Hook up flies?

[J55tyger88]

Yo! Ok, to give insight, ive been fishing some ponds with alot of surface muck, weeds, and stuff and have noticed bass taking dragon flies. I also noticed a frog skip across this muck and soon after get blown up by a fish lurking underneath.

My question is are there techniques to tie flies hook up, aside from adding weight to one side? (Clousers, or sculpin helmet, etc)

Id love to tie a frog imitation and just skip it over the weeds with out ripping all the weeds and/or muck off. I was also think that floppin a big dragonfly dry on top of these weeds could trigger some strikes.

Ive been trying some stuff but it just rolls hook down and isnt consitent.

Thanks in advance.

 

[gutcutter]

Try a bullet shaped foam popper "blank" and affix it with the cone towards the hook eye. Even better if the eye is a bit up towards the top of the cone.
Put the hook into the foam via a "slit" in the foam along the length of it, and add the hook in with the point opposite the slit- away from where you want it in the water.
I prefer a bass "rubber worm" hook. A monofilament weed guard is a good idea.
Fill the slit with epoxy, which adds weight to the "bottom" of the fly, helping it ride hook up. A few strands of lead wire in the slit helps even more, and gives it almost a keel.
Simple rubber legs should be placed angling upward, away from the slit. This helps it ride "hook up".
I like multiple strands of round rubber slid into place with a puncture by a large calibre sewing needle. A drop of super glue holds them there.
A sharpie set will let you "paint it" much easier than acrylics.
My two pennies.

 

[J55tyger88]

Im not familiar with foam popper blanks but will check this idea out fo sho!

 

[mic]

tiger me and mike have good luck with weedles flys,they just slide right over the lillys,you just add 40 lb mono from the eye of the hook down an around the bend of the hook,over the point gencon could advise you better,lets get out in my conoe and give it a try.

 

[J55tyger88]

Mic, i see what you mean. I tried some with 20lb mono and it didnt work, but im thinking its not stiff enough to hold the profile over the hook. Im in for some WW canoe fishing.

 

[GenCon]

mic wrote:
tiger me and mike have good luck with weedles flys,they just slide right over the lillys,you just add 40 lb mono from the eye of the hook down an around the bend of the hook,over the point gencon could advise you better,lets get out in my conoe and give it a try.

Tyger, what Mic said.

GenCon

 

[Fishidiot]

I like to use the weedless style hooks that gear guys use for soft plastics. These have a flexible metal weed guard that can make tying a bit awkward but they work well for bass flies.

 

[jay348]

Fishidiot wrote:
I like to use the weedless style hooks that gear guys use for soft plastics. These have a flexible metal weed guard that can make tying a bit awkward but they work well for bass flies.

This will probably be your best option.

But also, bendback style flies accomplish the hook-up objective without adding weight. Materials are tied on the underside of the shank. The resistance from the materials will flip the hook point upward, along with the bend of the hook being the heaviest part of the fly.

(image stolen from google)

Edit: I just realized you weren't looking for a baitfish pattern. This could possibly work for a frog imitation, but probably not as much for dagonflies/smaller bugs.

 

[Fredrick]

gutcutter wrote:
Try a bullet shaped foam popper "blank" and affix it with the cone towards the hook eye. Even better if the eye is a bit up towards the top of the cone.
Put the hook into the foam via a "slit" in the foam along the length of it, and add the hook in with the point opposite the slit- away from where you want it in the water.
I prefer a bass "rubber worm" hook. A monofilament weed guard is a good idea.
Fill the slit with epoxy, which adds weight to the "bottom" of the fly, helping it ride hook up. A few strands of lead wire in the slit helps even more, and gives it almost a keel.
Simple rubber legs should be placed angling upward, away from the slit. This helps it ride "hook up".
I like multiple strands of round rubber slid into place with a puncture by a large calibre sewing needle. A drop of super glue holds them there.
A sharpie set will let you "paint it" much easier than acrylics.
My two pennies.

Could you take some pics . I have been also playing with these sort of ideas I have started tying a diver with the hook inverted so the dear hair collar has been acting like a weed guard unfortunately I have gotten any strikes on it yet to see how good it hooks the fish . Tied up some bend back my self and they are doing a good job at staying weedless but still get all mucked up after you fish them for a bit.

 

[gutcutter]

Fredrick wrote:
Could you take some pics

I hope this isn't too much...
Mods - feel free to delete/edit it if you want.

 

[Fredrick]

Thxs those are some nice pics . Have you had any problems with hook ups on this fly at all ?

 

[jwb123]

Sweet fly gutcutter!