Mike G

Enjoy the new baby. I just realized that I am reading this thread and responding on a Kindle Fire. A Xmas toy. The first time I accessed IS A was on a 486 with a dialup line. Progress.

Maybe we should have talked about the Silver Bullet in Champaign. If they have grits...

Nice. It makes me want Togo.

I am putting two more into my collection for 12 flies of Christmas. See http://illinoissmallmouthalliance.net/forums/index.php?showtopic=10242 A voice in the back of my head said, "If it were Hanukkah, you would be done already!" Twelve is a lot; eight sounds soooo good now. I will soldier on and get this done by Mardi Gras. Preview :I http://i117.photobucket.com/albums/o46/MikeG742/Mike%202012/12%20Flies%20of%20Xmas/Draco.jpg

For now I have a working arrangement.

Mr Terrill, That is the best I have seen on the subject in a long time. KISS when it comes to a river fishing craft. All I would add is, "Don' t skimp on your PFD. Get a really really really good one."

“If there are no fish in Heaven, then when I die I want to go where they went.” I admit that I have not been fishing in a while and that I have had trouble connecting to the site. So the past tense "where they went" scared me. Are they all gone like the dinosaurs?

No more tiny chat?

My Fifth fly of Christmas is a Float'n Fly. See the growing first post:http://illinoissmallmouthalliance.net/forums/index.php?showtopic=10242

Great, two flies in one. Though Clouser's craw always looks good, it is very complex to put together. I kinda thought there ought to be an easier way.

"Lefty’s advice when he states, keep the shaft of the hook long enough so that the point sits behind the fly and not underneath. He also feels that by selecting the proper material and keeping the tail sparse, the tail of the fly will sit lower in the water, which in his opinion gives you a better chance of hooking up. Who am I to disagree with the man?" Well said. You also have practiced what Bob preaches. For a popper the hook shank should be twice as long as the head; and the gap should be as wide as rhe diameter of the head (or thickesss for a rectangular head). Nice bug.

I caught up with 3rd and 4th Distinctive Flies. See original first post above.

No rules were broken here because there aren't any to break. Of course officers are held to a higher standard whatever that is. Very nice bunch of flies. Like Christmas dinner it is hard to digest all at once. I will come back for seconds.

My theme is Distinctive Fabrics to honor a great source of fur. I use the fabric in the flies and as a background. The idea is to try the new material on new and traditional patterns and to showcase the fur too. The Quarter is for scale only; it does not come with the fly. Not all flies have scientific names yet. 1. A Bend Back (tergum curvum) in a Pine Tree Sparkle fur used throughout. Purple Sparkle fur in the background. 2 Double Bunny (cuniculus duplex) A Bull Bluegill on a #1 EC 413. Strips cut from brown Husky. Phesant cheek. I used one of Craig's Ringers to hang the eye. White Sparkle Fur in background. 3. A Blonde (osmerus flavus) I had to try out the new material on a classic pattern by Joe Brooks. White, Grey, and Cookie Blue make a smelt. Black monkey fur in the background. 4. The Dino Frog (wiggle legs)(rana rex) Wiggle legs made with green and chartreuse sparkle fur tied bullet head style. Hook point is cut off after legs are complete. Legs are slipped onto hitchhikers screwed into the rear of the EVA body. The Dino Head is an economical alternative to the Blockhead. Soon coming to a pond near you. Background burnt orange Extra Long Hair Fur. To be continued... The Fifth fly of Christmas Dec 28 5. Float'n Fly Crappie Black and white Husky fur had to be used tied on a 1/16 oz jig powder painted. Guinea Fowl cheeks and eyes finish it off. Background is Schoolbus Yellow Sparkle Fur. 6th Day 21st Century Mickey Finn (potus nocens) 7th Day Crappie 8th Day Spinner'd Minner Where would we be without Fox Statler's classic 9 Sluggoes Slugging 10 Dragons Flying (draco volans) 11 Dying Panfish (panpiscis moriturus) This was going to be a Half and Half till I saw something in the other double bunnies I put tied. With the wings in a verticle position the fly resembles a flat panfish like the Storm Thinfin plug does. When I turned the wings 90 degrees I got a a fly lying on its side like a crippled fish. Saltwater guys might use the same approach to construct a stone crab fly which has a similar round body like this fly tied using other materials. 12 Royal Coachman (raedarius regius) The colors of this old patern make it a natural for Christmas. The story is that John Haily, a New York City tyer, created the pattern in 1878 when he added a red silk band to a Coachman so that the herl body would hold up better. It has been tied dry, wet, streamer, Wolff, and whatever ever since. You can say,"135 years old and still in use." The saddle hackle in the picture with my hair streamer goes back about half way, 70 years. It is one of three streamers that have been "in the family" for as long as I can remember. Uncle Bob tied it for Clear Lake Muskies and it passed from my father to me. There's a good place to end. Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good night!

Encore! Encore!

Sorry just a knee jerk reaction. "What's in a name? A rose by any other name would smell as sweet." Call it a Fortune Toad with a great future since Smallmouths will line up to kiss it, I becha. Its sales will surely skyrocket; folks will call it the Missile Toad. It is the answer to a fisherman's prayers; expect to see be a big red leather version with gold edges called the Missal Toad (for use on Sundays.) We saw it here first. Need I say more?

"Mama toad me there'd be names like this, there'd be names like this moma sed..." Mosca si; nombre no!

I will be sorry when it is over.

So your pictures are only worth 999 words each. They look good to me. BTW Orthodox Christmas is Jan 7 on the Gregorian calendar. We respect all traditions here. So Twelve flies can also start Jan 7.

Bart sed it. Mackerel.

Great Start

Royal Coachman That brings us to this very effective 130 year old pattern which never dies and has been rendered in wet, dry, nymph, streamer, and jig versions even though it resembles nothing in the water. Howell Raines tells us that one of the Orvis elders refused to call it a fly because it did not look like an insect.

Good thing it was just a 3 wt. You should be glad to get rid of it. Real men use real lines something like Ahab would use on his harpoon Your wife deserves special credit for finding another use for it besides sewing on buttons..

The only rule is they have to be fly like things. Aim for twelve in total. Non-tyers are welcome; so the patterns can be others' tied by others. If you are in doubt, cheat.

Great fly. Our poly fake fur tends to float. Did you sink test it?