Tim A

That's cool. I have used both methods (bucktail and mono loops) in similar flies. I know some of the newer pike flies I've seen are using long flash where you have the bucktail clump, but they epoxy the first 2-3" from the hook bend on out. Once that cures, they go about tying the rest of the fly. That way you get a stiff support but still lots of movement and flash waaayyy back there. If I'm not mistaken, Reynolds Gen-X Bunny has something like this going on. The Bunny might even be glued to this epoxy section for insurance, but again, the remainder of the tail is free to wiggle.

Thanks for the positive feedback, all. I appreciate it. Tom, the pink cheek is the same material as the rest of the head. On the yellow/white, it is Ice Wing (longer version of Ice Dub), and on the Kinky fly it is the same as SF blend but a different brand.

I really like that last one (yellow/tan), Ryan. I see you have some bucktail or something supporting the tail--is it coated in glue or just a good heap of bucktail?

Check out a product called "Congo Hair" from Flytyersdungeon.com. 1/4 the cost of EP and shipping is only ~$3 even if you order every color. He even makes some decent blended color packs. Basically the same fiber as EP. Makes losing flies to toothy fish a lot easier on the pocket.

So I've been on a bit of an articulated streamer kick lately. Mostly I've been doing the same body and experimenting with different heads. Here's a recipe for the body (which is the same for front and rear): Hooks: TMC 200R #4, Mustad 34001 #1 Tail: Marabou Body: Ice Dub (normally dubbed) "Hackle": Dubbing loop of FTD's "Sea Dragon Dubbing" (mix of angora & rubber legs), palmered like hackle. Wing: Zonker/Rabbit strip Joint: 25# mono threaded through 3 small glass beads Flash: Pearl Flashabou Head options: Ice Dub, Senyo Dub, SF blend, Fish Skull With a Fish Skull Head: Ice Dub: Finally, since I can't leave a fly alone until I try it with a V-style or "Kinky" head made of SF, here is my Kinky Tickler ("tickler" because it's ar-'ticul'ated):

Thanks for the info, Ryan. I did notice the nice blend of colors in those flies. When using EP, I find that small amounts of angel hair or wing-n-flash tied in after every other clump can really make the fly come to life in the water and do not foul up like other flash materials. Being so fine, the fibers do not disrupt the shape or flow of the EP when in motion, either. Just a thought. That one hook looks a little small/weak for the task of muskies. Have you caught them or a comparable fish on that hook before?

Really nice ties, Ryan! I love these styles you present here. Are those flies made of EP/Congo Hair on the upper left?

As I mentioned in another post, if you have a low-memory core and softer coating (as coldwater and some other freshwater lines have), you don't have to stretch the line. That doesn't mean that same line will perform well in all conditions. It also doesn't mean that warm weather/water lines, most intermediate lines, and especially tropical saltwater lines don't need a stretch in many cases. They do. A great, short source on this topic (by Bruce Richards of 3M/Sci Anglers, FFF, & author of "Modern Fly Lines") that summarizes some of the points I've made recently: http://midcurrent.com/gear/fly-line-memory-and-stretching/ I'm also for stretching the truth when it comes to fish tales, especially in tropical conditions

Beautiful, Tom. Really nice jigs.

That is an interesting find. I stretch the line before I fish, not at home where it will only be stored on the reel for hours to months.

John, I meant to ask: is the bucktail collar/wing on the articulated pattern tied in reverse or normal/traditional?

John, Thanks for sharing your experience & knowledge with the Clouser line. I certainly understand a coldwater line "wilting" in the heat--the softer coating becoming almost gummy in hot weather/water and therefore not shooting through the guides very well. But I have a hard time understanding how warm weather could make a line coil. Coils in the line are from storage on the reel. If there are coils in your line in warm weather, you usually need to stretch the line--certainly a normal practice for warm-water lines, but sometimes necessary with any line if stored tightly and for too long. I can't imagine--I guess because I haven't personally experienced it--a fully stretched, straight line turning to coils in the heat. Rob, I agree--the warm weather lines are definitely the business when it comes to shooting. Harder coatings and stiffer cores make a line really zing. By the way, the SA Mastery Redfish lines make for beautiful smallmouth lines. They offer a coldwater and warmwater model, though the coldwater one might work better of the 2 for our region (rated to perform optimally below 70 degrees). They are a half-weight heavier than normal lines (like GPX, Grand), have a short taper for throwing bulky/heavy flies, and come in a pleasant light blue color rather than bright orange/chart. I use the redfish line on my 8wt in the summer for a lot of bulky-fly tossing, as well as a general purpose line when I fish SE saltwater. It has a harder coating (but Dacron core) and requires a little stretching prior to use in moderate temps. Stretching a fly line in one's hands or around a post is a routine procedure when using warm-water lines with stiffer cores. Also, when I said "Braided Dacron" in my last post, I meant to add that companies will often call this "braided multifilament" core since they might not be using the Dacron brand. Don't confuse this with "braided monofilament," which is much stiffer.

Thank you, Rob! The Kinky Muddler will get below the surface but is basically neutrally buoyant when waterlogged and tied with SF blend (as the top one is of the 2 I posted). If tied with EP/Congo Hair, it will sink a little faster. It's easy to fish below 1' if you use a sinking line, intermediate, or sink tip and a short leader. You obviously can choose heavier materials like a heavier hook, or a sparser head/body and sparse tail. Thanks again Rob and everyone else for checking out my flies.

Great flies, John! Nice work. Makes me want to tie some up...

I have never heard of a line "coiling" because of warm water. Certainly due to core materials and some coatings, lines will keep memory (manifested as coils due to storage on the reel) in colder weather than they are rated for. In this region, I would make sure the line is low-memory or for cold-water usage, unless you only flyfish on the hottest days and only in July-September. How do you make sure of this? Well the box or description online might market it that way, or you can look at core materials. Braided Dacron is the limpest, with single mono being stiffer and braided mono being the stiffest (why you'll see this in lines called "tropical" or "tarpon taper."). For the money, it is hard to beat Cabela's Prestige Saltwater (although they only make #7-#12) or SA Left Kreh Signature Line (which they make in #3-#8 I think). These are both braided Dacron core, super limp all year round, both are manufactured by 3M (Sci Anglers), and only $40. Plus they aren't a ridiculously bright orange or chartreuse like a lot of "beginner" or "bass" lines. By the way, in my experience, SA lines remain much slicker over their lifetimes than Rio or Orvis lines. It also helps to regularly clean them. I wipe mine after each day on the water, and periodically apply Glide or SA lubricant to the line and let dry. I obviously disagree with Ron on this one.

This may belong elsewhere, but I thought we're all too often taking this gear talk too seriously. It's time to laugh at ourselves. Here's an appropriate clip from one of my favorite shows--Portlandia: ;p

Just saw this in my email for today--2 tickets & 2 beers for $20. Not sure how long the sale will last so get them now if you're interested. https://www.livingsocial.com/events/566128-outdoor-sports-show-2-tickets-2-beers -Tim

I love whitey runs. I'm in, if anyone's going.

Rob, really beautiful fly. Except for the ones you frame on the wall, flies are meant to be expendable...that's why I rarely tie anything that pretty! (That's my excuse, at least)

Thanks for the feedback and compliments, fellas. I appreciate it. There are lots of patterns, of course, that didn't make the dozen, but I look forward to future opportunities to share those. Rich, I can see now that Santa didn't deliver on that wish of yours. But I have heard about this other thing where you are nice and sometimes things like flies end up being shipped to your door Tom, there are parts of this country where saying a fly would be a good "jack fly" would NOT be a compliment...but I'm taking your words as positive approval. For that, I thank you And no, there is no rattle hanging out of the snake fly. I'm thinking you are looking at my ring on my finger underneath the fly. Now if I could only find some jacks to throw these at...

Nice! Great looking head on that thing

It really sounds like 4wt work to me, but I would get a 5, possibly upline with a GPX/Grand or a full 6 line. Then you can throw slightly larger flies but still fight small fish on a "small" rod. That is, unless you get a very soft (slow) 5wt, in which case you'll want a 5 line.

All nice flies so far, Rob. I haven't fished hoppers for smallmouth, but seeing your flies makes me want to give it a try. For my crease flies, I use a mustad 34011, which is something like 6x long w/ a straight eye. Unfortunately I don't think they make it bigger than 2/0, but that's obviously not a problem I need to solve for smallmouth. And the 2/0 is fine for a 3-4.5" popper, covers smallies & inshore saltwater fishing.

Okay, no time left so I'm doing this all in a single post. I realized today that I broke some of the terms of Mike G's idea for this 12 flies of Christmas--I should have put all my flies in a single post so as to not clog the forum, and I should have had a theme to my flies other than, "Hey, I tied these." Let's get on with it. #8 Deceivers What can I say? Left's creation is one of the best, albiet simple, flies ever made. It is easy to modify to your liking--including other styles of tying, like Popovics' Hollow Fleye--and can imitate baitfish from small to large. #9 A fly that I could not live without is Smartt's Glass Minnow. Typically tied with the flashier ice dub, I like the look of Senyo's Lazer Dub for a fuller minnow. The tail is craft fur or EP (over a little bucktail), then I spin the body material in a dubbing loop. Color with permanent marker. #10 Black Snake This is a pattern I tied for night-time fishing for stripers. I took the basics of a Tabory snake fly, enlarged for 3/0 hook, and replaced the ostrich herl for long, thin hackles in black and grizzly. #11 "Shaved Leech" This is a leech pattern that I came up with about 5 years ago, but have yet to show anyone. It is comprised mostly of the "hide" of craft fur, cut to shape (leaving a small tab to tie down) and trimmed down to just the underfur/guard hairs, and leaving a few long strands off the tip for added action. Black ice dub body and brass dumbbell eyes for weight and keeping the hook point up when fishing in leechy territory. It must be getting late on Christmas Eve--who's feet are those?^^ #12 To make things come around full circle, for my last contribution I'm throwing up a fly with a lot of similarities to the very first fly I posted (the Senyo Sculpin variations). This is an articulated streamer of the same genre as the peanut butter, any of Gallup's flies, and others. Because of it's long list of materials, I'm calling it, "The Kitchen Sink." (BTW, there's already a "Grocery Fly" named for the grocery list...) I'm currently using it as an ornament: Well, that's it. This has been fun. Because I didn't have a proper "theme" to all my flies, my challenge was to get all these up before Christmas morning! Thanks for looking, and thanks to all those who gave feedback. Constructive criticism, as well as compliments, is always welcome. MERRY CHRISTMAS & HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!!

Thanks, John and Tom. And Tom, Congo is super versatile and fun to play around with on the vise...looking forward to seeing what you can do with it.