Muskie Flies

[BlueSteel89]

Well as a former gear fisherman I have been racking my brain trying to come up with a material to use to imitate a Bull Dawg Lure. A Bull Dawg is a HUGE lure that the gear guys throw that has a really long curly tail. I couldn't think of anything to use for it, but at the Lancaster Fly Show a guy there was selling exactly what I was looking for. (Eastern Trophies Fly Fishing) So here is what I created. The fly is basically a Ghetto Tramp without the peacock collar, and with a Laser Dub head. It has a spinner bait skirt and a rattle in it. On the back I was afraid of the tail fowling so I used stiff mylar body tubing and inserted the tail through that before I tied it to the hook. I also put a clump of buck tail to help keep the tail from fowling as well. I don't know if this guy will fish, but I like it!

 

[Fishidiot]

Neat!
Some cool experimentation going here. I find that sometimes I come up with a neat new concept but when I actually try to fish with the fly, it turns out to be a failure. But not always! Let us know how this one turns out and I'd be curious to see any adaptations you decide to try if improvements can be identified.

 

[BlueSteel89]

Yeah who knows it might look cool in the water, or it might look like a shiny goose turd. Either way I'm fishing it! Now if it would only get warmer...

 

[Gone_Phishin]

Anyone have any experience with the Whiting Musky Packs?

 

[BlueSteel89]

I bought one from the Whiting booth at the Lancaster show. It was the last one they had and I wish I would have looked at it closer and tried to talk him down on the price. There were some good feathers but a bunch were really thin and more suitable for dry fly hackle and some were a little beat up. I regret paying 30 bucks for it. I dunno if they are all that way or I just got the pack everyone passed over and didn't buy.

 

[pro4mance]

Besides balsa what do you guys use for poppers, I'm having a hard time finding suitable foam, size wise. Also where do you get it ? The Michaels near me has jack for foam. Thx Norm

 

[jay348]

I posted a pic in this thread a few pages back of the pack I picked up at somerset ( I think I paid $25?). Same as what the others mentioned...for what you get, its not the greatest deal. Maybe half of the feathers are the long, thin variety good for tailing. But then again, there are plenty of other ways to get creative with the shorter feathers. Depends on how much of the pack you really use i guess.

In my experience though, these hackles are still somewhat tough to come by...esp in your average shop. Cant say I regret the purchase.

 

[Crotalus]

pro4mance wrote:
Besides balsa what do you guys use for poppers, I'm having a hard time finding suitable foam, size wise. Also where do you get it ? The Michaels near me has jack for foam. Thx Norm

I have been looking for blocks of foam with minimal success. One of the hardest things has been trying to figure out what to look for as far as foam type and density.

 

[plombardo]

I have purchased musky packs. I don't regret it at all. 30$ for 80 of the best feathers. Metz has them for 20 feather for 14 some dollars. Block foam I think you can get from wapsi. I make my own poppers.

 

[PACOFRANSICO]

Wapsi makes inch dia foam cylinders. Block foam is not
Fun to cut. Floor scraper blades are good. I'm luck to have a buddy that is into the textile industry and got me some 5
Inch razor blades. They make butter smooth cuts.

 

[TD55]

I have been using taxidermy foam for my heads. Obviously this is hard to get but I carve it with a knife then sand everything smooth. Put a very light coat of car putty over it which again is not easy to come by but my father owns a auto body shop. Sand everything really smooth and then paint with airbrush and coat with Devcon 2 ton epoxy. I like this because the popper is harder which allows the head to slide thru musky teeth. Foam likes to get caught in their mouth. Another thing with predator topwater flies you do not have to go extremely huge with the head or the fly itself. Its all about the disturbance. 7-8 inches is fine for predator topwater. Here is one of mine.

 

[Crotalus]

Thanks Todd, you just gave me a great idea. Now I hope it works

 

[plombardo]

Look at Larry Dahlberg videos on youtube

 

[plombardo]

Rigid foam

 

[codym21]

Nice one TD, Here is my first balsa wood one i made the other day, Its around 9 inches long and the colors on the head sorta blended together.

 

[Fishidiot]

Hey muskie fly tying fans....

Here's a chance to see and meet our own TD55! He will be demonstrating and tying his unique (and as we know - effective!) muskellunge patterns at the upcoming Pennsylvania Fly Fishing Museum Open House on 4-5 April in Boiling Springs. TD knows his stuff and has really emerged on the scene in Pennsylvania in recent years as a leader in this unique and challenging genre of fly fishing.
Here's your chance to watch the master, get questions answered and seek feedback on flies and materials for the upcoming toothy season. For more information on this free show and how you can support the museum, hit this thread:

PFFMA Open House


If you'd like to learn more about what TD55 is up to, check out his blog on muskie fishing:
Muskie Fly Fishing

 

[TLoomis]

 

[Bosshog]

For those that live closer I'd definitely go see what TD has to say.

 

[codym21]

Nice flies TL
Here is one from tonight

 

[TLoomis]

Bosshog wrote:
For those that live closer I'd definitely go see what TD has to say.

+1. I went to a similar demo of his at TCO and learned a ton of info.

Thanks codym. Nice fly as well!