Mike G

Steve, Lokis are in the mail. You owe me another break through idea. No rush. Mike

Oh yeah. The Weed Deamon is still out there, similar shape, hollow body, floater, $4.15 each. Phish Stik sinks $2.95 for 5. It works on top of slop but also will sink and dodge around like a Sluggo. It's a two fer.

Rich, I want to see that fly. With a name like Pole Dancer, are you sure it is not a stripper bass fly?

.........................About 3.5 in long, 3/8 oz. Reading about Eric's obsession with the Spook got me to go back to a favorite of mine. As the Minus 1 is sometines called a subsurface buzz bait, this one I call a subsurface spook. I have been catching green and brown bass on it lately using a fairly fast retrieve so the bait breaks the surface once in a while. (One can also work it slow and deep like a Senko.) As you can imagine, it is very good around weeds. PS Phantom is the only source I know of. How to rig... ..................... .....................

Yep. It is way too practical looking. Only fish would buy it For one fly that slides dives and pops, you ought to try Edmonds' Stealth Bomber-also sort of an ugly duck. But it comes from the right state. Make it as pretty as you want. My ugly version. Nice instructions here. http://www.flyfishga.com/stealth.htm

Try http://www.wool-tyme.com/ They seem to have it still. Good luck.

Rich should do house calls and charge you accordingly All you need is on page 15 of the Sept/Oct 2008 Bulletin-Flies of the ISA-Wonderworm. Probably in the archives if you do not have the issue.

Naturally. Which Bohemian Chennile was it? "The stylist" has several models out there.

Scale is a relative term.

Rainy who? Hah! 500 milion Chinese don't know who Rainy is. In the mean time, the stylist's stuff is on the cutting edge. Does it catch fish? That is all we need to know. I have been following Rich's work with Bohemian Chenille flys for several years. It stands on its own merit whether a commercial house picks it up or not. Actually I prefer the secrecy of flys that are not widely known. It is about catching fish, not commercial success. So who cares if you can't by them from Rainy.

If you have to ask, you are not a man. That is the prime assumption.

Til these came along, I thought the thread was dead. These are the best of all. I move that these be promoted to the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd on the list. All in favor!

Joe knows a good thing when he sees it. He is also the heart and soul of FlyFishOhio. Check his tying videos on the site. ISA is lucky to have him.

They appreciate good flies in Ohio. Check this! http://flyfishohio.com/Wonder-ful%20Chenille%20Worms.htm Good work Rich!

Good insight. As you point out, Fall is a fuzzy notion. For example, metereoligical Fal began September 1; astrological Fall begins September 22. by your calendar it starts October 1. I admit my notions are fuzzy. Therefore, I can't wait to hear what your log tells us.

Like going to the moon was someone's idea first. NASA got there first. Seriously, getting back to basics, you get the productivity improvement award for your suggestion. Us other guys just proved it out. Craig owes you though he has been silent about this major step forward for mankind. Whatever Craig does, I will send you some Lokis in recognition of how your brilliant suggetion has changed my tying life. PM an address.

Efficient? "The smallies also are more efficient, they will eat a larger meal versus chasing down several smaller meals." Here we come close to my issue. That would be giving fish human attributes, like learning to be more efficient. Do they develop an internal ROI calculation.

I did it first.

Steve, Brilliant! Where I used to work that would have earned a productivity award. I tried it. After I slid the ringer into position, I tied it down with the standard criss-cross (6x6) method. I then continued to make a standard Loki. You eliminated the need for wire cutters and the sewing maching needle. PM your address to Craig so he can send you the reward.

Here's Rich's Ultimate Worm, about 4" long. Maybe Rich can tell us more about it.

I was lucky enough to learn how to tie ringers from the master (Craig) with rich looking over my shoulder at one of John Lobach's Monday sessions. Then I was lucky enough to come across the spring Fly Tyer at a book store. The write up in that issue should be very helpful though you have to be able to mentally flip the images since Craig is a lefty. If the issue is no longer on the racks in stores, you might be able to get it from the magazine. Fly Tyer PRODUCT INFORMATION/BACK ISSUES: 800-458-4010

For casting, the small plastics and skirts on the 1/0 hook remind me of a similar sized Hairy Fodder when it gets wet. Large weighted flies just don't handle like a #12 Elk Hair. I use an 8/9 wt rod mostly.

Survey says! Most people believe there is something there. When I read the comments, I do not find much agreement on exactly what it is. Water conditions, weaher conditions, food chain, fewer competing fishermen, an internal clock in the bass, and so on pop up. All agree that it is a good time to fish. Pick your theory. BTW my favorite is something the Lindners came up with-the fall frog migration. They said that as the weather cools frogs migrate out of the woods, marshes, and wetlands to open water where they will bury themselves in the mud to hibernate for the winter. To hear Al describe it bass line up at the edge of the water like dolphins do when they see a trainer with a bucket of fish. Is this far fetched? Long ago I caught a 24" Largemouth Bass on a Plummer Frog on October 12. One of my biggest

It is close to a month since any new patterns were posted here if we count Joe's Carp flies which are excellent for Smallmouth Bass also. We used to say,"If you are not part of the solution, you are part of the problem." so I will be part of the solution. Here is a fly I named after the Norse god, Loki. He was a notorious shape shifter capable of assuming the form of any living being instantly. I hoped to capture some of that in the Loki fly. It floats; it sinks; it drags the bottom depending on how you set it up. First I give credit to Rich for introducing me to tying on 60 deg jig hooks some time back. Then I will give credit Craig Reindeau whose “ringers” got me started thinking about an adjustable weight fly. Then my thinking evolved. If you can adjust the weight, why not adjust the whole fly. Skeleton This is the basis of the Loki fly. I call it the skeleton. The black elastic band is the “ringer” that will hold most any size bead chain or dumbbell eye or can be left empty for a weightless fly. The thread bump is important for holding “dressings.” I used red thread in honor of the red hook fad. Turboskirt Here’s the first shape shift-using a skirt. Shown here are a 2.5 inch Turbofinesse and a 5 inch Turboflare. It is hard to imagine how many variations there might be. Hitchhiker Now there is a gadget called a Hitchhiker that has been around for a while. I got the idea of using it this way from Barlow’s website. Here it is as I prepare for another shift. 21st Century Plastics 35 years ago I tried fishing soft plastics on a fly rod with marginal results. Though my 9 wt Shakespeare was up to the task of tossing a 4” Crème Worm, every third or fourth cast something, my leader I assume, clipped the tail off the worm. I never figured out the stroke needed to avoid that, and plastisol worms were not holding up. It took over 30 years for a better material to come along. I was happy to find that worms made of Elaztech or Cyberflex held up to my punishing casting style. Here’s Loki with a split tail trailer that will float if it is not weighted. Imagine fishing this on the edge of a weed bed weighted and then snapping the dumbbell eyes out to fish it as a floater in the “slop.” The 4” salt impregnated worm sinks slowly. Grubs and Mini-pork-chunks are also available. Now there might be a question of whether this even is a fly. I will leave that to the experts while I go fishing.

You can't do much about that dry fly purist. However, there are a lot of ways to get a fly down deep some of which you mentioned. Weighted flies, sinking tips, and sinking lines are all out there though all require extra effort and skill to use.