Urbs

i’m not ashamed to admit best day i’ve ever had in the driftless was on panther martins! it is a blast

i hear ya. but from the euro rods and small crick driftless glass rods i’ve bought lately i’m getting serious stink eye from my old lady!

yea i got lazy and didn’t feel like counter wrapping with wire. i hear you on the double haul. i’d also like to not smack myself in the back of the head!

I think you’re correct at 1/16th. and great point. i’ve seen a lot of use of the “mono rig” lately. like a 50 foot section of 8 pound mono so that the fly line never leaves the reel. in order to cast need more weight. but aren’t we converging on spin casting? and for me personally: this is as heavy of a fly as I’ll use. the cast is not pretty: at this point i’m “water loading” on the back cast. probably the word “flinging” is the best description. I go as high as using a 6 weight rod. for me that rod is as heavy as I want to use (from the level of enjoyment). I have a 10 foot 9 weight that is a broomstick.

the hooks are jig hooks from cabelas. can’t remember the weight but heavier than any tungsten beads I have around. with all this rain I may shoot these near the soft(ish) stuff near the banks this weekend.

yessir agree!

they are very gnarly looking. gives me confidence just by its swagger!

the lead eyes here will get it down but with all the material certainly takes a bit to get down. bet your trombone works great!

exactly: couple of glass beads and 12pb Ultragreen. and yes very similar to a rusty trombone. difference is lead eyes and fiber brush

Hello all, hope everyone is doing well. I’ve got that smallmouth itch. Tying these makes me yearn for the soon to be warmer days.

thank you!

I believe this is a size 2. and yes: I bet if I added some lead wire to the shank you could cast this a country mile. and frankly, probably more effective on a spinning rod especially in the winter

thank you! honestly baitfish are much more fun to fish but I figure I’d better have a few of these if it’s “one of those days.” but again: seeing them ambush a baitfish never gets old

Simple craw pattern. Krystal flash, rabbit strip claws, Chockletts for body, rubber legs with lead eyes. I don’t fish enough of these.

very nice!

thanks for the tip!

thank you!

thank you. so looking forward to using it soon

March is in three days. Next weekend looks to maybe be in the 50s (one can hope at least, looking at the snow out my window).

very very neat. good idea!

very interesting. the coffee grinder does make quick work of it.

headed there for some glass beads today in fact haha

it came alive in the sink just now lol and thanks for the tip! always looking for cheap materials.

hey John, I fly fish for them. this weekend it’ll be egg patterns and Jeff Bloods “white death”’zonker. if I catch anything of significance I’ll post a picture. thanks.

Generic, freestyle baitfish pattern. The head is wool dubbing I created in a coffee grinder (much cheaper than Senyos Laser Dub). The body is Eyelash Yarn from Michael’s which is a steal if you need filler. 12 more days in Feb and then glorious March and rising water temps. Hope y’all are doing okay. This weekend I’ll be in Milwaukee hunting Lake Run Browns and possibly Steelhead. Spring around the corner. Stay well.