Tom L

Nice outing John. If you want to target the buffalo, try #14 Hare's Ear or Prince nymphs.

Rich, got 3 done & 3 more to do. Have been busy playing outside. will ship them all out next week.

Thx Rob. Marabou and schlappen are serious combos, well known in steelheader circles.

Ryan - What kind of hooks did you use? Did you wrap extra weight toward the rear of the hook so that the fly sink rearward slightly, similar to a chuck bug?

Rob, do you have a pic of your flies? Like to see the diff betw the two. I did notice that my fly get more actions if I put the hook up front and the shack behind.

There are a lot of good points in the video. Well worth the time.... Thanks, Mike.

Nice fishing, Rob. The Eagles reborned. https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/their-greatest-hits-1971-1975/id635829435

Seldom use a strike indi in stream fishing, even with bottom (weighted) flies. Preferred to do the swing, the strip, and the Riesenring Lift. Some situations that I do use an indi is when forced to fish upstream in snag prone areas (e.g. below a dam) or in a very slow current area that doesn't have enough flow to swing the fly and a slow presentation is needed (e.g. cold temp). In stillwater, an indi can suspend the fly in certain depth just as Rich had said. btw, I'm working on some presentation techniques for the bulletin.

I'm happy to report back that the tube flies have been working wonderfully. For steelhead, my land/hook ratio increased to about double from 30-35% to 70-80%. For smallie, there are some adjustments needed to be tingled - For instance, a fly tied on tube needs extra wraps of wire to counter the buoyancy of the plastic tube and in order for it to have the same or similar sink rate as a fly tied on a regular metal hook. But, a Foxy Crawdad tied on a plastic tube did account for the first 19" smallie of the year, yesterday. http://illinoissmallmouthalliance.net/forums/index.php?showtopic=11756

Ryan, if you have some Polar Chenilles or Krystal Hackles, try that on the body.

Ryan - That looks pretty good for the first. I would start the Estaz further back closer to the hook bend. I forgot to mention in the post that the fly has a small rattle imbedded. This fly sinks fast and has a lot of flashes which is good for high & murky water. I also tried the same fly in olive, but yellow worked best that day.

We launched around 7am in 32 deg temp and rising to 54 deg, sunny & partly cloudy, moderate wind and increasing, water temp in mid 40's with 14" of visibility. Austin did a marvelous job positioning the boat in the high water and windy conditions. It was a fun and educational day on the water with Capt Austin. I was in the bow casting flies all day and Ed was in the stern switching back and forth between a spinning rod and a fly rod. Ed got the hot hands and I had to play catch-up all day. We found fish in slack waters (nothing in the current) and deep. Flies out produced crank baits yesterday. Actually, it was one of Austin's hot fly - a yellow rabbit strip with some pearl crystal flash and a heavy eye on a 90 deg jig hook - out produced everything else. I switched up to many different types and colors, but nothing seemed to work, except Austin's hot fly. We totaled 14 smallies. Thanks Austin for a wonderful day. I learned something new everytime spending time on the water with him and he could cook mean sausages. Ed, it was fun to finally have a chance fishing with you. Thanks again for a memorable outing, fellas. Ed, I don't have your pics with the bigger fish. If you do, please load them up.

Ryan, how is this proxy compare to CCG, cost while?

Sweet looking rod. Never been a fan of glass; but after seeing this, it makes me want to cast some. Love that stripping ring. Ceramic?

I'm available on Wed, Austin.

Nice and simple. LIKE!..... I have a similar pattern called "Double-Claws Dad".

Got my last week. They all look very fishy. Nice flies, everyone. Glad I was in and thanks for hosting, Forrest.

Rich, please put me down for "Double Claws Dad" - my own version of a crawdad pattern on a 90 deg jig hook with double rabbit strips.

Got my copy in the mail yesterday. Went straight to the article after seeing Mike's post. Well done Tim.... impressive 2 full pages spread... congrats! Was the picture yours or Tiff?

I'm in on this one too, but I'll stick with 90 deg jig hooks.

"myself and my buddy heard what sounds like a heartbeat in your head, but progressively gets faster and only lasts about 5-10 seconds. It almost sounds like it's your heartbeat in your head." That would have freaked me out , but now I won't have to. Thanks Ryan.

awesome!

Thanks guys. I forgot to add the video link on how to use tapered needles for tube. Here it is: http://www.canadiantubeflies.com/videos-how-to-use-a-tapered-needle.html

For those of you that would like to start tying flies on tubes, these are some tips I had learned over the past few weeks: 1) You don't need an expensive new tube-vise or a fancy tube fly adapter to get started. There are 2 very economical options: The first is "felting needles" in size 36, 38, 40 from Kmart or Walmart, $6.95 per 4 needles. Here is the link (just in case you are wondering what felting needles looks like): http://www.kmart.com/felting-needles-4-pkg-size-36-38-40-triangle/p-1990000000073645P?prdNo=14&blockNo=14&blockType=G14#crumbWrapper The second option is "tapered needles", $15.99 per 13 needles, . You can order them from "Canadian Tube Fly". Here is the link: http://canadiantubeflies.com/flytying-tapered-needles-full-kit.html These are virtually "felting needles" in different sizes. Don't forget to break the sharp tips off, so you won't poke yourself. 2) Get some HMH tubes. They come in 3 sizes ($4.65-$5.85 per pack): Micro, Small, and Large. Micro is good for flies size 6-12. Small is good for flies size 1-6. Large is good for flies size 1/0 and larger. Here is a link: http://www.jsflyfishing.com/hmh-plastic-cut-to-length-tubing 3) You also need: a ruler, a razor, and a lighter. Use a ruler to measure the plastic tube to a desired length and cut it with a razor. Use a lighter to burn both ends of the cut tube, so that they form lips around the tube. The lips will prevent your thread from slipping off the tube. 4) Attach a felting needle onto your regular vise jaw. Insert the tube onto the felting needle and start tying. You can start tying flies on tubes with just under $20. Give it a shot, if you are looking for something new to try.

Decided to try a popper on tube, tonite. Now, this little popper is riding hook-point-up when uses in conjunction with an Octopus hook.