First solo fly

[BYRD]

After working with fishsalmon over the weekend, I decided to try my luck at tying a clouser solo. This is the first real fly I have tried to tie by myself. The following pictures show what I ended up with. I know the pictures did not come out that great, but it is all I could get out of my camera for some reason. It usually takes better pictures than these, but . . . this time it didn't. I choose the colors based on one of my favorite grubs -nuclear chicken. This color combo is one of my favorite flounder colors as well as one of my favorite speck colors.







So what do ya'll think? What can I improve on? Where did I make mistakes? Give me feedback!!!

Oh, and no, this is not what I'm tying for the swap.

[brad regan 01]

looks good

[gottaflylee]

Ok Bird, here are a couple of tips for you. First, when you are picking your Buck tail, look for the ones with the straightest hair. If it, the hair, is kinky the hair will be more hollow. Hollow hair is mostly used for spinning and floats very well. Body hair is very hollow (best for spinning) as well as the hair further down the tail, near where it was cut off from the body. If you look at your fly, notice where the hair comes over the eye and how it "splays" up, this comes from 2 things, hollow hair and or pulling your thread to tight around the shank of the hook. To keep this from happening, hold you hair together (behind the eye, after you have it attached to the front of the hook by the eye) with your fingers and lightly wrap your thread around your hair and hook shank. Then let you glue do the work of holding your thread together. All that wrap does there is hold the hair down the back of the hook shank...

Great fly BTW and good job, it is the one that I use near creek mouths, in deeper water when looking for Drum. Also in stained water the pink and chartreuse (known as the "tutu fruity" fly) is my first fly that I try. We caught many Trout on them this year also...

[Dave Sikorski]

I agree w/ what lee said.

Cinching the thread too tight will make the hair get crazy.

The hair towards the tip of the bucktail will be more fine and less hollow than the base.

Use the Macro setting on your camera. It's the little flower setting. Focuses on stuff within 2 ft. or so.

The clouser will ride hook point up b/c of the "wing" or hair on the hook side, not just b/c of the eye location.

Keep up the tying, you can only get better from here.

-D

[BYRD]

Great tips. Yeah I did "crank" down with the thread. Guess that comes from my bucktail experience where I want maximum flair. From the tips ya'll gave, I thinking that flair is not desired on a fly, but more of a straight laying presentation? Am I thinking in the right direction?

[Dave Sikorski]

Correct.....at least with most flies.

You'll find a sleak and sparse fly easier to cast, and the bucktail will come alive as it sits in the water column. The bulkiness will also affect the way the fly swims in the water column.

IMO that's the biggest benefit to a fly, you can suspend it in front of fish and it sits their and breathes. Much different than a weighted jig.

Remember that whatever a fly looks like in the vise is how it will look when under water. You want the fishiest profile possible.

-D

[CapeMayRay]

Good advice. Every fly you tie you get better and better and you will get a feel for usinging all the different types of material. There are lots of web-sites that have tying instructions with many being videos. You flies will get better and better.

The fly you showed will not be the best fly you will ever tie, but it will catch fish for you. I am a firm believer that in saltwater almost any fly will catch as long as it tracks some what good in the water, but even ones that do not will catch.

Keep on tying. It is a never ending learning process as there is always something new to learn.

[OneMoreCast]

Craig.. less is more. Just keep saying that. You could have used 10x less material on that fly.
Here's the kicker... when you use too much of any material you are killing the natural movement of the fly. Think of how a small baitfish holds in the current. Minor adjustments with fins... maybe a very tiny wiggle.. just too hold..
Here's another thing to consider.. a baitfish will never show itself unless in extreme danger. #1 tool to avoid predation is camouflage. Another way to look at it.. movement of anything in the wild costs energy.. Use of energy means death without a food source.. fish will rest rather than move around if at all possible.. The use currents to aid movement and limit energy consumption. ... make the fly look good at rest.. that's the natural way of the species.
Anyway... You can create the profiles and colors with much less material.. and once you learn to drift the flies.. you will constantly catch larger fish.
Basically... take everything you learned from presenting lures conventionally and throw it out the window..
I'm happy that you are getting into it.
We'll fish together this summer..

[BYRD]

OMC- that makes alot of since. Never thought of it that way. One usually never sees fish making big fancy movements. Getting into this fly stuff is like learning to walk all over again.

I appreciate all ya'lls input. I will try again and post some more pics maybe on Thursday.

OMC - by the middle of summer I should have the pups dailed in. I also will have a few places to try flounder. Come on down!!!!

[fishsalmon]

Craig,
Look at the clouser you tied at my house or even better stop by and I will give you the one I tied as an example - remember mine was pretty slim and sparse. Think of how many rockfish I have caught on that little size 2 clouser that is missing half its hair.