Beginning Fly Tying for Saltwater

i wish someone had written this post before i started fly tying.  it would have saved me a ton of time and money.  i stumbled upon a post at Flytying New and Old that outlined the materials needed for a beginner to start tying flies.  i think this is an excellent, and much needed, post.  however, i do think it was focused more on freshwater/stillwater flies than saltwater.  here is my own list of what a beginner would need for saltwater fly tying...particularly inshore flies for the NE.

one general thought about color choice.  as Lefty Kreh says, "If it ain't chartreuse it ain't no use."  you also might hear the saying, "it can be any color as long as it is chartreuse."  that being said, the main colors used other than chartreuse are: white, olive, gray, tan, pink, black, red, and light blue.  but as a beginner, and if you are trying to save money, just buy chartreuse and white.

disclaimer:  by no means is this list comprehensive.  i've placed an * next to the items that i believe are necessary.  if you have any questions, or if you want some tying help, or even want to know some tricks to save money, feel free to email me.  good luck and stay salty!

Tying Tools:

• vice*  -  with ability to handle right size hooks (sizes 6-3/0)  
• ceramic bobbin(s)*  -  2 or more will make your life easier
• saltwater hooks* (sizes 2-2/0)  -  i prefer Gamakatsu as a good blend between quality and price
• thread*  -  just needs to be strong enough.  i used Danville's Flax Waxed Nylon
• mono thread*
• general scissors*  -  i use 5" Fiskars
• detail scissors  -  i use Anvil  
• Sally Hansen's Hard as Nails*  -  for securing thread wraps
• super Glue*
• wire cutter -  for cutting bead chain eyes, etc.
• pliers*  -  for crushing barbs
• Matarelli style whip finisher  -  helps create better thread heads on smaller flies
• toothpicks  -  in place of a bodkin
• coffee grinder - it is so much cheaper if you make your own dubbing
• Clear Cure Goo or Tuffleye or Loon's UV  -  i use Aleene's Fabric Fusion
• fly drying wheel  -  helps tremendously when tying surf candies
• different colors of Sharpie markers
• 17-22 lb hard mono  -  for weed guards
• 30 lb mono  -  for making shrimp/crab eyes

Tying Materials:

• bucktail* (chartreuse, white, olive)  -  used in common flies such as clousers and deceivers
• pearl krystal flash*
• pearl flashabou*
• saddle hackle* (white)
• marabou (white, chartreuse, olive)
• synthetics*  -  super hair, ultra hair, EP fiber, etc...although congo hair is cheap, relatively
• polar fiber (white, olive, tan)
• bunny strips (white, chartreuse, olive)
• peacock herl*
• polyester rug yarn (beige/tan, olive, brown)  -  for crab flies
• dumbbell eyes* - brass in different sizes (black, nickel)
• beadchain - (black, silver)
• braid* (pearl)
• estaz (pearl, chartreuse)
• deer belly hair (white, chartreuse, olive)
• craft foam  -  for tying poppers and crease flies

if i've forgotten anything on this list, let me know.

XXA

Let's Get Kinky!

i bought a hot pink marabou package from a local hobby/craft store, and i've been trying to find fly patterns that will help me use some of this stuff up.

i decided to tie up a couple kinky muddlers for the first time, and see if they'll trick some stripers.  here is the fly pattern i used, with the addition of the pink marabou collar.

King's Kinky Muddler

then, i found essentially the same concept by 'Jonny' at stripersonline.com.  click on the image to go to the forum page.

  

i tied two different versions.  one is the standard, and the second is a 'clouser' variation with dumbbell eyes, and it should swim hook up.




not bad for the first attempt, but not great.  here are my thoughts:

1) i think i need to add a bunch more marabou to get the same pink effect.  mine is looking a little sparse.  i think it's due to the quality of the craft store marabou.  there is too much of the unusable webby portion of the feather.  it works well with some patterns (e.g. used for some pink dubbing), but not for this one.

2) i realized that i don't like this pattern (although i haven't fished one before), mostly because it takes so long to tie, and uses so much material.  i could replace the synthetic, kinky hair with deer belly hair and it would be so much quicker to tie...although just as messy.

3) i'm going to see how they fish, and if they get me a little luvin', then i'll tie some more with more pink.

anybody have any ideas what other patterns i could tie using the pink marabou?

2013 Goals: Get'm Done!

well, 2013 has started off pretty slowly, but at least i was able to end 2012 right.  in December, my goal was to catch some atlantic herring, so i could live line them and see if i could get a holdover striper.

i did a little research, and found out that most people use sabiki rigs to catch herring.  from what i've read, once you've found a school, they're pretty easy to catch.

i decided to tie up my own sabiki rig, seeing as how they didn't look that complicated, and i had all the necessary materials on hand.  i used 6' of 18 lb Rio Hard Mono Saltwater for the main leader line, from which i made 6 dropper loops, and then used about 4-6" of 12 lb Rio Hard Mono Saltwater for each dropper line.  i decided to use the Rio Hard Mono Saltwater mono here so that i could prevent as much tangling as possible.  for the weight, i used a 1 oz kastmaster without the treble hook.  most people use a bank sinker, but i thought the extra flash would help attract some fish.  then i tied 2 different flies, 3 of each.

Red Rocket Minnow
hook: Mustad 3366A - size: 8
thread: Danville 210 Denier Flat Waxed Nylon - red
tail: white feathers from sofa cushion, pearl krystal flash, Celebrate It Metallic Crinkly - iridescent

Simple Glow Shrimp
hook: Eagle Claw ML226N Octopus - size: 8
thread: Danville 210 Denier Flat Waxed Nylon - chartreuse
tail: glow in the dark fibers
body: pearl estaz

Red Rocket Minnow

Simple Glow Shrimp

from what i've heard through the grapevine, there are boat slips 2 minutes from my house that is usually a good place to catch herring this time of year.  when i arrived around sunrise, there were 5 other guys (mostly Russian, i think) already there, all fishing off the end of this slip, within 5 feet of each other.  as i joined the group, i realized these guys are braving the cold to bring food home, and less for sport.  i knew then that i wanted to try eating one.  forget the striper...after all, herring must taste good if people risk frostbite for them.

the technique: cast, let the rig sink until you hit bottom, then reel in slowly, dragging the weight across the bottom.  every few seconds i would twitch the rod a bit, then reel in the slack.  it was not rocket science.  i ended up catching 6 herring in 1 hour time (only one of the other guys was out fishing me).  the hit ratio was 2:1 in favor of the Red Rocket Minnow.

once i got home, i filleted them, and pickled them for 2 weeks.

toasted wheat bread, sour cream, pickled herring, diced onions, celery leaves, and lemon juice.

finally, without much ado, here is my 2013 fishing goals (in no particular order):

1. in the Spring, i want to catch more white perch on the fly, and eat them grilled.
2. i heard that the local reservoir has monster carp.  in the spring and summer, i want to hunt a few down with a fly, ideally using a crayfish pattern.  
3. in April and May, i hope to catch a striper on the flats, sight fishing from my kayak, and using a crab fly.
4. i want to catch from my kayak, black sea bass for the first time, and cook them whole.
5. i want to catch from my kayak, blackfish for the first time.
6. i want to catch from my kayak or from the shore, flounder/fluke and make fish tacos.
7. i want to catch lobster, and make an herby lobster roll.
8. i want to go clamming locally and use them to make linguini con le vongole, with red pepper flakes.w

they're not that ambitious, but very reasonable goals with one 17 month son and another due in the summer.  

more to come, so stay salty,

XXA

Gift that Keeps on Giving (hopefully)

i'm the richest man in the world!!!!  look what arrived today as a birthday gift from my in-laws.

i guess i know what i'll be doing this winter.  hopefully this gift will keep on giving (i.e. i'll catch some bonefish using flies i've tied from this book).  nice!

update:  i've been going through this book and it is definitely worth the price!

SOTSOG Fly

early reports have stated that stripers (schoolies and a few keepers) are everywhere, and now is the prime time to catch them before the blues arrive.  while clousers and deceivers will more than suffice, where's the fun in only using those flies?  since water temps have warmed up earlier than usual, i'm sure the blues will also arrive earlier than usual.

after watching the videos the Fly Fishing the Ozarks have posted on tying Kelly Galloup's articulated streamers, i have been mesmerized by their action in the water.  after doing some searching, i found Ward Bean's Jointed Minnow.




anyways, i got to thinking...why aren't there more of these types of flies for saltwater?  Dave Seller conceived his SST to add more motion to the fly, so why not create a jointed striper fly to impart additional movement?  so, Standing On The Shoulders Of Giants, or SOTSOG, was conceived.  (i haven't stumbled across a fly that is similar, but that doesn't mean it doesn't exist.  please let me know if it does.)

i wanted to create a fly that utilizes a secondary hook in the jointed fashion, but also rides hook up so that it is weedless.  a la Bob Clouser, i used dumbbell eyes to invert the hook.  i also didn't like using a normal stinger hook or octopus hook for the trailing hook because their hook eyes are horizontal.  when tying the wire to connect the two hooks, the second hook is slightly misaligned because the wire cannot sit perfectly on the bottom because the hook bend is in the way.  to avoid this problem, and to create a more side to side action versus the up and down motion (like Galloup's streamers), i used a 60 degree jig hook.  the wire is symmetrically tied on both sides of the hook, and the jig hook eye's vertical position allows for more side to side motion. 

here's my recipe:

Thread: Danville Flat Waxed Nylon (White)
Front Hook: Gamakatsu SS15, size 1/0
Back Hook: Eagle Claw 413 (60 degree Jig), size 2
Eyes: Painted Lead Dumbbell eyes
Connection:  Beadalon 7 Strand .024 inches
Tail: White Polar Fiber
Wing: Pearl Angel Hair
Coloring: Prismacolor Chartreuse, Prismacolor Olive

one other thing to note is that you must use heavy enough lead/tungsten eyes for it to invert both hooks and material.

if there is enough interest, i'll post step by step tying instructions.

Aleene's Fabric Fusion Test

with the weather getting into the 60s this week, and water temperatures in the mid 40s, i'm starting to get my gear in order for my first outing.  in the meanwhile, i've been cleaning my reels, tying up batches of flies, and tying some leaders as well.

in February 2010, Casey Smartt revealed that he had found a glue that could serve as an epoxy substitute for certain types of flies.  it was called Aleen's Fabric Fusion (AFF), and was sold in almost all craft stores and even craft sections of stores like Walmart and Kmart. 

a couple of months ago i noticed that a few of my albie flies where i had used AFF had yellowed.  i wrote Casey about it and asked him if he had noticed any yellowing before.  he had not, but suggested i perform a test.  my suspicion was that the AFF had interacted with another material that i used.  so, i decided to see if there was any reaction with two adhesives that i use, Goop (Craft version) and Super Glue's Future Glue.

this first picture is on day 1 of the test.  you can see that once applied, AFF is essentially clear.  if you look hard enough, unlike with the Super Glue sample, you can see the droplet of Goop i placed in the center, and how it did not mix with the AFF. 

this second picture was taken after one month.  the samples were placed indoors, but near a window to absorb sunlight during the daylight hours. 

you can see that while the Goop and Control samples remained essentially transparent, the sample mixed with Super Glue yellowed slightly and curled/shriveled a bit (hard to see in the picture), particularly around the edges.  this reaction was evident within the first few hours of the test, but worsened over the following day.  another observation is that after fully 'curing', the AFF in the Goop and Control samples remained slightly flexible, whereas the Super Glue sample had turned extremely hard and brittle.

this test confirmed my hypothesis that indeed a chemical reaction had occurred in my albie fly.  as you can see, the albie fly is quite yellow, and this photo was taken 5 months after tying the fly.  when tying, i had used quite a bit of Super Glue to stabilize and build up the pearl braid body, forming a belly.  it's amazing that the Super Glue reacts with the AFF so significantly. 

anyways, now i know, and now you know!  here's where i get AFF.

Eye For An Eye

a few years ago, while trying to find a substitute for E-Z Shape Sparkle Body, i read on an online forum that craft fabric paint is essentially the same thing, but at a huge discount.  so i went to the local Michael's and literally bought out their whole entire supply of Scribbles 3D Paint in the Crystal Gel Transparent Sparkle color.  i also bought a bunch of other colors, including one that is glow in the dark. 

so, after reading Casey Smartt's post on fabric paint eyes, i thought i would give it a go myself.  the eyes aren't perfect, but i think i'm slowing getting the technique down.  it's amazing how little paint you have to use to make sure you have the right sized eye. 

what's nice about fabric paint eyes is that they are slightly flexible and slightly rubbery in texture.  once they are dry, you can squeeze them 'a bit' and they return back to the original shape.  also, since they are flexible, it's easier to glue them onto thread heads, since they essentially conform to the shape of the head.

anyways, i have to say that staring at all these eyes gives me the heebie jeebies.  anyone else out there have trypophobia?  don't know what that is?  it's the fear of clustered holes.  google it, but it's not for the faint of heart.  i'm starting to get itchy and squirmy just thinking about it.

Feeling Crabby

everytime i get my copy of Fly Fishing in Saltwater in the mail, i savor it like it was my last meal alive.  i wait until the end of the day, then devour it cover to cover.  i've added to this bimonthly ritual by reading Eastern Fly Fishing.  so far, these two magazines are the only print magazines i read, not only because they address the exact type of fishing i'm interested in, but the quality of their content remains consistently awesome. in the November/December 2011 issue of EFF, they profiled Colby Hane's Corona Crab fly.

Corona Crab

here's my feeble attempt at tying it.  i substituted the grizzly hackle collar with one made out of mallard flank.  i thought it looked cooler and will perhaps have a bit more movement.  the eyes were made using Aleene's Fabric Fusion, a la Casey Smartt.






the weed guard was tied following EP's nifty technique below.



once i got into the groove of tying, i decided to tie a few more flies...

Fly of the Trip

This River is Wild's Fly of the Trip.  here i ended up using Lion Brand's Velvet Spun pink chenille for the legs.  i didn't have the same color or size chenille as the recipe called for, but i think this works well.  the fly is incredibly light, so i'll be using this for the shallower flats.



 

Avalon Crab Variant

lastly, i tied the famous Avalon Crab permit fly using instructions from the Caddis Fly Shop and Erik Moncada.  again, i made a couple of substitutions.  i thought the recipe's lead eyes were much too heavy, so i downsized a bit and went with brass eyes.  to reduce the weight further, i used plastic beads instead of metal beads for the rattle (two beige/one orange).  i used large, 7mm beads to ensure a louder sound, as well as help the fly settle in the sand with some stability. the orange bead is in front to help simulate the egg sack.  i tested this fly out in my bathtub and the sink rate is still pretty quick.  however, the lighter beads causes the fly stand up almost vertically like a plastic worm on a jig head.  there is tons of movement, and the crab settles in the defensive position.

A First Before the First

i finally got to go out and fish an area that i heard many good things about.  the temperature was in the mid-60s, and by the time i arrived at 11 AM, there were a bunch of guys already there, some with light spinning rods, and some with fly rods.  everyone i met was incredibly nice and helpful, freely offering me tips and useful information.  it's pretty amazing how gracious and affable people are when you leave the northeast. 

most of those people were there to catch the recently stocked, 8-10" rainbow trout or the plentiful blue catfish.  i, other the other hand, was on a different mission.  i was after carp.  common, mirror, buffalo, whatever.

i left the crowds of people fishing the same holes and ventured further away, finally getting to an isolated area that contained a large, deep pool, and a couple of close-by sand bars.  i climbed the steep hill nearby for a better look, and i could spot some bass and several rainbows.  there were also two pods of large, slow moving carp, altogether about 10-12 fish.  there was one that might have been 20 lbs, but hard to tell at a distance.  i realized immediately that only a few of them moved as if they were feeding.  good thing i watched Mr. P's video recently.



anyways, i snuck up on the fish, cast to them in 3 feet of crystal clear water, and i'm proud to say that i caught my first buffalo carp on a fly.

i used a 5wt rod, and the fly i used was Roughfisher's Carp Crack that I tied in my custom rust color dubbing.

Norman's Crab

awesomeness.  as his follow up to his description of Norman's Crab fly on his website, Fisherman's Coast, the Flats Doctor himself, Aaron Adams, has posted a video showing how to tie the fly! what better way to spend the holidays than to tie up some bonefish flies!  or maybe tie some up as a stocking stuffer!

Norman's Crab from Aaron Adams on Vimeo.

Not So Fatal Attraction

i've been tying some attractor nymph flies for Dallas.  the fish are going to be deep, extremely picky, and my only thought is to use an attractor pattern on a dropper rig.  i'm thinking either nymph-nymph, popper-nymph, nymph-streamer, or streamer-nymph combinations.  anybody have any thoughts on the best combos for winter pond and tailwater fishing in Texas?

my only guidance on what works down there is from reading posts on PondBass and Blue Gill on the Fly.  it seems like the electric blue north fork nymph works well, so my Blue Steel Nymph was an attempt to get the same coloring.  it took me a couple hours to get that color, and it still isn't right.  

it seems that every fly out there is a variation of a classic pattern, just with a twist on a new material, and then given a new name.  so why not join the fun?  

i've also started to make some poppers out of wine corks so i can use them as part of a popper-dropper rig.  using this link, i turned my Dremel into a mandrel and started shaping some popper heads.  i'll post some pics as soon as they're finished and painted.

Blue Steel Nymph

Louie-Bloo Rasberry Nymph

Lime Rocket Nymph

R&B Nymph

Hello Moto

Greemo Nymph

Purple Drank Nymph

Higa's SOS Baetis Nymph

LUV Nymph

The Menu

so naturally, soon after i picked up this 'addiction', i saw how expensive saltwater fly fishing can get, especially since my knots were terrible, and the flies seemed to snag every rock in the LIS.  i convinced myself, and my wife (but not for long), that i would be saving money by tying my own flies.  my wife soon 'got smart' after seeing countless ziplock bags arrive in the mail.

other than fly tying patterns and videos online, my number one reference was Angelo Peluso's book, "Saltwater Flies of the Northeast".

this book has over 400 descriptions and patterns/recipes for flies that are widely used in targeting the four primary saltwater game fish in northeastern waters: striped bass, bluefish, false albacore, and bonito.  included are flies that imitate bunker, spearing, sand eels, glass minnows, bay anchovies, herring, crab, shrimp, cinderworm, squid, and more.  while there are a bunch of editorial mistakes found throughout, and this book should be used more for reference than for reading, it is a must have in any saltwater fly tier's library.

the next book that i want to get is Dick Brown's "Bonefish Fly Patterns".  the book has 197 patterns with photographs!  variety is the spice of life, right?

for those of you still awake after reading this post, and want to save money on tying flies...i suggest buying your hooks on amazon.  amazon sells Gamakatsu hooks (100 pack), and since amazon uses dynamic based pricing, if you wait for the right time, you can get a terrific deal.