Rob G

Two things, Mark, I generally get the most spin out of my surface flies when when they have "wings" that stick out to the side such as on a dragonfly imitation which will create a propeller like spin or a flat fly such as a gummy minnow. If you are not adverse to micro swivels, that will work along with what Mike said, beef up the tippet and use a stiffer tippet like Maxima. Also, try to keep your false casts to a minimum as well. Mike, that chart has been around forever and I would love to know who first put that out, was it originally for dries? I have my doubts about its usefulness in that I can toss a size 12 dry or a size 16 nymph that has a tungsten bead and some additional .030 lead wrapped that creates a far heavier fly than the 12. I'm sure it's a good starting point though.

Mark, can you post a photo of your fly, it really shouldn't spin any more than any other popper I would think.

On calm or still waters I don't always want that big pop but if you're looking for aggressive big fish and or in faster water, it works well. You can tone down the pop by more subtle strips but what I think sometimes turns them on is when you get the strip just right and you spray water forward, Lordly watch out. Ha

Mike, I have been using Flickr as of late, it's one of the oldest and most widely used sites out there but who knows in the future. People speak highly of Imgur but I've not yet tried that one.

TinyPic is owned by Photobucket and I wouldn't trust those SOB's for anything after what they did earlier this year when they went "nuclear" and tried to extort $400 from each user. Nicely done Tom.

wow, those look neat Tom, you've been holding out on us : )

Yea Mike, some of his "display" flies are $85 each and if you counted the amount of time required, probably not minimum wage Check out this bluegill, wow !

Far too pretty to fish with, probably takes an hour to tie but I would like to know more about fleeing frog legs.

You might try contacting this individual to see if he has any of his uv lights left but they were of very high quality and cost 1/2 for the same light with a brand name plastered on it. picaboo@charter.net

One of my father's favorites, probably because it was inexpensive, And I always enjoyed the cartoon commercials with the bear and native American theme song (from the land of sky blue waters) Ha

I saw that Rich, didn't know they still made it, ha.

Not sure if you caught what he said, because he ran thru it so quickly, but, if you don't want the fly too long then don't tie in a tail but just start with your first bundle reverse wrapped right at the rear... and that's how I started tying them earlier this year since even without the tail, I can still get a 4" fly without the extra material and weight of a specific tail piece. Because my hook sits so far forward, I noticed some smallies that if not particularly aggressive would come from behind, suck in the rear portion of the fly and never take in the hook, basically hitting it short and so I wanted to shorten my fly up just a bit. Besides the plunk, which I have to try, he was pretty adamant about not removing any underfur from the bundles. I have been removing quite a bit of it so as not to "clog" up the gap. I learned this year, I want a wide gap hook, and even went to widening the gap a touch more because of all the bulk on the front of the fly. Lefty claimed that you would get better hook sets if you can keep that hook gap more material free. I'm going to try and leave all that underfur in and see if the action is improved but may call for even a larger hook than I used this year or widen the gap further. One thing for sure, it has some nice shake n' bake action and will catch smallies.

Excellent, really really enjoyed that and learned a bunch of new techniques, and this coming from a guy who has been tying these now the past two years. Thanks for posting. Rob

Another excellent fisherman whom I know, Jim Z., uses this same technique to catch more than his share of fish species.

OK Johnnie G. we'll see how this loads. This 19"+ came on a variant of Colin's deer hair streamer the other day but as we've now gotten more rain and the water has become more stained, not sure if this will be as appropriate as it was when the water was low, slow, and clear. What do you think? . by robow 77

I'll be using them next week while nymphing for trout and occasionally use them when fishing for panfish. Tim Holschlag recommends them when fishing most weighted flies for smallies.(I rarely do)

Mike, this now goes back at least 20 years ago so Lefty was no spring chicken even then, probably around 70. This gentleman I met was from Maryland and it's been so long I don't remember all the details of how they first came to meet, I think it was at a sports show years before but they ran into one another again and I guess Lefty was staying over for another day or so in the area, and so this fellow asked him if he wanted to join him on his boat that afternoon for some impromptu smallie fishing, and surprisingly Lefty agreed. I think they hit up the Potomac but I could ask him to be sure. Anyway, Lefty didn't have hardly any gear with him so he borrowed his host's rods. Lefty mentioned that he had worked with at one time or another just about every major rod manufacturer but he wasn't familiar with these particular rods and yet after only a couple false casts, Lefty had his rhythm adjusted and was drilling casts effortlessly. He couldn't believe not only the distance that he was getting but more importantly that he was hitting dimes out there on a very breezy day. The only flies Lefty used that day were some hastily tied poppers he had brought with him. He may have even finished hand tying them in the boat. Large white styrofoam pre-molded popper bodies with a few white saddle hackles quickly tied on. That was it. Over that afternoon Lefty pointed out areas on the stream that likely held fish (and did) which he had never noticed before and yet he had fished this area extensively. In the end he got "out fished" by Lefty but he had a great time and found him to be a truly warm and kind gentleman.

Lefty kind of embodies the whole flyfishing thing, definitely a master of casting technique, knows his stuff about the actual fishing-everything from knots to reading water, and maybe not so much a creator of numerous original flies but rather how to make sure other patterns and materials are more effective..... just my take on the man anyway. Did I ever tell the story about this acquaintance of mine getting a spur of the moment chance to fish smallies with Lefty one afternoon out east?

Isn't that funny, I have a strong disdain for all hooks gold. Always have felt more confident with Mustad bronze. I know....silly.

That was neat. I remember in the early 60's my dad standing over the stove (much to the dismay of my mother) melting lead for our home made sinkers and a special flat jig head that we dressed with white deer hair or marabou that we called a "crappie killer" ha Later on we started adding an Uncle Josh little "V" pork rind.... killers !

Glad you got things straightened out on your end. I noticed last week that I was not getting notifications in my email after receiving private messages from Rich in a timely manner. In fact, the notifications were not just delayed but not in the proper sequence or timeline of which the consecutive messages were sent/received. Hmmm?

What Mike said. That said, I own one of their RLS+ reels which are on sale which are a bit nicer bling, but more bucks,and won't likely fish much if any better.

A fly shop owner's greatest nightmare.

You have to view with the sound on https://www.facebook.com/david.alvarez.9699523/videos/1625992740790521/