SBS - San Juan Bomb

This is a pattern I saw somewhere...cannot remember exactly where or exactly how it was tied but basically it was a San Juan worm pattern with added weight and an egg as an all around attractor nymph. I in no way am trying to take credit for creating this pattern and if I ever come across the name or creator of this fly I will certainly change its title and call it a variation, but until that time, the San Juan Bomb!

Recipe

Hook: Size 8-14 Egg or Scud Hook

Thread: Red

Body: Glo Bug Yarn and ultra chenille

Weight: 1/8th Tungsten bead

Step 1: Place the bead on your hook and secure in the vise. Here I am using Allen's Egg hook in size 10 as these flies are meant for steelhead. If you are fishing trout you can go with a less robust hook.

Step 2: Attach your thread behind the bead and run back to the end of the hook. Here I am using 10/0 veevus thread in red. Once at the end of the hook tie in some ultra chenille with the tag end hanging as long as you want your tail.

Step 3: Next cut an inch or so of glo bug yarn from the hank and fluff it apart in your fingers so the fibers all separate. Use this as dubbing to form a dubbing noodle on your thread and create an egg shaped ball ahead of the tie in point of the chenille.

 

Step 4: Bring your thread over to in front of the bead and secure the chenille down over top of the glo bug yarn egg and bead. Cut the tag end of the chenille to your desired length and whip finish the fly behind the eye of the hook. To finish the fly singe the ends of the chenille with a lighter to create a small taper.

This pattern I think offers a little bit of everything, a super attractor pattern that has the weight to get down fast. The proof is in the pudding, this beast was caught nymphing a San Juan Bomb through a run. If you look closely you can see the fly hanging out of the top of her mouth.

Hair Pin Intruder Shanks

So I slapped together a little video here to show how to use 3"
straight hair pins to make intruder style shanks for articulated flies. I
have been tying on these pins exclusively for a while and have come to
like how cheap they are, how easy they are to prep, and how effective
they are.

Trailing Hook Review (Intruders - Stinger Flies)

I have spent a lot of time playing around with many different materials for attaching stinger hooks to intruder and articulated patterns. Everyone seems to have their own preference and reasons for using different things so I figured I would make a post and share with everyone some of my observations and preferences.

Beading Wire: The first time that I saw wire used for intruders was when a friend of mine tossed me a pattern tied with senyo's intruder wire and shanks. The stiff wire kept the stinger hook straight back from the fly and was still nice and flexible. When I asked how much it was for a package of the wire material I laughed and started looking around for beading wire as a cheaper alternative. I came across a certain brand of wire, Econoflex wire made by the Soft Flex company. It usually runs from $3-5 per spool depending upon the type and has the breaking strength printed right on the package. It comes in  wide range of colors, red, black, white, blue, chartreuse etc, as well as different breaking strengths and weaves. The wire is coated in nylon and I have been using the 15lb and 20lb breaking strength wire that is 1X7 strands. I have put these up against a few steelhead without any problems, and more impressively 20-30lb Chinook Salmon. When hooking large salmon I never had a single wire break or fail on me, more often then not it was either the tippet material or the hook itself that would bend out or break.

Pro's: 
Cost - At $4-6 per 30+ft roll the price is right and you get lots of use out of a single spool of wire.
Color and Size - The choices in color and size of beading wire is vast which will allow you to find something suitable for what you are tying.
Orientation - Using this wire your hook will stay in line with your fly but still has flex and bend to it when you do hook a fish.

Con's:
Kinks - If you set the hook wrong while tying or fight a few large fish the wire can develop a kink in it.
Availability - The specific brand that I like can be hard to find here in Canada. Lens Mills is the only place that I have seen this specific brand. Aside from that your options are ordering it directly from the Soft Flex company in the U.S, or find alternative wires.
Breaking Strength - Not all wire's list the breaking strength. It would be a smart idea to test the wire if the strength is not listed before tying up a dozen flies with it.

Braided Line: I have played with braided line in the 20-60lb range and while many people like and enjoy using it I do not really care for it. I find it is very soft and droopy usually hanging down from the fly as it swings especially with heavier stinger hooks. That being said TONS of people use braided line for attaching hooks and have no problems with hooking up, for me its just a personal preference and prejudice perhaps.

Pro's:
Cost- Relatively cheap, usually $20-30 for a very large spool that will last you a life time.
Availability - Easy to find in any tackle shop or outdoors store.

Con's:
Sag: Hook usually droops below the fly while swinging unless in heavier current.

Crystal Fused Fire Line: This material I would have to say is my favorite and I prefer to use the 30lb test variety. It is a stiffer material that holds the hook straight back behind the fly nicely, but is still soft and flexible. It is white but can be colored with permanent markers (I usually do not bother). I find myself coming back to this material for tying my trailer hooks in time and time again. Once wet it does soak in a bit of water and gets a little softer but not nearly as much as regular braided line. Fire line also makes a few different lines that are very good for trailer hooks, I was given a sample of some 30lb fire line (black coating) by a friend that was a little thinner then the crystal and a tad bit softer, but not as soft as braided line that I did enjoy using as well.


Pro's:
Stiff - The material is stiff enough to hold the hook straight back from the fly while swinging, but is not as stiff as wire.
Durability - The 30lb braid is the lowest I will go when using this material for trailing hooks, and is very durable and does not break down after multiple fish.
Cost -A 300 yard spool of Crystal will cost you roughly $25-30 and last a lifetime unless you are tying commercially.

Con's:
Diameter - The diameter can make things tricky for threading smaller hooks. When using smaller hooks make sure to have a nice clean cut before threading the line through the hook.
Availability- I had to look around pretty hard to find a spool of the 30lb crystal as most places only stocked upto around 14lb. I ended up finding this spool at the Bass Pro Shop in Vaughn, Ontario.


So these are a few of the materials I have played around with extensively and some of the pro's and con's for them. I am curious if you prefer to use something else that I have not listed here? Feel free to comment with your input or tips and tricks. My next blog post will show how I go about attaching a trailer hook to a shank and making it bulletproof in the process.

Tight Lines!

Spey & Classic Flies

I have not been tying classic salmon and spey flies for very long but something about this style of fly has me captivated. Seeing full dress salmon flies, married wing flies and beautiful presentation flies makes me envious of the talent and skill that these tyers posses. I have been jumping back into things full blast and trying to get setting wings down. It is a maddening process usually ending up in lots of ruined feather strips around my desk and me fuming mad.

However when that wing sits just right the feeling I get and the look of the fly is just amazing. Here are a few of my more recent ties:

 

The fly above is the latest I have tied. It was my first try at a herl butt and I think that aspect of things turned out good. My body work is getting more consistent but I am still having major problems setting wings without having them collapse or pinch down. I have been moistening the tye in point as well as pinching the fibers down before tying in and while it is helping a bit my technique and feel is just not refined enough yet to get consistent results. I went through 8 sets of wings trying to get this wing tied.

This fly I easily spent 4-5 hours tying...the majority of that time was spent on the wings, I used an entire matched pair of turkey and did not set a single wing I was happy with...some nights things are just not flowing and I think I would have been better off stopping after a few ruined wing sets instead of wasting an entire feather. Ultimately this fly ended up as a hair wing out of frustration.

I was not all that impressed with the body work on this particular fly. Also there is a pinch on the tye in point of the wing that is concealed with a few fibers of Lady Amherst tail. I like the look of the fly but think I may try some herl butts in the future to create some contrast between the sections of the body.

These are the first few flies that I tied after jumping back into the classics and speys. I usually go through phases of tying certain types or styles of flies. After a few weeks of trout flies, tenkara flies and streamers I felt the need to start filling the salmon/steelhead box with some pretty stuff and continue to work on my wings. I am still learning and practicing and trying to implement some tips and advise from more experience tiers.