Bankable predator fish ammo. Balanced and lifelike with many, many actions at all speeds from still to thrill.
↧
Hang Time Optical Minnow – Brad Bohen
↧
Eli Berant – Great Lakes Fly
Eli Berant of Great Lakes Fly has sent me an arsenal of Musky flies. Below Eli describes how to fish these big bad dudes and offers a lot of information on each of these patterns. I’ll post the rest of the group next post. Great stuff, enjoy!
Fishing these patterns:
Personally I fish these flies on a sinking line 97% of the time. These lines help to cast these larger flies as well as helping with the action while achieving the appropriate depth to be effective. On Lake St.Clair we are targeting waters mostly 5-12 ft deep and we want the fly to spend most of the time near the middle of the water column, and these sinking lines do the trick, Anything from a 350-500 grain line does a good job, you just need to find the line that works best for you.
We use a variety of retrieves and change them up constantly to see what the fish are interested in at the time. Anything from a slow and steady, almost “wooly bugger” like retrieve, to a rod in the arm pit hand over hand retrieve to move the fly as fast as you can. We also do a lot of the Jerk Strip retrieve popularized by the book Modern Streamers for Trophy Trout. Keep the fly moving, and when you have a chaser, KEEP THE FLY MOVING!
Materials:
I am always looking for different materials to use in these flies. I like materials that both hold a profile, but also offer movement while being durable. Bucktail and Synthetic Yak are 2 standard materials I use frequently. Flash is something that I feel is underused in most Predator/Streamer flies, put as much flash as you ever think you might need, you can always trim it out if it is too much, having said that I have never trimmed flash out of a fly.
Foosa
Foosa
This is a fly that I tried to just blow up a deceiver into a predator pattern. A bulky profile, where the tail dances with the strip, and the finn raccoon collars grab the water helping create more of an underwater disturbance.
(7-9”)
Hook: Mustad 32608 Spinnerbait Hook or equivalent Spinnerbait Hook in 5/0 or 6/0
Thread: UTC 280 or equivalent
Tail Section: Synthetic material such as SynYak or SF Fibers, 6-8 Saddle feathers, and Magnum Flashabou
Tail Collar: Finn Raccoon
Rattle: Jig Rattle with nub trimmed off, secured to the top of the hook and wrapped in estaz
Flash: Magnum Flashabou and Krystal Flash
Body: 7 bunches of Bucktail (not reverse tied) 4 on top / 3 on the bottom with Finn Raccon laid over top finished with Clear Cure Goo
Eyes: ½” 3D eyes secured with goop and the CCG
Optimus Swine
Optimus Swine
The design of this fly was intentional but the result was far better than I had ever imagined. When designing this fly I set out to have a fly in my arsenal that fell through the water column more slowly than the flies with a heavier nose. So I toyed with the idea of adding a reversed, foam popper head in the fly towards the back of the fly and a synthetic head (Senyo Lazer Dub) and it worked, but what also occurred was the placement of the popper head at the rear of the hook throws off the buoyancy that makes this fly kick from side to side under a jerk strip retrieve, unlike any fly I have ever used and it catches fish.
(7-9”)
Hook: Mustad 32608 Spinnerbait Hook or equivalent Spinnerbait Hook in 5/0 or 6/0
Thread: UTC 280 or equivalent
Rattle: Jig rattle on a spider collar arm tied off the back of the hook
Tail Section: Synthetic material such as SynYak or SF Fibers, 2 saddle feathers down each flank, and magnum flashabou
Body: Rainy’s Mini Me Popperhead (Md) reversed secured by goop. 7 bunches of Bucktail (not reverse tied) 4 on top / 3 on the bottom
Head: Senyo Laser Dub
Eyes: ½” 3D eyes secured with goop
Note: This fly can be scaled down to 5.5” on a 3/0 or 4/0 spinnerbait hook and a Mini Me (Sm) popper head substitutes.
Bingo
Bingo
I have worked this pattern over and over looking for the right materials to allow for the size/profile I ultimately wanted. This is where I had first discovered SynYak or Synthetic Yak hair, this material was perfect, took on the flash I wanted to mix in, I added the rattle to the back and BINGO…there is was. This is my go to fly when trying to “match a hatch” presentation is important.
(6-9”)
Hook: Gamakatsu SL12 in 6/0 or 8/0
Thread: .008 Clear Mono Thread
Rattle: Jig Rattle tied off the back of the hook and secured with CCG
Body: 4 layers of SynYak on both top and bottom, tied in tapered and reversed
Eyes: ⅜” or ½” 3D eyes secured with goop.
Head: Finish thread head with CCG
Tune in tomorrow for the next three patterns by Eli Berant.
↧
↧
Eli Berant – Great Lakes Fly – Part 2
Eli sent me so much information on his arsenal of muskie/pike flies that I felt it deserved a two part post. So here are three more big bad streamers from Eli Berant of Great Lakes Fly.
Halfachunk
Halfachunk
(7-8”)
Hook: 5/0 or 6/0 Spinnerbait hook
Thread: UTC 280
Rattle: Jig rattle on a spider collar arm tied off the back of the hook
Tail: Clump of Icelandic Sheep Hair tied off the back, bucktail tied in on both the top and bottom of the hook with another clump of Icelandic Sheep tied on both top and bottom of the hook.
Body: Bucktail tied in traditionally,on both top and bottom (2 each), add 3 saddle feathers to each flank, add flash, and, tie 1 more section of bucktail on top and bottom
Flash: Magnum Halo Flashabou and Krystal Flash
Head and Collar: Spun Deer hair trimmed to shape
Threads protected with Clear Cure Goo or similar
Chunkamonk
Chunkamonk
(10-12”)
Hooks: Rear: Spinnerbait hook 5/0 or 6/0 Front: Gamakatsu SL12S 8/0
Thread: UTC 280
Rear Hook:
Rattle: Jig rattle on a spider collar arm tied off the back of the hook
Tail: Clump of Icelandic Sheep Hair tied off the back, bucktail tied in on both the top and bottom of the hook with another clump of Icelandic Sheep tied on both top and bottom of the hook.
Body: Bucktail tied in traditionally,on both top and bottom (2 each), add 2 saddle feathers to each flank, top with Magnum Holo Flashabou, tie 2 more sections of bucktail on top and bottom with 2 more longer saddle feathers added to each flank before tying on the final clump of bucktail. Finish with Clear Cure Goo or similar.
Front Hook:
Connection .024” coated wire and 4 beads
Body: Bucktail tied in on top and bottom 3 sections
Rattle: Jig rattle on a spider collar arm tied off the back of the hook added to a top section of bucktail
Flash: Magnum Holo Flashabou and Krystal Flash
Head and Collar: Spun Deer hair trimmed to shape
Threads protected with Clear Cure Goo or similar
Moonbat
Moonbat
(10-12”)
Hooks: (2) 6/0 Spinnerbait Hooks
Thread: UTC 280
Rear Hook:
Tail: Magnum Holo Flashabou tied off the back, with the closest 1 inch of material to the hook stiffened with CCG Flex, or goop. a section of SynYak or similar tied in reverse style on both the top and bottom of the hook.
Body: Alternating sections of bucktail until you get about ¾” from the eye of the hook. Before you tie on the last top piece of bucktail tie in 2 long saddle feathers along each flank, then magnum halo flashabou, then 1 more saddle feather along each flank. Top that off with another section of bucktail. Slide on a popper head reversed and secured with goop. Tie in a section of Icelandic Sheep on both top and bottom and finish this section with a collar of a schlappen feather palmered.
Front Hook:
Connection .024 Wire with 4 beads, secured to the front hook.
Body: One section of bucktail on both top and bottom, add a popper head reversed with goop. Add one section of Icelandic sheep on top and bottom, then 1 or 2 sections of bucktail if you can fit it with the ratttle being on the head.
Flash: Magnum Halo Flashabou and Krystal Flash
Collar: Schlappen
Rattle: Jig rattle with nub cut off tied on top at the eye of the hook
Head: Jig rattle wrapped in standard chenille and then cactus chenille, and add ½” 3D dome eyes with goop.
↧
Triple Treat – Ulf Hagström
Another awesome pike fly by Ulf Hagström. Visit Ulf’s The Way of the /:Fly:/ for more flies.
↧
Blane Chocklett tying his T-Bone Musky Fly
A three part video of Blane Chocklett tying his famous T-Bone Musky Fly at Mountain Sports Ltd’s 2013 Tying Night. Tie along with Blane as he breaks down his step by step approach to tying this Musky Fly.
↧
↧
Chris Willen – Double Nickel
photo by Steve Dally
Chris Willen has been musky fishing for well over a decade, from the freestone rivers of the Upper Midwest to the limestone rivers of the Cumberland plateau and most places in between. One of the things he has enjoyed the most is to share the sport of fishing with others. With that, he began Chris Willen Guide Service. If you want to do some musky fishing, give this guy a call!
All musky in the photos were caught on the Double Nickel fly. Standard reverse tied Bucktail with a feather/flash tail. The head is the large sea eyes. They’re aluminum barbell eyes that I stack the deer hair around. Killer “bob and weave” action that the musky can’t resist. Two 5/0 hooks joined with 50 pound tiger leader. Works well in rivers and lakes. Fished on a sinking line is best. Usually Scientific Anglers 450 gran wet tip express. I used to fish 80 pound flouro but grew tied of bite offs. Now I strictly fish them on 40 pound 7×7 coated surfstrand in the camo color.
photo by Brian Porter
photo by Brian Porter
photo by Brian Porter
↧
Brian Wise Video: Matt Grajewski’s Nut Butter
The first video in the Matt Grajewski Series brings his Nut Butter. Sized right, this fly can chase any predatory fish in the world. Pike, Musky, Trout…..
Recipe:
Rear Hook – Gamakatsu B10s #2
Tail – Schlappen
Rear Body/Tail – Marabou
Hackle #1 – Polar Chenille
Hackle #2 – Schlappen
Body – Ice Wing Fiber (or estaz, etc)
Rubber-Legs
Middle Hook – Gamakatus B10s #1
Filler – Marabou
Hackle #1 – Polar Chenille
Hackle #2 – Schlappen
Body – Ice Wing Fiber
Rubber Legs
Front Hook – Gamakatsu B10s #1/0
Eyes – I-Balz
Filler – Marabou
Hackle #1 Polar Chenille
Hackle #2 Schlappen
Body – Ice Wing Fiber
Head – Craft Fur Brush
↧
XL Pike Popper – Johan Lindqvist
Johan shows us how to tie an extra large popper for pike.
↧
Flies Around the Net – 7-9-2014
William Ensiferum – Caenis CDC Spent
Live 4 Fly Fishing – Natural Quilled Nymph Orange Dot
Andreas Andersson – Red Lipped Roach Divers
Matthew Pate – Partridge Czech Nymph Hook
Ariko Miettinen-The Usk Grub
Jeff Dickey – Captain 1.0
Matt Zudweg – Zudbubbler
Mig Carnapeche – Pheasant Tail nymph
Trace Hilt
↧
↧
Rydare Mouse Fly
Since I just posted that cool video on rainbow trout going after mouse patterns, I thought I better follow it up with a mouse pattern video. This one is fairly straight forward and easy to tie. Give it a whirl, if you want to do some mousing of your own!
This one is tied by Ryan Soillers.
↧
Harry Palmer Musky Fly – Bob Wade
Bob says this about the pattern, “An original musky pattern tied with almost all synthetic materials to avoid waterlogged flies that are even more difficult to cast.”
↧
Flies Around the Net 12-12-14
Wayne Samson – Chris Helm mouse
Garren Wood – Golden Demon Variant
Jérome Chicard – Woven Ostrich
Tied by Erik Sorensen
Tied by Charles Hendron
Tied by Steve Silverio
Tied by Markus Hoffman
Ariko Miettinen – Royal Coachman
Gunnar Brammer – Articulated BFF
Mike Schmidt – Strolis Headcase Crayfish
Tied by Paul J. Beel
Tied by Paul J. Beel
↧
Flies Around the Net – Year long
Since it is the end of the year, I thought it would be neat to go back and pick out some flies that stood out to me through the entire year. Flies Around the Net seems to be a very popular post here on FrankenFly that I do monthly to show a variety of fine fly tying work by all the talented fly tyers out there. So here are twenty beautiful flies from 2014. Enjoy!
Adult Golden Stone – Al Ritt
Tied by Andreas Andersson
Caddis Emerger – Sasa Stosic
FlossDiver – Tim Barker
Garren Wood – Golden Demon Variant
tied by Magnus Nygren
tied by Dragoslav Mihajlović
Hidy Style March Brown III – Bill Shuck
Tied by Marcelo Malventano
Tied by Matt Grajewski
Mayfly Emerger – Joro Stoyan
Mouse – Sergio Rene Cordoba
Tied by Norbert Renaud
Pat Cohen – for Project Healing Waters
Reel wings macaw – Ricky Bassett
Able Mable – Roger Enger Lie
Tied by Steve Silverio
Twisted Firestarter – Hunan Hendron
William Ensiferum – Caenis CDC Spent
Black Prince – Don Bastian
↧
↧
Muskie Tackle 101
Tight Lines Fly Shop is often asked what is needed for Fly Fishing for Muskie. Tight Lines Guide Nate Sipple explains all the basic tackle to help get you started.
↧
BAM Muskie Fly
Tight Lines Guide Nate Sipple ties the BAM Minnow Muskie fly. This is an easy pattern that has produced lots of Muskies over the years. Check us out at www.tightlinesflyshop.com
↧
Muskie Snake Charmer
Tight Lines Guide Nate Sipple ties one of his best producers for trophy Muskie on the fly.
www.tightlinesflyshop.com
↧
Blane Chocklett’s T-Bone Musky Fly
Blane Chocklett swings by SO World Headquarters and cooks up his T-Bone musky fly. The T-Bone has a huge profile and a great “kick” that make it perfect for big ambush predators like Musky. More importantly, Blane demonstrates the use of articulated shanks and flex tubing, both of which are really pushing the boundaries of what’s possible in fly design. Great stuff Blane!
↧
↧
Flies Around the Net – 4-23-2015
Black Stonefly – Robert Strahl
Blane Chocklett – Game Changer mixed with D&D
Tied by Andrew Grillos
Fred Hannie – Honey Bee
Tied by Ilias Fn Karanzas – Apex Flies
Tied by Ishii Masaaki
Tied by Jason Haddix
Joe Calcavecchia – Striper Dragons
Muddled Bibio – Michael Mnm Welburn
Yellow Perch Trailer Flash – Nick Granato
Tied by Patrick Lombardo
Rough Water Caddis – Gary Brannan
Pheasant Parachute – Umberto Oreglini
↧
New Dun Magazine and Da Perch
Dun Magazine Fall Edition 2015
The Fall edition of Dun Magazine is out! Included is a nice fly tying video from Nome Buckman on a Muskie fly pattern called Da Perch. Check it out below.
↧
Fish Skull Body Tubing Tutorial – Gunnar Brammer
This video is a little long, but Gunnar does a great job of explaining how to use the new Fish Skull Body Tubing from Flymen Fishing Company. He also explains some other techniques along the way. But this is the best explanation I’ve seen on the new body tubing made popular by Blane Chocklett.
Below is his brief notes about the video. Gunnar has his own website at www.streamersbygunnar.com. He ties some cool pike and muskie flies!
Gunnar said, “I tie a T-Bone Variation using Blane Chocklett’s Body Tubing and Explain (attempt to explain) how the tubing is designed to be used, as well as some additional applications.”
↧