Jonn Graham

Ron:

Thanks for the info. I just wanted to know what type of knot would you use to attach tippet to the leader? I guess I did not explain myself very well on my first post.

Interesting that you said that a tapered leader will not hinder sink rate on a fly. I guess I will have to try to go back to tapered leaders. I stayed away due to the price compared to straight monofilament. In addition, I have seen accomplished fly casters turn over flys without a tapered leader.

I will keep you posted and I would like to hear other fly fisherman's opinion concerning the knot used to connect leader to tippet and the idea of using a tapered leader when fishing subsurface.

From what I have read and talked to experienced fly fishermen, a tapered leader is not what I want when fishing subsurface of bottom flies as the tapered leader hinders the fly sink rate to some extent. I understand what you said, but tapered leaders seem to be what I want when fishing topwater flies. I need to know how you would connect the leader to tippet if using a straight mono leader and tippet.

I have already have almost every good fly fishing catalog.

I have been having problem with my leader to tippet connection. Must be doing something wrong. When I get snagged, I often lose essentially the whole leader. Something is wrong. Here is what I have been doing:

I use a nail knot to attach the leader to the fly line. I usually make my leader around 4 feet long. Then I tie a loop (double overhand knot) to the leader and the tippet section. Then I run the tippet through the loop of the leader making a loop-to-loop connection. The leader and the tippet are both 8 pound test copolymer. When I get hung I expect it to break at the fly, but it does not.

Please help.........................I am getting frustrated.

How do I get ahold of some of those crawbugs? Can I purchase some?

Those were Greg Coffey's "Coffee Grinders". Awesome bait/fly.

I am already beginning the stages of working on a swim jig for the fly rod.

Congrats. Ed. I know the feeling.

Ron:

You must not know me too well!? Trust me, I won't fall into the trap of all tye no fish. Just ask my friends and my wife, they will tell you that wanting to go fishing is not a problem with me. But your post brought a smile to my face.

Yah, I know I said I was just going to dabble in fly fishing. So much for that. I now have four fly rods and have started the fly tying process.................I guess I lied about now going in "hog wild".

I have playing at the vise again. I really want to come up with my own flies that will catch fish. I am not trying to reinvent the wheel, but I want my flies to be slightly different than any thing else on the market. Here are a couple of photos of my first attempts.

These are my version of the clouser minnow. By the way, these flies have already proven their worth. This past friday I caught 11 smallies with one of my clousers...........very cool feeling.

I really have been playing with Estaz. I really like that material. I only have two colors right now, but really like the appearance it gives the fly. I have been complimenting the back of the fly with craft hair, arctic fox, and/or silicone strands. Have also caught one smallie on these flys as well.

As many of you long-rodders will know, the above picture is of the Hairy Fodder, the creation of Mr. Riendau. These are two fodders I did myself. Complete with rattles, but not the interchangeable lead eyes. I think they turned out quite well.

comment away............................

Craig:

Great idea concerning my tube fly. I will work on that. Hey, did you see the picture of my nice smallie on the Fodder? If you want, shoot me your email and I can send it to you. Sure wish I would not have lost my favorite Fodder last night. I will have to shoot you a check for some more.

Caught my first two nice smallies on the fly rod last night. One on my new tube fly and the other on the Hairy Fodder. If you want to see the pics, check out the Central Illinois Region Fishing Report board. The whole experience was like catching my first smallmouth on conventional gear 20 years ago.

I just took my three tube fly prototypes to a local pond during my lunch hour. I threw all three on my six weight rod. Here are my findings:

1. The fly in the water looks incredible. Lots of subtle movements of the parts even at rest. Definitely should be a killer finesse fly.

2. The tube fly in which I added no internal weight did not sink but an inch or so under the surface. Not quite what I was looking for, but I thought if I made one in a lighter color without weight, it might be a killer fly stripped quickly just under the surface.

3. The flys that were internally weighted with Storm lead dots did sink very slowly to the bottom. When hopped off of the bottom, the fly would almost hesitate slightly at the apex of the hop. Looked very deadly.

4. When it came to casting the tube fly, it was a little different. Due to the bulk and aerodynamic nature of the fly, the rod loaded quickly on the back cast. Once I got used to this, I was able to make some very long casts. The fly line just shot right through the guides.

5. My tube fly may be better on an 8 weight.

I will be taking my creation to a local flow today after school. I will let you know how it goes.

Last night I sat at home thinking of how I could create something for the fly rod. I wanted a bottom bait that would be much like a tube jig, but still not exactly the same as a tube. Here is what I came up with:

What I did is take a standard 90 degree jig hook and first wrapped one or two lead suspend dots on the hook shank. Then I tyed on Artic Fox hair right in front of where the hook bend is. Next I tied in the silicone legs up closer the hook eye. Lastly, I took a 2.75 inch tube and cut the tails off. Then I took the tube body and slipped it onto the hook shank by pushing the bottom of the tube over the eye of the hook and then slid it down and poked the eyelet through the plastic.

I don't know if you can really call this a fly or not, but I do think it will catch some serious river bronzebacks. Now I have to cast it and see if I have added too much weight or not. Gonna try it out tonite after work.

Looks about 3.5 to 4 pounds to me.

Last night I was playing at the vise working in making my own clousers. I do not have any lead eyes and was wondering what I would use to weight the clouser? Then I had an idea. I have quite a few of Storm's lead suspend dots. They are round, sticky lead weights used to go on jerkbaits. They are pliable and I figured I could wrap them on the shank of the hook before tying the fly.

Tried them out last night and they did wrap well on the hook shank. Totally hidden after the fly is tied. Anyone else ever try this? Are there any problems.

WOW!!! Those are works of art.

Have not got the flies yet. Boy, I cannot wait to get them. Thanks again for sending them.

Here are a couple of topwater flies I have come up with. The first one is a popper with lots of attraction value. I call it the Graham Pop:

The next one is a take off on the Sneaky Pete. I call it the Slippery Sam. You will notice mine has some feathers, craft hair, and the legs tied behind the body.

They are not perfect, but I think Mr. Bronzeback will take a liking to them.

Jim:

Just got my stitches out yesterday. I have already been fishing a few times. Fly fishing is still hard on my hand as the cork handle rests right against the incision. Casting and spinning reel/rod combos are ok. Let me know when we are going.

I got a Redington platinum colored CD reel. Regular price is $130. I was able to get the reel with backing and Rio Mainstream line shipped to my door for $95. Could not pass it up. Very nice reel. Might be a little too fancy for a neophyte fly fisherman like myself.

Ron made a good point - big smallies have tougher mouths than their smaller brethren.

Sounds like Chevy Chase's problem in European Vacation........................."I can't get left"!

Seriously though have you tried to use your hips when setting the hook to the left? This might sound funny, but I have noticed that many times for me setting the hook is not just done with arms and wrist, I also swing my hips away from the fish upon hook set. Works for home run hitters, why not anglers?

Trout...............what are those?

I no longer need a five weight reel. Got a sweet deal from my online dealer in Ohio. A deal no flyfisherman could pass up.

I only took the Vicodin for the first 24 hours after surgery. Have not taken one now for days. Don't need them as my wrist/hand has very, very little pain. I am ready to start casting.