Mike G

Maybe I can milk another minute out of Q&A 7. My claim is that I am the only ISA member that owns a Slide Inn Hat. See. A kicker is the flies that came with the hat. Across the top: Sex Dungeon, Zoo Cougar, Nancy P, On the bill: Top, Butt Monkey, Bottom, Barely Legal. The workmanship and materials are outstanding. Here is a closer look at each one. The Sex Dungeon has the best Name. The Zoo Cougar Nancy P, a great craw imitation. The Butt Monkey, where does he get these names? The Barely Legal requires 12 Marabou blood quills to tie one according to Hoyle. More descriptions and recipes are on he Slide Inn web site.

Indeed! Jonn, as you were writing this. I was looking at some sample swatches of Ultrasuede from our favorite alternative fly shop, Distinctive Fabrics. Buying by the yard looks like the way to get 100 times more fabric for the same price. The problem is finding the right suede. I suspect these templates will work with ultrasuede

Thanks for pointing that our, rich. That old Powerbait Power Leech is impossible to buy anymore. Lucky the man who laid up a supply. Using the sheeting to make these should be easy enough. It's a keeper!

Usually, when I tie a fly, I start with a pattern and gather the materials I need. Like a cook I follow the recipe. Recently rich has been throwing some of us a curve as shown in the last Bronzeback Bulletin. He gives us the silicon sheets and challenges us to come up with the pattern. It reminds me of the Food Network show where the chefs are given a mystery basket of ingredients and challenged to come up with a dish. Bass ackwards? I have been working with the sheets and finding "templates" on the web. rich asked me to hurry this along since the Central IL group is meeting at the Firehouse Sunday. So here are my prototypes (first tries) with the templates that helped me make them. My take on the Puddle Jumper The fish tail. The streamer The tabs on the fish tail and streamer are attached. There is a way to fold them. Working with the silicon, I think it is easier to cut them off and tie them on separately. The bottom creature. I hope this helps the guys in Bloomington. Now, will I move on to the next round? Or will I be CHOPPED? .

that brings back fond memories of Spring Caught Bullheads - a dish that deserves more respect. I hope this makes you feel good. Yep, it is all in your head. But the hook is also in the Bass's head. So we have to live with some risk of puncturing a sensitive spot or switch to crewel. I have seen photos and heard reports of 20" + Smallmouths that were blind in one eye. Loss of an eye does not seem to have kept them from reaching that mythical 20. On the other hand I have not heard of fish surviving with gills missing. Dream tonight of a one eyed fish thanking you for not ripping his gills out. Peace!

Rich and John, One up and one down is a new wrinkle. Kelly would not do it because he firmly believes down is best for his streamer fishing method qhich he uses in fairly snag free water with the fly at mid depths. He allows that, if you want to touch the brush or scrape the bottom, down might not be the ticket. Rob, The topic is a real can of worms. To understand what Kelly is saying in QA 7, it is best to take it in context with the first 6 QAs. Kelly is a old time guide who knows that the clients usually want fish. Unless some other factor like snags enters the picture, hook point down is the answer. But it occured to me that some of the irregularities on the bottom of a bass's mouth are gills which extend quite forward on the bottom. (photo from a paper on the web) So, the rest of the story, is that hook down has some disadvantages for the fish. Rich will tell you that Dan Blanton has been advocating tying point up on EC 410s and 413s for some time now since it hooks in the top of the mouth most often. He has quite a following in salt water fly fishing. So for further study check this article. http://midcurrent.com/flies/hooks-the-jig-is-up/ As they sat, "Once you open a can of worms, the only solution left is a bigger can." Thanks for all the comments. Let's get this figured out before ice-out.

God only nose!

Scented?

If everyone gets 15, this must be my first five. Though I do not appear in the Q&A video, Kelly is talking to me. It is my question. There's his thoughts on hook orientation. Interesting observations on Clousers.

You should see my favorite. It started as a 6'6" Eagle Claw straight from the $10.99 barrel at K-Mart. It felt tip heavy; so I added 4" to the handle using a secret process. To make it more stealthy, I rubbed it down with a heavy duty Scotch Brite pad to dull the finish.

I have been pondering this fly for a while. So, in the spirit of Woody, I will try to comment. (Woody seems to be lying low lately. I miss his Q&As.) "It is a good start. I see your usual excellent skills with the materials. BUT... this is only the rear section of a tandem, isn't it? I can't wait to see "the rest of the fly. PS, maybe some red rubber legs..."

Grrrrrrreat! And the Sun comes up later for the next few weeks--best of both worlds. And it is only 3-4 days till Xmas--greatest! (Unless you are OC Greek)

I think the answer comes at 9:20 in the video. I have tied inverted hook streamers that rode hook up even without a lead counterweight. The bulk or buoyancy of the wing does the trick.

I just saw this in Midcurrent. It looks Good to me. Anyone else using Cable Ties in their flies. http://midcurrent.com/videos/how-to-tie-the-cable-tie-craw/?utm_source=MidCurrent+Fly+Fishing+Email+Newsletter&utm_campaign=c50834831d-MidCurrent_December_10_2014&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_8efbf3b958-c50834831d-18956357

I volunteer to do something. Whatever you need to ensure a smashing success.

Finger and sausage is my favorite pizza.

Like! Thanks to rich for the materials and to Tom for sharing his creation. I will share a thought. I see a Sexy Craw Clouser in there. Since I have some orange Romance and some olive Bunny, I can build it. Should I add sili legs?

R When I tie direct, which is most of the time, I like the R because it can untangle itself if the line loops around the spinner arm. And it is a little more sleek going through junk. I use a looped eye when using a wire leader for toothies. Or I close off the open loop of the R by slipping a skirt collar over it or wrapping the gap with thread ending with a wip finish.

Happy Turkey Day! Tie some classic Muddlers.

Rob: I think it is a red horse too. Jonn: I like the golden brown shades in your version. (In a pinch it could pass for a Smallmouoth.) Pictures of white suckers generally show an olive back, olive and gold along the sides and a noticeable white belly like a walleye almost. Depending on the intensity of spawn colors the redhorse has orange fins and a orange or red tail. Bottom line, add white belly to your version. Do another olive gold white version. Experiment with touches of orange and red if you really want to match the hatch for a redhorse. BTW this one with a white belly might do it.

I wish the NW had pizza parties. :>D

That's great Terry. There is no such thing as a free lunch. You earned it and more.

I found a copy of the Smallmouth sign that the ISA puts up by our rivers and streams. Though it does not have the year by year growth that the Largemouth table does. It gives enough info for me to average and come up with this comparison. Years/Largemouth Inches/Smallmouth Inches 5/15.8"/12" 7/18.9"/15" 10/na/18.6" Notes: The IL DNR table for Largemouths only goes up to 7 years. 18.6" for Smallmouths at 10 years is based on the 4 pounds weight. I reversed the common formula for converting length to weight (Weight in Pounds = Length Cubed/ 1600. I thought Smallmouths would be closer to Largemouths.

Thanks Rob. That is a good warning for the general reader. I would not be using these for long periods anyway just on the water for occasional tying of knots. For reading and tying I would use reading glasses or bifocals anyway.

Rob, I find it interesting that I hardly find magnifiers below 2x when I shop around. On the other hand sites that sell equivalent readers in 4.0 D warm you that that high a power cannot be sold legally in some states. Shopping my favorite tackle online site, Amazon, I found these for a little over $10. They might do the trick when I use the yellow polaroids that do not have reading inserts.