Mike G

My best memories of great Smallmouth fishing are the trips my father and I took every year for many years camping and fishing in the MN Boundary Waters and the adjoining Ont Quetico Park. I figure it won't be long before ISA sends an expedition up there. well, maybe. There's news about a foreign mining operation with big plans to mine right next to the park. Congressman Tom Emmer (R) MN is promoting a bill to allow the mining. Please read and act as you will. Those parks are Smallmouth treasures. https://midcurrent.com/2017/12/04/speak-out-for-the-boundary-waters/?utm_source=MidCurrent+Fly+Fishing+Email+Newsletter&utm_campaign=988fd0d639-MidCurrent_October_5_2017&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_8efbf3b958-988fd0d639-18956357

It came. Thanks Scott. I like the paperless approach. It was something we discussed a while back. Since this first round had some glitches, should people just pmail Scott if they did not get the link? No need to post here, right?

I think Scott has my correct eMail. But I did not get the issue.

That was a drawn gut tippet. 1950 was probably the end of the line for that material. Nylon mono replaced it, though that mono was nowhere near as strong as todays formulations. Resolved: for bass used a 10# or stronger tippet unless you are going with #6 or smaller flies.

Thanks Mark. Good instructions. I also learned to copy and paste on my Kindle.

20120311_39 by Michael Gerharz, on Flickr Did it work? 20120311_41 - Copy by Michael Gerharz, on Flickr

Mark, I see you used Flickr as a host for your pic. How did you do that? Rob, The charts are very relative especially when it comes to lb test. In A dry Fly Code, 1950, Vince Marinaro talked about the finest tippet material he could get 5X. It broke at 1/2 lb.

Spin can be a problem unless your bug head is torpedo shaped with the eye centered at the tip. The Blockhead eye is off center and the face slopes forward. A simple fix is to use a heavier tippet; its stiffness will resist twisting. I know as a carryover from thinking "fine and far off," I used to use 6# mono (3X) for tippet material. A standard chart will tell you to use 0X (10#) for size 4 to 1/0 flies. Since bugs are bulkier, you might go larger too. The heavier tippet also turns over bigger flies nicely. In this case fly fishermen have to match the tippet (leader and line also) to the fly.

Great question, Mark. The squared off face of the blockhead has more surface area; thus maximum disturbance in proportion to the body size. You have to decide if you want that disturbance.

Lefty needs no introduction. https://midcurrent.com/techniques/interview-lefty-kreh-on-a-lifetime-of-smallmouth-fishing/?utm_source=MidCurrent+Fly+Fishing+Email+Newsletter&utm_campaign=aae750042f-MidCurrent_October_5_2017&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_8efbf3b958-aae750042f-18956357

Bump. A recent interview featuring Leftyreminded me of this Meeting of the Minds in the past. Since photo bucket ruined it, I will be patching it up soon. Also I will post the interview link soon.

That is a tip, Rob. That is what I asked for. Now does anyone know a good free hosting service like Photobucket used to be?

Thanks Tom. Do you "plunk" these? I see you used TinyPic. Was that where you were having problems? Since I am migrating there, I would appreciate any tips.

Thanks, Tom. Keep working on the picture worth 1000 words.

The large ones (2/0, 3/0) cost about $15 a copy. There is a fly you can retire on if you can find a market.

Frog legged version Stank legged Pat's description: This is a swimming frog slider. The legs are my flutter legs. Once wet and moving they kick out creating a frog that is fleeing. This pattern is tail weighted, making it always correct itself in the water. This also aids in a realistic resting stance. All of them have a white to yellow mottled faded belly. PS rich, when you get older I will show you how to do this. Right today I figure you' d get in too much trouble.

Al, No matter which way you go, you are going to like how much faster this is compared to the 2 part epoxy it replaces. There are the Cadillacs and the basic transportations for you to look at. Loon and CCG are the Cadillacs in the showroom. Both formulate their product to respond to a specific wavelength of UV light. Their curing lights are made to produce their brand's wavelength. Of course they are different wavelengths; so, for example, they say you won't get good results using a Loon light on CCG. A plus for both products it that they both have solved the tack problem. Lots of UV glues feel tacky even after curing. A tier has to apply a coat of Sally Hanson's or a similar product to eliminate that feel. With the Cadillacs this step is not required. Out in the basic transportation lot, you can get a tube of UV glue - $6, a UV light $7, and a bottle of Sally Hanson's- $2. You are ready to drive off the lot for a total of $15. I can add that sunlight is a good UV light that naturally covers all wavelengths. So if you cure your UV glue in sunlight you can drive your cost down to $8 though that is like buying a car that you can only use during daylight hours. I hope this helps.

Rich, No problem. I think the beer may be the secret anyway. John, Memories. After a week of wilderness camping in the Quetico, we often wound up in pine paneled bars like that one. We were in heaven. The beer was nectar; the tacky plastic figures were marble statues; the women were all goddesses. Northwood's magic. I have to tie me some of them bad hair flies. That peach leech looks good too.

Can anyone figure out that background sound? ...staticky, staticky, staticky, klunk,klunk, staticky, staticky...

"Promise me anything,but give me a Hamm's." Old saying.

Good catch rich. Never tie thirsty! PS It is a bench not a desk Rob, The label is out there, but it is not the exlixer it once was. The name brings back sweet memories. God smiled on me. During my high school and college years, my mother was a book keeper for a Hamm's distributor. There was always some around. That's as good as it gets.

Rob, What are the other new things you learned besides plunking? I learned two. First, set the hook point back in the jaws so it is covered and you do not stick yourself when you stroke the fur back. Second, tie the tail in right in front of the hook point instead of back by the bend. I imagine this is to give a clean open gap with no leverage points for throwing the hook. Always use extra select craft fur?

In this video Dave Pinczkowski goes out of his way to point our an important technique for tying his signature Bad Hair Day fly - plunking. Enjoy.

Yes.

rich, You read my mind about using eyelash. I would probably use the stuff with longer fibers even Gilt Eyelash. Are you using furled eyelash for the tail?