Anyone use Flymen Fishing Company products?

[TimMurphy]

Dear Board,

I saw a post about these products on another message board, some of the stuff looks pretty interesting, Sculpin Helmets and Fish Skulls along with the articulating shank.

In theory you should be able to make some large streamers with these things and I was wondering if anyone has tried them?

http://flymenfishingcompany.org/

Regards,

Tim Murphy

 

[jdaddy]

They have the sculpin helmets and fish skulls at TCO. They are brutally expensive imo. They don't have the articulating shank, which hopefully will be more reasonably priced, as it would appear to work really well in articulating.

 

[gfen]

if the shanks weren't much more than hooks, i'd be curious. but i think my cheapness outweighs my convineince.

 

[sniperfreak223]

I've been using the fish skulls quite a bit over the last year and really like them...looking into those sculpin helmets, too. anyone who participated in the meat box swap got a few of the articulated ice picks with fish skulls I've been using for bigger bass, trout, and pike...i love the way these make the flies swim.

 

[salvelinusfontinalis]

I like those Sculpin helmets. I've never used them but I might try them out. Thanks

 

[jdaddy]

gfen wrote:
if the shanks weren't much more than hooks, i'd be curious. but i think my cheapness outweighs my convineince.

Agreed 100%.

 

[gfen]

I'm willing to bet someone at the tying show will have them for sale. I'll decide at that point.

I thought someone commented that fish skulls were a good way to create rod-smashing missiles?

 

[jdaddy]

Sculpinheads are $6.50 for 8 of them.

Articulated shanks are $6 for 20 of them.

 

[Ramcatt]

funny... there is nothing "artriculated" about them

wadington shanks are a much better

 

[gfen]

Articulated shanks too much. Waddington shanks too much. Cotter pins from the hardware store? Maybe. $2 "bass assortment" hooks from walmart+wire cutter=good enough for me.

 

[Ramcatt]

its all a matter of preference and what fits "good enough" and price

But, the added even weight distrobution of wadington shanks are worth the price (for me). A normal set of dumbel eyes for orentation, but you can also effectivly fish weightless

I clip sz 2 and 2/0 mustad salmon hooks for smaller stuff... but end up using tubes if i'm going down to that size

cotter pins lack the characteristics (eight and size) that I like

a 35mm wadington shank cannot be beat

 

[jdaddy]

Ramcatt wrote:
funny... there is nothing "artriculated" about them

wadington shanks are a much better

Maybe I am being thick. What does that mean?

I see the value in these and the wadington over cotter pins though. With cotter pins one has to create an eye or lash the cotter pin to a hook.

 

[gfen]

In hind sight, you are correct. I will continue to cut off the cheap hook assortment hooks if I'm so motivated to do this.

Thank you for your input. For a moment, I almost valued convienence too much. However, I'm not sure if I can do $6/20. Its not like I'm not gonna put a thread base over a cut hook anyways, so I'm not sure what this gives you in the grand scheme of things. Are people not covering the last 1/8" so they can change hooks? Is that the secret I'm missing?

 

[Ramcatt]

when i hear "articulated" i think a fly that is built on multiple sections that gives movement (jointed)

the "artculaed shanks" are just a way to add a hook onto a shank... no benifit of movement... "stinger shanks" would be a better name

in application, the stinger idea is to use a small hook that
- cause less damage. now need from some huge gape 6/0 to bulid a large fly
- better leverage on a fish

the "artculaed shanks" really fail at the leverage part with that massive butt end ... if you want to run a stinger loop of fireline, it gets in the way and it is too larger to take junction tuning... and they have been advertised (attaching the hook directly to the shank) is a twisted mess... the loop is too big to effectively use a small hook and the restrictive movement negagets the leverage benifit.... and it produces some really ugly flies.

 

[TimMurphy]

Dear ramcatt,

The Flymen shanks are the very definition of an articulated joint.

There is a straight ring eye section and an open loop at the end that is rotated 90 degrees from the eye. You put a straight eyed hook on the open loop end and you have virtually 180 degrees of both horizontal and vertical movement once you secure the hook with tying thread.

I'm going to give them a try but if I decide I like them I'll probably just get a cheap spinner making jig and a spool of wire and make my own. The weighed heads could easily be made with 1/16th - 1/64th ounce bullet sinkers that run about $ 3.00 for 25.

Personally, I just think the profile of the head made by Flymen makes a good sculpin and even better stonecat imitation and they come pre-painted and with eyes.

Regards,

Tim Murphy

 

[JohnnyUtah]

Why don't save time and just buy a rapala. They make jointed.

 

[Ramcatt]

There is a straight ring eye section and an open loop at the end that is rotated 90 degrees from the eye. You put a straight eyed hook on the open loop end and you have virtually 180 degrees of both horizontal and vertical movement once you secure the hook with tying thread.

yeah thats a stinger hook.. but with the negatives i mentioned above

for articulated flies look at circus peanut, Articulated Zoo Cougar, fur trader, mikes mufasa, ect

 

[TimMurphy]

Dear ramcatt,

It's absolutely an articulation joint. Two ring eyes on opposing planes, ie. horizontal and vertical planes, are joined together and they can move freely in opposing planes. With the Flymen articulation the single hook is on the rear section and it can move both left to right and up and down. That by definition is articulation.

You can have an articulation joint with the point hook in the forward section where the rear section is simply a tail section tied seperately like on some of the flies you mentioned. The postion of the single point has nothing to do with an articulation joint.

A stinger hook is something else entirely, it is either a section of mono or wire attached to the bend or snelled to the shank of the lead hook in a two or more hook fly rig. It's entirely different. There are always at least two hooks in a stinger hook rig by defintion.

Regards,

Tim Murphy

 

[Ramcatt]

a hook in the back does not make the fly articulated..the movement needs to be in the fly
a bare moveable hook off the back of the fly's body is not "articulation"

the # of hooks has nothing to do with "stingers"... its the position of the hook behind the main body of the fly.. rigging can vary

i mentioned earlier how these "AS" are not designed for effective rigging
- fireline/mono- loop to big and intrusive
- junction tube- loop to big
- hook in the loop- loose leverage

plus
-they are too light
-they have a flat eye
-they make ugly flies

 

[SBecker]

JohnnyUtah wrote:
Why don't save time and just buy a rapala. They make jointed.

Man. you just do not know what you are missing until you start chucking Muppet babies. 6 inches of huge brown catching capabilities.