jifigz
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They will all still catch fish. Almost anything presented in an attractive manner will get eaten at some point or another, especially by some shore cruising laregemouths or some panfish.
They will all still catch fish. Almost anything presented in an attractive manner will get eaten at some point or another, especially by some shore cruising laregemouths or some panfish.
Baron
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I Agree.
nfrechet
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any trout fly will catch panfish
Baron
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Yes but until I learn to tie consistently the thought of being capable of reproducing them will be daunting.So I keep tying, keep comparing and keep reading and I'm sure in time it'll be good enough.
I've tied allot of the more modern stuff that goes together quickly but the older patterns feel more rewarding.
nfrechet your work in awesome and clean. Thanks for posting so many.
I've tied allot of the more modern stuff that goes together quickly but the older patterns feel more rewarding.
nfrechet your work in awesome and clean. Thanks for posting so many.
J
JeffK
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I will take you to my version of a wayback machine. I started flyfishing in the 1960's way before there was an internet and flyfishing information was hard to get. The old fly fishermen were secretive old cusses and maybe your father or an uncle would help you out, but no stranger. Wooly buggers weren't really popular yet and bead heads and flashy flies were yet to come. One friend was early into wooly buggers and he never showed us one. He would climb trees to get snagged buggers so other people wouldn't catch on to his secret. Sure a different world today!
I grew up in Phillipsburg NJ so fished Warren Co NJ and the Lehigh Valley streams.
The bread and butter flies were bucktails. Mostly simple two color bucktails with a silver or gold tinsel body. Red/White, Natural/white, black/white, or black/yellow were popular. Tie them slender. Next step up were more complex ones like Mickey Finn (still a killer) or black nosed dace. Need to keep each of three layers even sparer. Marabou streamers were a new hot thing - white in clear water; yellow in stained water. Feather wing patterns were more a New England thing, but Bob Jacklin introduced the South Branch Chub when he still lived in NJ.
Wet flies were used by the old pros in teams of two or three. See the attached Al Troth catalog of 1979 for examples. https://fiberglassflyrodders.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=46605 He started out in PA and those wets like Uncle Phil and Red Assed Kelso are PA patterns I think. The flies were big - 6's and 8's were common. However, everyone's box had some smaller yellow wets because sulphur season was best fly fishing time. Nice weather, good stream levels, and hungry fish.
Nymphs I remember where mostly pheasant tails and fuzzy hair bodied blobs. BTW, no fly shops with tons of materials and people had less extra income, so a lot of flies were tied with things shot or trapped locally, like muskrat fur, squirrel tail, buck tail, or pheasant tails and a few common materials like peacock herl and tinsel.
I was young so I didn't dry fly fish much. Light hooks were flimsy, good dry fly necks were rare, and floatants (mixtures of white gas and paraffin) were awful. My flies never floated very long, but maybe that was just me; I was young and didn't know much. Had a few memorable dry fly days, but was not consistent, Tippets weren't as good - 5X was considered tiny and 3X and 4X were more common. Now a 5X is a starting point for me, not the fine end of things.
However, we caught fish and those flies till do.
BTW, any of Ray Bergman's books are worthwhile reads.
I grew up in Phillipsburg NJ so fished Warren Co NJ and the Lehigh Valley streams.
The bread and butter flies were bucktails. Mostly simple two color bucktails with a silver or gold tinsel body. Red/White, Natural/white, black/white, or black/yellow were popular. Tie them slender. Next step up were more complex ones like Mickey Finn (still a killer) or black nosed dace. Need to keep each of three layers even sparer. Marabou streamers were a new hot thing - white in clear water; yellow in stained water. Feather wing patterns were more a New England thing, but Bob Jacklin introduced the South Branch Chub when he still lived in NJ.
Wet flies were used by the old pros in teams of two or three. See the attached Al Troth catalog of 1979 for examples. https://fiberglassflyrodders.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=46605 He started out in PA and those wets like Uncle Phil and Red Assed Kelso are PA patterns I think. The flies were big - 6's and 8's were common. However, everyone's box had some smaller yellow wets because sulphur season was best fly fishing time. Nice weather, good stream levels, and hungry fish.
Nymphs I remember where mostly pheasant tails and fuzzy hair bodied blobs. BTW, no fly shops with tons of materials and people had less extra income, so a lot of flies were tied with things shot or trapped locally, like muskrat fur, squirrel tail, buck tail, or pheasant tails and a few common materials like peacock herl and tinsel.
I was young so I didn't dry fly fish much. Light hooks were flimsy, good dry fly necks were rare, and floatants (mixtures of white gas and paraffin) were awful. My flies never floated very long, but maybe that was just me; I was young and didn't know much. Had a few memorable dry fly days, but was not consistent, Tippets weren't as good - 5X was considered tiny and 3X and 4X were more common. Now a 5X is a starting point for me, not the fine end of things.
However, we caught fish and those flies till do.
BTW, any of Ray Bergman's books are worthwhile reads.
Baron
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Still live in P'burg? Once we have all of our shots 
we should have coffee and compare notes. I'm on college hill on Parker.
Ever use the fly rod for Shad?
we should have coffee and compare notes. I'm on college hill on Parker. Ever use the fly rod for Shad?
Tigereye
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Its been a while since I've fished shad with a fly but did
quite well with a simple set up. 5 wt rod with floating line. About 12 ft of straight 6 pound mono as leader and a fly we called a goldie -- just dangled straight below you and jigged every so often. Not really fly fishing more like jigging with a fly rod.
The goldie:
Size 6 or 8 gold Aberdeen hooks from walmart.
Gold dumbell eyes
6 to 8 strands NO MORE of gold tinsel.
6/0 yellow thread
This fly was only effective if tied super sparse.
Secure dumbell eyes on shank of hook just behind the eye.
Tie tinsel on back of hook just infront of the dumbell eyes, similar to clausser minnow. Do not wrap behind eyes. The eyes serve as a bit of a bump that allows tinsel to flutter providing alot of action even though the fly is stationary. Which is most of the time except when jigged. The dumbell eyes provide the weight for the "jig".
We fished from shore up near Calicoon. The key was to get in the channel the fish were running.
quite well with a simple set up. 5 wt rod with floating line. About 12 ft of straight 6 pound mono as leader and a fly we called a goldie -- just dangled straight below you and jigged every so often. Not really fly fishing more like jigging with a fly rod.
The goldie:
Size 6 or 8 gold Aberdeen hooks from walmart.
Gold dumbell eyes
6 to 8 strands NO MORE of gold tinsel.
6/0 yellow thread
This fly was only effective if tied super sparse.
Secure dumbell eyes on shank of hook just behind the eye.
Tie tinsel on back of hook just infront of the dumbell eyes, similar to clausser minnow. Do not wrap behind eyes. The eyes serve as a bit of a bump that allows tinsel to flutter providing alot of action even though the fly is stationary. Which is most of the time except when jigged. The dumbell eyes provide the weight for the "jig".
We fished from shore up near Calicoon. The key was to get in the channel the fish were running.
Baron
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This sounds too easy so I may try it. How long should the tinsel be.....how much longer than the hook?
Tigereye
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A bit past the bend. You don't want it entangled the bend.
I should mention the fly is cast quartering down stream and allowed to swing and hang in current below you. The current activates the tinsel creating alot of flutter. Keep the rod facing directly down stream at about a 22 degreee angle above water and about 2 foot of slack in your line hand. Twitch line in line hand occasionally. Strikes are sudden and violent and no need to set hook. Almost like streamer. Give fish immediate slack from line hand and get fish on reel.
The slack and slight angle of rod prevent line break or from pulling hook out of soft mouth.
I should mention the fly is cast quartering down stream and allowed to swing and hang in current below you. The current activates the tinsel creating alot of flutter. Keep the rod facing directly down stream at about a 22 degreee angle above water and about 2 foot of slack in your line hand. Twitch line in line hand occasionally. Strikes are sudden and violent and no need to set hook. Almost like streamer. Give fish immediate slack from line hand and get fish on reel.
The slack and slight angle of rod prevent line break or from pulling hook out of soft mouth.
Baron
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Thanks for the casting info. I may try this soon .
J
JeffK
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Baron,
I live an hour away in Somerset Co NJ now and don't fish in the area much. Maybe sometime we can meet up.
BTW, I have fly fished for shad but prefer to fish above the Gap in May when water is lower so it is easier to reach the fish. I'm not so good with the spey/sinking head techniques so I wait until conditions are better for fly fishing.
I live an hour away in Somerset Co NJ now and don't fish in the area much. Maybe sometime we can meet up.
BTW, I have fly fished for shad but prefer to fish above the Gap in May when water is lower so it is easier to reach the fish. I'm not so good with the spey/sinking head techniques so I wait until conditions are better for fly fishing.
Baron
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Oh I see, Thought you were in P'burg. I like the Worthington state park area. maybe I need to go there then.
Thanks for the info.
Thanks for the info.
Baron
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Oh I see, Thought you were in P'burg. I like the Worthington state park area. maybe I need to go there then.
Thanks for the info.
Thanks for the info.
Baron
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Tigereye
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Looking good. Particularly the bottom one. Lots of action in that one. I dont see why the keelex wouldn't work. I believe the action is what makes this fly.
You don't even need to run your thread down the body. I preferred to let the gold hook shine thru to add some flash.
Just tie around the eyes to secure it and add a drop or 2 of crazy glue to stop it from " rolling" . Tie up a dozen or so eyed hooks and set them aside to dry. Then go back and add your tinsel or kreelex.
Good luck
You don't even need to run your thread down the body. I preferred to let the gold hook shine thru to add some flash.
Just tie around the eyes to secure it and add a drop or 2 of crazy glue to stop it from " rolling" . Tie up a dozen or so eyed hooks and set them aside to dry. Then go back and add your tinsel or kreelex.
Good luck
Tigereye
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By securing it i am talking about the dumbell eye
Baron
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Makes complete sense. I like the longer tail on the last one.
Baron
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Tigereye, thanks for the recipe...
Was on a Delaware River Free Bridge embuttment by 5:15 and fished until 7. Lost 8 Plugs but they're easy to tie. Caught 1 - 12" Small Mouth that I was sure was a Shad until I saw him. Fat and pretty. The Kreelix worked well (credit to FlySwatter for introducing me to it). I thought I felt a couple of other bumps but it could have been the same submerged Gigantic Rip Rap that stole my other flies. I definitely see why one might wait until the water drops more if shore fishing. I won't fish there again.
Was on a Delaware River Free Bridge embuttment by 5:15 and fished until 7. Lost 8 Plugs but they're easy to tie. Caught 1 - 12" Small Mouth that I was sure was a Shad until I saw him. Fat and pretty. The Kreelix worked well (credit to FlySwatter for introducing me to it). I thought I felt a couple of other bumps but it could have been the same submerged Gigantic Rip Rap that stole my other flies. I definitely see why one might wait until the water drops more if shore fishing. I won't fish there again.
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