trout in lakes: Morris and Chan on Fly Fishing Trout Lakes, Amato Publications. So what if you see this thing, TYPE 3, on a line, well basically it means that the line sinks at a rate of 3 ips, or three inches per second. (So here's a math quiz, if the line sinks at 3ips, how long will it take for it to sink 10 feet? That's right, about 40 seconds!) Faster if you have a weighted fly on the end. And once again, when you go looking for a sinking line, match it to your rod weight. And I recommend the new density compensated lines because they are easier to cast than older full sink lines and you get a better feel for the bottom and also when fish hit your fly. A density compensated line means that you won't have a big belly in your line and that you'll have a better straight line connection. (For more info, go to the 3M or RIO websites.) Now about casting any sink line. You won't get to make a lot of false casts. With a full sink line you strip it up to the surface, make a roll cast to straighten it out and bring the line to the top, pick it up, make a back cast and then forward cast. Then count down to the depth you want and retrieve your fly with whatever technique you think will work. It's not a pain if you've matched the line to the rod and don't make but one back cast. A sink line works when you have to get a fly down deep and quick. For instance, you're standing on a bank and you know that there's a deep pool and this is early spring so the smallies are down there at the bottom. You make an angled (or quartering) cast up stream, a quick mend of the line and follow the line with the tip of your rod. No stripping here. just follow the line. This is where I think that sink lines are better than heavy flies and long leaders. You can fish an unweighted fly, one with lots of marabou, rubber legs and so on, right near the bottom and not have the weight affect the action. And you know it's on the bottom and not floating above the fish. You also have greater control of depth by knowing where your fly is at. I will be the first guy to say, yeah, sinking lines can be a pain, but in the early spring, if you tie on a black woolly bugger and sink it into a pool or along a current seam, you'll be more likely to catch fish. But what if you don't want to buy, say a TYPE III, full sink line, and a new reel spool to put it on, then what? Well I've become partial to the following set-up: Intermediate sink line, (easy to cast but it sinks slowly), or floating line with a sink tip and three foot leader. The intermediate sink lines or lake lines are clear sinking lines developed for trout but work well here on still or flowing waters. I have them in five, seven and eight weight. For my nine weight I use the RIO Versa tip and carry a leader wallet with me. You can check the RIO website for more information on these versatile tips. Sink tips also come in a variety of weights and lengths. Some guys will cut them shorter to make casting easier. And all of the line companies make them. They work very well with floating lines and they're a little easier to cast than sinking lines. Sometimes your cast might have that hinging feeling, like the rod is being bent in the middle before you begin your forward cast. Whereas a full sink line makes it feel like the rod is about to leave your hand. I look at adding sink tips instead of adding weight to the line. I think it's a bit more elegant and I don't worry about the split shot, matchstick lead or putty coming off. But when is a good time to sink a fly? Spring is probably the best time to use either sink lines or sink tips. The fish are holding in deep holes and you need to get down to them. I've been using both methods, full sink lines, and sink tips for the last couple of years and have seen my productivity pick up. I've been able to get down to the bigger fish with big wooly buggers, sculpin patterns or big nymphs. Oh and shooting heads? If you want to fish the lake front and need to make long long casts. These are basically sink tip lines attached to monofilament line and when you cast...they go a mile. Not really necessary in small streams and rivers. But good on large bodies of water. Same thing, pick the right one for your rod weight. Spring fly fishing is usually tough on the fly rodder. It's hard to get the fly deep and keep it there. And most often you'll find yourself wrapping lots of lead on your flies or putting split shot, or whatever on your line. Sinking lines and sink tips make fishing deep a little easier. You can invest in a full sink line or pick up a sink tip or two from your local fly shop. Be sure and use shorter leaders, from 18 - 36 inches. then tie on a big woolly bugger, or nymph or strymph or whatever fly from craft minnows to hairy fodders and see what happens. Sinking flies also works when the weather drives the fish deep in lakes and streams. I guess that if you're partial to long leaders and heavy flies...well that's okay. The new sinking lines and the multitude of sink tips out there...well there's no reason not to put them to work. I won't challenge Tim but I've been catching good fish using sinking lines and/or sink tips and I see no reason to change. My flies get down deep, they stay down and the fish can find them and casting is easier than trying to get a long leader and heavy fly into small seam.

Okay, here comes my two bits. Take the hooks and the materials that you're going to tie your jigs with to a place that will let you sit and tie. Then try the same jig on several vises. I used to tie saltwater flies as well as a lot of bass bugs and very few flies size ten and under. So I took a bunch of hooks and a box of material and sat at Fly and Field and tied up flies of all sizes on all different kinds and prices of vises. I've also tied on vises under $150 and I agree with Ohio bunch that there are some good vises in that price range. I found that I liked the Regal vises and the Dyna kings. I travel from time to time so I wanted a vise that would travel well. But mostly I was concerned about hooking power and manufacturing qualities and how did my hands feel when working with the fly. Ergonomics count! So I bought a Dynaking voyager because it suit my purposes, had a rotary action, good jaws, lifetime warranty, decent price and when working on flies my hands felt comfortable. Vises can be very personal. There are guys out there with $600 vises who tie a few flies a year and then there are production tiers who swear by their old HMH or Griffin vises. It's like fly rods, try a bunch in your budget range and buy the one you like. But I do have a caveat, if I'm going to use a tool for production work, I'm going to get the best I can afford at the time. Take some time, tie with a few different ones and then decide which one best suits your needs.

Eyes on flies The question is, do eyes make a difference? From personal experience, I don't think so. But from an aesthetic stance, I quite like them. And perhaps from a confidence factor some fishermen feel that eyes are a component in triggering strikes. And what kind of eyes work best? Do eyes that rattle rate higher? Or do painted eyes have that right sparkle to attract fish? Then again, Ken Abrams in his landmark book on fishing for Stripers says that, "Jungle cock eyes have a fluorescent luminous quality that epoxy and other eyes do not." I would need to take a second mortgage out on my house in order to afford to put jungle cock eyes on flies. But if you're feeling wealthy, tie away. There are any number of eyes available out there: epoxy dome eyes, prismatic stick on eyes, and painted eyes are just a few that sit in my fly tying material boxes. (No jungle cock...well not yet anyway.) Also, there are many different ways to put eyes on flies: stick em on, epoxy them on, super glue them on, use paint pens or the old way, where you used dowels of various sizes, dipping them into paint and pressing them against the head of the fly to create nicely rounded eyes. I haven't said much about the proper size of an eye. I go by the rule, "What's handy?" So some flies have domed eyes, some have prismatic stick on eyes, some have paint and not all of my flies have the same sized eye. I kind of follow the idea that small flies have small eyes, big flies get big eyes. I like things simple in my fly tying world. I will from time to time put bigger eyes on smaller flies because I read the instructions wrong or grabbed the wrong eyes. Once again, it's that aesthetic thing. If the eye looks right, it probably is. So that's my thoughts on size, this is one case where size doesn't seem to matter. Of course one of you smart guys out there is going to go searching for an article, size of eyes matters when fishing in stained water where the only structure is a sunken four eyes shop. Right? As to type of eye, I prefer the domed epoxy eyes, I like the dimension they give to a fly. Also like the paint pens, which you can use to "refresh" those chipped up lead eyes on your clousers and other weighted flies. I tried paint, didn't like it. Don't mind gluing eyes on with super glue, epoxy is messy but works nice. I did have a chance to try the tuffleye system and it works great. It's pricey to start (still cheaper than jungle cock!) but for coating the head and sealing in the eyes, I'm becoming a fan. No fumes, no discoloring and easy to apply and no mess. It's a UV cured acrylic and I suggest that if you get a chance to try it, you should. It has a nice sheen to it as well. Looks good over any eye. So my question is still, eyes or not? I don't put eyes on woolly buggers, deceivers, and other types of streamers. Of course if you tie clousers, M&M's or any fly with a bead chain or lead eye, you're creating eyes. I do put eyes , well almost always, when I tie baitfish imitations, although I skipped a few when tying up a series of Thunder Creek patterns because I was lazy. And I know that they catch fish with and without eyes. I have frog patterns that don't have eyes that catch fish too. And bucktail streamers with no eyes. Don Blanton's Fatal Attraction is an exellent smallmouth fly that doesn't have eyes. He suggests that you do but none of the pictures I've seen of his flies have them. I don't put them on mine. Yet to paraphrase my favorite fly rod bass guru, the late Tom Nixon, from his book, Flies for bass and Panfish, . "Them bass, they like to key on the head of the bait fish and them eyes are like a target." Of course Tom also put spinners on flies, split plastic worms in half lengthwise and threaded them on a worm hook, he also clipped a good foot off of a Fenwick Wonder Rod to make casting his creations like the Calcascieu Pig Boat easier to toss. The pig boats had eyes too. Generally speaking though, aesthetics win out. Flies with eyes look good. If a fly looks good, you'll usually feel confident using it. If you're confident, you'll usually do well with a fly. I look at the progress that several tiers that I've met through the bass buggers group and am impressed with the flies of Corey Gale, Michael Taylor and Alan Sherman. And I haven't polled them but I'm thinking, they like eyes on their flies too. So in conclusion, do eyes make a big difference? Is jungle cock worth the price? Do you like dabbing flies with dowels dipped in paint, or do you prefer to stick em on and leave it? Or have you discovered paint pens? Do the eyes have it? Is it best to paint lead eyes yellow and white, red and black, all white or leave them au naturel? I know that I like to see flies with eyes on them. I also know that all of the baitfish that I've seen, well they have eyes. And dragon flies have big eyes. That and I've read, somewhere, that predatory fish key on the eye as their target. So any little thing that will give me an edge when fishing, that also looks good and might give me just a little more confidence, well then, the eyes have it! If you're interested in tying, the bass buggers (up north) meet at AIR (Anglers International Resources) in Palatine Illinois the second Thursday of the month. You don't have to have a vise, equipment, or experience. Equipment can be provided, experience you'll have to get on your own. Next month we'll be tying a craft fur minnow. See you there. Stuart

According to ANSI acoustical terminology, Pitch is the auditory attribute of sound according to which sounds can be ordered on a scale from low to high. So if the sound the bait is putting out changes to a lower sound, it's pitch is being lowered, just like tuning down a string on a guitar. And tone is the use of pitch in language to distinguish words. In other words, tone can be used to describe a mood, ie, the tone of this piece is somber. It sounds like the tail thumping baits are creating different notes as they move in the water. Have you figured out what notes the baits are putting out? It might be an interesting experiment to find out at what pitch the fish are most likely to strike the bait. The tune your baits to that note. I think Dennis has a musical based on the Hunchback of Notre Dame coming out some time this year. Whether you liked Styx or not, Dennis DeYoung is a talented guy who writes a lot of music and is still on the circuit. And from what other musicians have said about him, he's a pretty decent guy. Hope this helps...

I would measure the trunk of your car, then decide if you want a 2, 3, or 4 piece rod, unless you own a truck. What I suggest is that you see if you like to assemble three or four pieces and go from there. And before you buy that 5wt, I suggest that you go to your local fly shop with the fly(s) that you intend to cast and see if the rod/line combination works with your casting ability. The number of pieces in a rod has very little to do with it's castability and more to do with it's portability.

The Bass Buggers tied for the first time at Angler's International, located in the same spot as the old Ed Shirley, Palatine store. Same place, completely different fishing store. Steve Neu and his staff are to be congratulated on the transformation. AIR is a general tackle store that has a good fly fishing section including vises, tools and tying materials. The staff at AIR was very helpful to all who came to tie and even went so far as to extend a 10% discount on everything in the store to all who attended our first session. We tied a fly called the Lithuanian Bat or as John L said, rabbit strip tied to a jig hook with barbell eyes. There was a good turnout and we tied two colors: crawfish and black. This pattern can be found on excellent Ohio State Site: http://www.flyfishohio.com./Adventures_in_Fly_Tying.htm I have no idea what we'll tie next session which has been changed from Feb 14th (for all the appropriate reasons) to Feb. 21st. So if you have time and want to a.) tie a fly or b.) learn to tie a fly, all of the materials are provided and someone there will help if your fingers feel a little big. Thanks to Cory, John, Al, Steve, Gregg, and Kurt for coming out on a rainy night. It was fun to tie with you guys again. Hopefully I see all of you, and more at the next meeting. Remember it will be February 21st and not Valentine's day. I've sent photos to Gregg who will be posting them sometime in the next couple of days.