Mike G

I don't know any Yiddish. Is "streamer" Yiddish?

Though Christmas is over a month away, Hannukah is less than a week away. The Eight Flies of Hannukah event begins at sundown on Wednesday November 27.

Forest, You're only 30. How can that be an elder? I am glad you can take Rob up on his offer. Being a tyer you know how great it is to catch fish on your own ties. It may be cheaper to buy flies from a shop when you consider the manhours in your flies. That's not the point. Then it just gets better if you use a leader that you made yourself. And then a rod you built yourself...

Me too. I wrote about it in the BB Bulletin. I favor the design I call Lefty's big butt leader. The formula uses one ratio, 1/2, two times. Starting from the butt the length ratios are 4/2/1 and the ratios for line test are the same. So my base leader for an 8 wt line is 4 feet of 40#, 2 feet of 20# and 1 foot of 10# plus 2 feet of tippet. The heavy butt section 1/2 the length of the leader is the secret. The first time I use a "big butt," I was pleasantly surprised with the way it turned over a bulky fly. I tie up a 30/20/10 for my 6/7 weight rod. (OK I cheat a little and use 12# instead of the 10# mostly because I have a lot of 12# around.) The cost of 10 cents per leader compares favorably with the 10 dollars one might pay for a furled leader. A while back I posted that the tiny fishing section at my local Ace stocks 1/4 lb bulk spools of Big Game in a full array of weights from 50# down to 8# at $7.99 per. Lefty sez that you should use the same brand of mono for each section. But so far I got by mixing what I had. It is hard to pull the knots tight in the heavy mono segments. Unless you have Florida Saltwater Guide hands, you will need something to wrap the line around when you snug the knots. I use two 8" pieces cut from an old broom handle. To snug the butt loop knot I use a hook from a broken coat hanger. One of the regions had leader tying party last year.

Calling them comics dates me. But this is great.http://www.anadromy.com/grapefruit_head_sbs.html There's more on the website.http://www.anadromy.com/flydesign.html

Nice pattern. I see a Loo Cougar in there subbing CF for the marabou and calf tail.

Thanks Ryan. Live release does not equal survival. About mid season this year, I started using a landing net with "tangle free micro mesh" from my canoe. It makes the whole landing process easier on me and on the fish. I can keep the fish in a soft net in the water most of the time. In trout videos you see this kid glove treatment all the time. Too bad we do not have much survival data on Smallmouths.

Blane Chocklett is the subject of a feature article in the latest issue of Fly Tyer (Winter 2013). Besides this Game Changer the article covers many of his other creations. They are very impressive. I did not know he invented the gummy minnow. See the article for his answer on whether it is a fly. Besides that the issue has many other good'um like the Well Fed Pike Fly on outsized EWG hooks. though I am ever grateful for this discussion of the "Banjo Fly," I have to admit that the whole idea has been right under my nose in a book I have owned for over 50 years. Here's the text pp 239 and 240. Now, though Mr. Burlingame did not have todays materials for his tandems, I think he had the right idea. Perhaps my old book has more new ideas than one suspects. That's a good Winter project.

After thinking about it, I figure those file bands would be too rough to use on flies besides being too small. For legs on elephant flies garage bands would probably be the right size.

By the way, the lead singer in the video is Jim Crow, no lie. There outta be a law... Where's Rob G when we need him?

Yah. I was hoping it was Hoffa too. Getting tired of all the false leads on where he is.

I am waiting for The Secret of Nimh Fishing to come out on DVD.

I will volunteer. If the NW chapter is going to do a seminar again this year, it is a good place to plug that too.

Did you say file bands? I heard of boy bands and garage bands... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E2d4bj592ig http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E2d4bj592ig Sounds like those file bands would make great legs on an elephant fly.

Ironic. I quit using real Junglecock for eyes over 20 years ago because they cost a lot. Today one feather (nail) goes for $1 while you can buy printed (synthetic) Junglecock nails for 10 cents each. So in that hopelessly synthetic fly, why did he use natural Junglecock?

It's a frog campground. They're tents.

It is catching on. I bet this one would go backwards.

Tim, as I write this the fly with a heart for the head is a WIP in my vise. Since this thread is hopelessly hi-jacked I though I would add this. Someone mentioned eyes. Though this bug is hopelessly 21st century with the articulated shank and synthetic fibers, the Junglecock eyes are a nice a nice throwback to the early 20th century. Reminds me of when flies were flies. Find the rest of the story at http://midcurrent.com/flies/the-flies-of-greg-senyo-part-ii/?utm_source=MidCurrent+Fly+Fishing+Email+Newsletter&utm_campaign=8f84c6f1c2-Newsletter_November_13_2013&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_8efbf3b958-8f84c6f1c2-18956357

It looks great. It would definitely catch more fisherman.All this talk about skulls reminds me that I have some heart shaped beads that would make great heads. I need to get around to using them.

"Fish fine and far off." I am beginning to see that Nanofil comes into its own where finesse is required for success. I identify this style of fishing with trout while I identify "heavy and close" with bass. However if bass are behaving like trout on a given day I will go with it. Nanofil's strengths are in its extremely small diameter, smooth finish, low stretch, and limpness which deliver long casts, low visibility and sensitivity at great distances. From what I read there is a big trade off. The line is so slick that our conventional knots fail. A lot of users add a flouro leader with a double uni knot. Berkley advises using the Nanofil knot for direct ties. (The Mork knot?) It is a hybrid of the Uni and Palomar knots. (Tim can tell us if the regular Uni or Palomar works with the stuff.) Now I have to decide if those advantages are worth the trouble.

Not yet. I can see where beads might serve as spacers to keep the segments apart when you use a flexible material for the loop. So far I "Hard Wire" by bending a fixed eye into the wire I use. It looks like BP and Cabellas carry some of the stuff. Amazon is a one stop source.

Ryan, What to use for the loop that attaches an articulated section to a hook is a question with many good answers. So I will just give you mine. I distinguish between whether the loop will be "weight bearing" or not. By that I mean whether it will have to bear the weight of a fish or not. (Is there another hook somewhere down the chain?) For non-weight bearing connections, mono poses no risk of loosing a fish from breakage or bite off. If there is a second hook down the chain, I favor wire for the loop. But I use a much lighter gage #2 wire instead of the #12 I use for the shanks. #2 is .011" diameter and 27 lb test. For Muskie flies you could go to heavier #4 or 5. When I tie the loop on the hook, I leave long tag ends that I fold back and wrap down to eliminate any slippage. (Trim off excess.) This is easy for me since I already have the #2 wire for weed guards on my streamers and poppers. AFW makes both the Stainless Wire and the Surflon coated wire. I found a good selection on Amazon. Places like Barlows and Netcraft also carry it.

Well don't stop. That is a great fly. And they are not just for Muskies anymore. Articulated shafts open up a whole world of stretch streamers and poppers. The premade skeletons are convenient. I found that they are easy to make out of stainless wire. I can make any size I want up to 30 feet. Everything you need is in the picture. #12 wire is about the same diameter as a #2 Mustad 3366 shank. The tools here are ones that I already had.

Alex Langer's infomercial on the Flying Lure had its debut in 1992. He is holding a 20th Anniversary Sale. The new FL jig head is lead free. It looks like he is still going strong. http://www.flyinglure.com/index.html This beauty was caught on his latest offering-the RotoTail-hanging from the fish's mouth. Thanks for info on the NanoFil. It sounds like a great performer though like Tim most users say you have to use a leader because the line is so slick. Since I frequently do that with Fireline anyway, it is not aproblem for me.