no boat, crap tides wind - so tying flies and prepping billfish attractors

A bit of billfish prep first

I gave Peter a few of the big deceiver flies like the one below a few years ago.

He caught at the time his PB queenfish with one, several of his larger captures have been due to this 12-15cm long fly – this is the last one he had

So he sends me the picture above as a model to make some more – due to the offshore species we are starting to target.

And what is better than tying two or three other than tying 10 of them

But boy large flies take up heaps of materials.

I used some red tarpon hooks, tied in the standard flash and some ultrahair to make a bit of bulk. Then tied in 3-4 schlappen feathers on either side of the hook shank. Over this, spread all round the shank white bucktail – this as a help to stop the tail of fly wrapping around the hook bend when used.

Then add in some red bucktail on bottom of the hook shank. Then some synthetics on top of pattern – purple ultrahair, light blue, some yellowish krystal flash, then dark blue and finally some black flash (the peacock hurl I had was too old and fragile).

I also tied 20 other large flies of various colour combos – mostly pinks and blues

and one set of yellow/chartreuse version.

So big flies ready

Now to research on switch bait rigging – found this drawing and pre-rigged 20 garfish and put each in its own vac sealed bag and placed back in freezer ready for next offshore outing.

Scored some plastic squid, big swivels and circle hooks for the garfish rigs too from online

I have also been working on using some 3D design software to make my own version of a trolling bird. The good ones cost $70 plus dollars in tackle stores and online – but as I teach 3D design and printing – why not give it a go myself.

The shape on the top is to stick on some flash material – so as the “bird” wobbles it gives off a flash   

They take about 15 hours to print on the 3D printer - if you didn't know it that is not too bad
takes about $2.50 of print filament - so time issues aside that is really cheap.
Still got to test the design works on the actually water - swims right, wiggles right etc

Now some time focusing on flats flies to be tested and used during the salt comp

Again research first – what is out there?
I found a lot of flies that are complicated, involved and use heaps of special materials

I had a go at this one which looks an awesome fly – but my first attempt was atrocious – due mostly to my ineptness and not having the right materials

So then I went to a style of patterns a lot simpler

Maybe these ones?  

Regardless of pattern – need some eyes

So a spool of 50lb mono first, and I threaded on 120 black beads

Then heat loose end on a candle, squish it on metal to form an end

Slice up two beads and cut off the mono about 7-8cm long. Quickly heat the mono still on the spool and squish molten ball of mono again on the metal so none of the rest of the beads fall off. Same is them done to the other end of the 7-8cm long piece of mono and lace it aside. Repeat till all the beads are two on each short length of mono.

Using some old bits of packing foam with slots cut into it to hold the shrimp eyes.

I dip each end including the beads into some nail polish and leave to dry

After that, with the materials I had on hand – I made these, what I called a candy shrimp due to the colours.

I tied in an orange chenille lump at start of hook bend, add eyes, rubber legs and some orange calf tail – using the chenille lump to flare all and sundry. The calf tail helps decrease rubber legs looping around hook bend during use in the water (i.e. fishing it)

I then dub dark olive, then yellow than a touch of orange seal fur dubbing – add the weight – in this case large bead chain. Final touch is a 60lb ‘V’ of mono weed guard

They were a bit too colourful so then tied some plainer versions – legs and eyes all the same but used white calf tail instead of orange and the body was made from this white synthetic I had on hand. – Sadly forgot weed guards – so will be careful what areas they get cast into.

Still time on my hands a day or so later – what to tie

Bucktails, beadchain and thread????

So tied a heap of clousers – green/white, blue/hite, pink/white, brownish white and all white – we all know how to tie those.

Also tied some marabou shrimp – basically, tie in beadchain eyes, then about 6 lengths of kyrstal flash (colour to suit) tied in at end of hook bend and use this to wrap the hook shank towards the hook eye.  Next tie in a clump of marabou at hook eye, adding a thin grizzle hackle down each side of the marabou. I didn’t have the grizzle so used barred rubber legs in colours to suit.

also experimented with a few flexocrabs - using a black ultrahair under the purple flexo material, then add rubber legs, stalked eyes, and foam claws

 
So that fills the new fly boxes (might make some more boxes

Now to get onto some SWOFFING (Salt Water Fly FishING)
Which hopefully wont be long..........as my old boat is currently getting the keel crack repaired and hopefully the 60hp  motor stayed together long enough until Peter is finished with family stuff.