Category Archives: Saltwater

New Book called Feather Brain by Drew Chicone

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Feather Brain: Developing, Testing, & Improving Saltwater Fly Patterns [Paperback]

Drew Chicone Author

Feather Brain TransBoxshot-F&B
 
“With Feather Brain, Drew Chicone has succeeded in illustrating not only the mechanics of his advanced tying techniques but more importantly the creative thinking that leads to the design and construction of a successful fly. I highly recommend and endorse Drew Chicone’s Feather Brain.” –Eric LeiserFeather Brain is a great roadmap for tying better looking and better performing saltwater flies.” –Jonny King

  • Step-by-step tying instructions and explanations of how the author designed 14 winning saltwater flies
  • Insights from nine top saltwater fly tiers, including Bob Clouser, Joe Mahler, Jonny King, Jon Cave, Bob Popovics, Norm Zeigler, and Chris Helm
  • Tips on designing your own patterns, tying with saltwater materials, and fixing typical problems
 
Whether you tie up any of the 14 winning patterns Drew illustrates, or use the many invaluable techniques he describes to create your own patterns, Feather Brain is a great roadmap for tying better looking and better performing saltwater flies. Step-by-step tying instructions and explanations walk you through how to select materials as well as apply them.  Insights from nine top saltwater fly tiers, including Bob Clouser, Joe Mahler, Jonny King, Jon Cave, Bob Popovics, and Chris Helm, will give you a unique perspective as to what factors led them to design their legendary pattens, and why they choose the materials they did and techniques to apply them. Whether you’re looking for information  on designing your own patterns, tying with saltwater materials, or fixing typical problems, Feather Brain will improve the craft of any serious or beginning fly tier. 
 
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Drew Chicone Bio

Drew Chicone is a Fly Designer, Photographer, Author, Instructor and Materials Expert whose passion for the sport has led him to the salty waters of Southwest Florida.   He has lived and breathed the sport since he was tall enough to sit at the vise and his fly creations are both well known and in high demand among Florida guides.  Drew’s has been a FFF Certified Casting Instructor, and commercial fly tier for many years.  His patterns are sold in numerous fly shops and have appeared in several publications and online articles including:

•    Fly Fishing in Saltwater Magazine

•    Fly Fisherman Magazine

•    This is Fly Magazine

•    Hatches Magazine

•    Fly & Light Tackle Angler Magazine

•    Front Range Angler Magazine

•    Saltwater Flies of the Southeast & Gulf Coast- Angelo Peluso

He is a member of the Dyna-King Pro Tyer Team, Clear Cure Goo Pro Tyer Team, an Ambassador for Nucanoe, as well as a Royalty Tyer for the Orvis Company. 

Drew is the past Vice President of Sanibel Fly Fishers, as well as a member of the Tarpon and Bonefish Trust, and plays an active role in the preservation of local fisheries by donating his time to Mote Marine’s Snook and Tarpon research programs.  He enjoys instructing in person and on camera and has made several instructional videos.  He is known for his willingness to help fly tiers young and old improve their skills at the vise. Drew is an entertaining and knowledgeable presenter, with an animated sense of humor and a high-energy personality that draws in the audience. 

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For more info on Drew or his latest works, please visit his website and blog at http://www.saltyflyting.com.  For product reviews, tip, tricks and more, feel free to subscribe to the Monthly Newsletter The Salty Fly Tying Chronicle or join Salty Fly Tying on Facebook.

 

Testimonials From The Pro’s

“In all aspects of fly-fishing, there are those who are good and then there are those who have the ability to takes things to the next level. Drew Chicone is somewhat of a mad scientist when he sits at the vise and with Feather Brain, he gives you the keys to his secret lab. The descriptions of why a certain material is used or how a specific technique is preformed are absolutely invaluable and provide a solid foundation for beginners to learn from and experienced tiers to build upon. Whether it’s tweaking a pretty good pattern to make it great, insight on reproducing proven flies or customizing a new pattern for a very specific situation, Chicone has it all covered in this must have book.” 
- John Frazier, Editor Fly Fishing in Salt Waters Magazine
 
The best instructional fly fishing and tying books spring from total obsession, andFeather Brain is part of that great tradition.  With scrupulous attention to detail and countless hours of experimenting behind him, the author gives us all an exhaustive lesson in the mechanics of fly design.  Whether you tie up any of the great patterns Drew illustrates, or use the many invaluable techniques he describes to create your own patterns, Feather Brain is a great roadmap for tying better looking and better performing saltwater flies.” 
– Jonny King, Fly Designer & Outdoor Writer
 
 
“Feather Brain will improve the craft of any serious or beginning fly tier.  It is superbly written; demonstrating advanced tying techniques and styles that will engender further creative concepts and designs.  Not only has Drew Chicone brought us up-to-date and even into the future of fly tying, he has graciously included many of the best flies of the leading pioneers – at little of the old and lots of the new.  I encourage anyone who ties flies to get a copy of this superb book.” 
  -Dan Blanton, Casting Instructor, Lecturer, Fly Fishing Author & Outdoor Photographer.

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Squirrelly Shrimp – Ben Treppa

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What better to follow the Squirrely, than the Squirrelly Shrimp, haha! This one is from the designer of the amazing Franken Shrimp fly, Ben Treppa. Ben shows us how to tie another really cool shrimp pattern step-by-step. Be sure to visit his blog “Waiting on a bite…”

step1

Place hook in vise. Secure thread at eye and wrap back to the hook bend.

step2

Cut several pieces of pearl krystal flash off the hank, fold in half, and half again until its about 1 1/2″ long and attach to the rear of the hook.

step3

Tie two orange barred centipede legs. Length is up to you but I prefer about a 1.5 times the hook length.

step4

Attach mono eyes. I make the eyes using a 6/0 czech glass bead, 20lb hard mono, and Deer Creek Diamond Hard UV resin. The eye length is up to your own personal preference. Because I feel they are an important trigger for fish I make sure they are at least the length of the hook shank.

step5

Wrap a rear collar of Crawfish Orange Barred Magnum rabbit. I prefer to cut it off the hide and put it in a dubbing look to help limit bulk. However, it will work just fine either way!

step6

After tying in rabbit color tie in Pink sparkle flat braid. Work thread to 1/4″ behind hook eye. Wrap flat braid forward and tie off and trim excess. Choose eyes and attach 1/4″ behind hook eye. For this particular fly I chose Aluminum Sea Eyes. They aren’t heavy, especially for their size. Depending on where you are fishing or the style you may want to change to lead or bead chain.

step7

Dub a small amount of shrimp pink ice dub behind the eyes.

step8

Roate hook in the vise if you havent already (you want the hook to ride up so it is weedless). Cut a good sized clump of natural squirrel hair off of a squirrel tail. Try to find an area that has hair a little bit longer then the hook shank. Tie in “clouser” style. If it seems to be laying a little flat after tying it in simply lift up the hair and wrap a thread bump behind it.

step9

Whip finish and coat threads with head cement, epoxy, or UV coating you prefer.

 



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Bob Clouser ties the Clouser Minnow

In my post yesterday, Andy picked the Clouser Minnow as one of his favorite flies to tie. So I thought it would be fitting to post a video of the originator of the Clouser Minnow, Bob Clouser himself, tying his famous pattern. If you are a beginner, pay special attention to the way Bob ties this fly. It seems to be an easy pattern, but there is a specific way it should be tied. I say this, because I made the mistake of tying it wrong when I first started tying. Anyway, enjoy!

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Mysis Shrimp – Marc Procopio

Marc Procopio of Freestoneflies.com has sent me another nice pattern with this one being his Mysis Shrimp.

 

Recipe

Hook – Daichi 2151 #10
Thread – Fl. Fire Orange 6/0 Danvilles Fly master
Tail/Abdomen – Pearl Core Braid
Wing Case – Ice braid in various colors (Cream,Shrip pink, Fl. Hot Pink. Fl. Orange)
Thorax – UV Pearl Ice Dub in a dubbing loop
Eyes – Small Mono Nymph eyes (Black)
Antenna – 4 strands of Polar or White DNA Halo Fusion (2 pearl & 2 white Fibers)
Notes-
1) The total Fly Lenghth is 7/8″ Long.
2) Keep the dubbing for the thorax sparse so the thread underbody shows through.
3) Tie them with several diffrent wing case colors.
4) Use a lighter to heat the end of the Pearl Core Braid and do your best to create a wedge by pressing it between your thumb and index finger. You can use your scissors to trim any excess….
5) Coat the eyes with Super glue or UV Glue for durability

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Today’s NexGen Bonefish Flies by Dick Brown

GreenGhostsinBox

 

Just as flies for other species suggest various food forms appropriate for attracting those quarry, so bonefish flies portray the creatures eaten by Albula vulpes. However fly patterns for this elusive species must accomplish a few other critical tasks besides just looking like dinner. Bonefish flies must enter the water noiselessly and sink quickly and cleanly to fish level. They should attract a fish’s attention without frightening it. And, when you strip them, they must move enticingly, without snagging bottom. They should quiver–when stopped–to suggest the tense, trembling posture of startled prey. Furthermore, from a purely pragmatic point of view, they should never rust, crush, or fall apart. And, of course, they must also be easy to tie.

All that seems like a lot to ask of a fly. Yet patterns such as Charlies, Gotchas, Clousers, Kwans, Bristle Worms, Merkins, Ghosts, HOYs, and Horrors have been delivering the goods on the flats in the hands of capable anglers for season after season. And those workhorse patterns will often take fish at most destinations. But as more anglers pound more and more destinations and as new adventurers push into remote areas exposing even more bonefish to angling predation, fish everywhere have been getting smarter–and anglers everywhere need to raise the bar on their flies. Does that mean fly selection and fly design have become more important than presentation in bonefishing? No, not at all. With a target as spooky as the bonefish, presentation and a wary approach will always come first. But there will be days when your fly will matter more–and the bigger and smarter the fish you are chasing–the more likely it will matter most.

Among the 47 new flies added to the new edition of Bonefish Fly Patterns, 2nd Edition–Tying, Selecting, and Fishing all the Best Bonefish Flies from Today’s Best Tiers, most do the dual job of both seductively suggesting preferred bonefish prey while also incorporating all the esstial funtional characteristics needed to get in front of this fast moving wary fish. Two excellent examples are the Strip Tease and the Ghost.

 

ST-Brown

 

Strip Tease
Dick Brown design. Sample in photo was tied by Dick on a size 6 Gamakatsu SL11-3H hook and measures horizontally 3 3/16″ in overall length. Weighted reverse-wing fly rides hook-point up.
Hook: Gamakatsu SL11-3H or Mustad 34007; sizes 4, 6
Thread: Orange Flat Waxed Nylon or Monocord 3/0
Weight: 3/32″ or 1/8″ bead chain or lead barbell, sized to achieve desired sink rate
Eyes: Two stalks burnt 15 lb. or 20 lb. mono
Egg sack/underbody: Orange Aunt Lydia’s sparkle yarn Mouthparts: Natural tan rabbit hair pulled from hide
Claws: Pair of silicone or rubber legs
Antenna: Two strands black Krystal Flash
Body: Dub body with blended tan and pink Enrico Puglisi’s Shrimp Dub; palmer in a waxed dubbing loop and pick out so orange underbody “shines” through.
Wing/carapace: Craft fur, then six to eight strands pearl or lime Krystal Flash
Head/finish: Oversize orange thread, superglue, head cement
Tying notes: Tie in mouthparts, claws, and antennae extra long so they self-animate and wiggle even when the fly stops. Can vary dubbing color choice among pink, tan, and olive to approximate local shrimp varieties. Wapsi’s SLF Saltwater Dub and Senyo’s Laser Dub from Hareline are also very good mixes with good colors.
Location notes: The Bahamas, Los Roques, the Seychelles, the Yucatan, Christmas Island
Fishing notes: Bump-strip, stop, let it wiggle, watch, and strip-strike.
Prey notes: Suggestive of most shrimp forms; choose size and color based on local observation.
Anecdotes: I have been working for a long time on a design that would wiggle enticingly to tease fish into striking, both when stopped and stripped. Once the pattern started to work, the name was kind of a no-brainer.

 

Ghost-Brown

 

Ghost
A Victor Trodella design. Sample in photo was tied by Victor on a size 6 Gamakatsu SL11-3H hook and measures horizontally 1 5/8″ in overall length. Unweighted fly rides hook-point down.
Hook: Gamakatsu SL11-3H; size 6
Thread: Clear monofilament thread, fine
Tail: Tan rabbit fur fibers plucked from hide, tied in with two strands pink shrimp Krystal Flash Eyes: Small Spirit River black mono eyes or burned mono eyes made from 20 lb. to 30 lb. mono
Body: Enrico Puglisi’s Shrimp Dub (blend of tan and pink) applied as dubbing (in a mono dubbing loop) and then picked out with a bodkin or Velcro-strip brush to look fuzzy and trimmed to shape. Author’s Note: EP Shrimp Dub is sometimes hard to find. Victor suggests substituting the EP Shrimp Dub Brush if you can’t find the Shrimp Dub product, which is the same dubbing pre-strung. He also likes the Wapsi SLF Saltwater dubbing as possible substitutes.
Tying notes: Victor applies the dubbing by doubling over the mono thread into a mono dupping loop, waxing it and attaching the dubbing, and twirling it into a dubbed “rope” prior to winding the “rope” onto the shank. Then he picks out he dubbing and trims off any wild-looking fibers. For a productive color alternative for fishing over grassy flats, use barred dyed tan and olive rabbit fur tail, with a blend of Puglisi’s Shrimp Dub in light olive and tan. The weight of the Gamakatsu SL11-3H alone allows this fly to hover in skinny water with almost neutral buoyancy, so avoid adding weight to this pattern.
Location notes: This fly has been extremely effective in skinny water and has worked well in shallow flats at all locations, including Bahamas, Los Roques, Yucatan, and Belize.
Fishing notes: Fish this fly in water up to 18 inches deep and retrieve it slowly with very short strips to keep it hovering in the water column just ahead of the fish. It looks like escaping prey, and the fish get quite excited by the motion of the materials and very slow looping drops during the retrieve. Author’s note: I have fished this fly now for five years and it is a killer pattern for tailing and cruising fish in thin water. It is my go-to fly for spooky fish in skinny water.
Prey notes: The Ghost is meant to be a general attractor pattern. The way bonefish hit it consistently in so many different locations suggests that it imitates several different prey. Author’s note: Suggests members of the common shrimp (Penaeidae), snapping shrimp (Alpheidae), and mantis shrimp (Squillidae) families.

 

BonefishFlyPatternsCover

 

New edition of Bonefish Fly Patterns!
Bonefish Fly Patterns, 2nd Edition–Tying, Selecting, and Fishing all the Best Bonefish Flies from Today’s Best Tiers, features the most comprehensive collection of bonefish fly patterns and tiers ever assembled in a single volume, with 197 fly patterns from over 100 veteran fly tiers, including such saltwater fly fishing icons. Like the original edition, the new version contains full-color, high-resolution, macro-lens close-ups of each featured fly, along with detailed descriptions of its authentic recipe, tying notes, fishing notes, prey it suggests, locations where it is effective, and fishing anecdotes about its use. [Bonefish Fly Patterns: Tying, Selecting, and Fishing all the Best Bonefish Flies from Today's Best Tiers, ISBN: 978-0-7627-7004-5 Hardcover Imprint: Lyons Press Trim: 7 1/2 x 9 1/4 Pages: 320, List $49.95]

You can purchase the new edition at Amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/Bonefish-Fly-Patterns-2nd-Selecting/dp/076277004X

For more about Dick Brown head over to his website:
http://dickbrownbonefishing.com

 

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FrankenShrimp step-by-step – Ben Treppa

Ben Treppa is a saltwater fly tyer and fisherman from Michigan. He does tie warmwater flies too, but he concentrates mainly on saltwater. Ben writes a nice blog called Waiting on a bite… and he’s a Pro Team Member for Deer Creek. Ben said this fly he was naming “FrankenShrimp” to honor FrankenFly (which was very cool!) and it’s a variation of several flies he ties and creates.

 

 

 

 

Material list:

Mustad 34007 1/0
Uni-Thread Black 6/0
Lead Eyes (size Small)
Purple Finn Raccoon
Black Krystal Flash
Purple Saddle Hackle
Pearl Sparkle Braid
Black Bucktail
Big Fly Thread Fire Orange (optional)
Head Cement

 

Step 1: Start thread about 1/4″ back from the hook eye.

Step 2: Tie in lead eyes using cross wraps. Add a drop or two of superglue to help keep eyes from rolling around hook shank.

Step 3: Cut a small clump of finn raccoon off the hide/zonker. Tie on to hook shank behind lead eyes and work back to the bend.

Step 4: Cut several pieces of black krystal flash off the hank. Tie krystal flash in on both sides of the hook shank. I tie in the full length of the krystal flash at the middle point then double over and secure.

Step 5: Prepare mono and glass bead eyes. These particular eyes were done with 1 min two-part epoxy. You can make your own or buy them.

Step 6: Tie in shrimp eyes to the desired length. I prefer about 1″.


Step 7: Prepare strung saddle hackle by stripping off webby feathers from the bottom.

Step 8: Tie in just in front of the finn raccoon like so.

Step 9: Tie in piece of sparkle braid. In order to keep the body somewhat smooth and un-tapered I tie it in from behind the lead eyes back to the finn raccoon.

Step 10: Palmer sparkle braid forward up to the lead eyes. Tie off and trim. Do not advance the thread just yet!

Step 11: Palmer saddle hackle forward and tie off and trim behind lead eyes. Advance thread forward to the front of the lead eyes.

Step 12: Trim ends even on the bucktail clump and tie on in front of the lead eyes. Do not whip finish and cut thread yet.

Step 13: The following step is optional, but something I like to do. I do it on a lot of my flies. Using bright colored thread create a small accent stripe in front of the lead eyes. Whip finish and trim accent thread. Clean up from portion of thread head with black thread, whip finish, trim, and coat thread with head cement.

Step 14: fly is finished.

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Cyclops by Kirk Dietrich

I sent Kirk Dietrich a message today asking if he was working on anything new. He said no, that he was just tying some deep sinking flies that he had developed years ago to catch redfish and speckled trout when it got cold outside. He said he called the pattern Cyclops and it is able to withstand catching about 75 redfish. So basically I replied with, “Wow, tell me more about this Cyclops!” So Kirk, being the nice guy that he is, sent me over several photos, with tying instructions and more information.

Cyclops

Material List:

1. Mustad 32786D, Eagle Claw 413 or your favorite 60 degree angled jig hook #4 – #3/0
(note about hook: the pictures below are of the original version when Kirk used a regular 34007 hook. He has long since been using a 60 degree jig hook which he confirms is much more effective in keeping the fly oriented properly as well as in hooking the fish. The black and red one above is the only one pictured with the jig hook.)
2. “Plus” type thread, or equiv.
3. 1/8” wide strip lead wire or Large bead
4. Split bead Optic Eye unless using large bead
5. Kinky or Slinky Fibre for the toughest tail or your favorite material such as marabou, rabbit, hackle tips, etc.
6. Flash material
7. Estaz, A.k.a. Cactus Chenille or a loop dubbed wool or synthetic hair dubbing brush trimmed to shape after palmering
8. Crystal antron chenille
9. Hard nylon

Sources for materials: Cascade Crest Tools, Jann’s Netcraft and your favorite fly shop.

1. Cut a piece of lead wire up to 1 ¼” long, shorter if you want less weight but no more because the Optic Eye won’t fit over the finished ball. For a shallow water version, omit the lead and go to step 2.  Wrap lead on hook shank by wrapping onto itself like a cinnamon roll. If using a large bead head bead, slip it on hook and go to step 3.
2. Put the split hollow Optic Eye over the lead and squeeze closed.
3. Tie in Kinky Fibre tail at bend of hook, add flash.
4. Tie in Estaz or a dubbing brush or a dubbing loop and then Chenille.
5. Take thread forward and tie in a “V” type weedguard behind the bead head.
6. Wrap chenille forward in close tight wraps and tie off at weedguard.
7. Spiral wrap Estaz through chenille and tie off at weedguard, whip finish. or your dubbed body material.
8. Trim the spiky Estaz fibers off of the body opposite the hook point to expose the chenille (this is the side of the fly that will be the bottom when the fly rides hook point up). Apply a generous amount of thin CA glue to the exposed chenille. This is what makes it bullet proof.

I developed the Cyclops in the winter of 1999 for Capt. Mark Brockhoeft of Big Red Guides at his request for a deep water fly that was more durable and better sinking than many of the popular bead chain and dumbbell weighted type flies. While those flies caught  fish, he complained that he was only able to catch a couple dozen fish before they fell apart or the eyes started twisting on him or to go deep he had to use one so large it was a chore for his clients to cast. Even when superglued, the barbell eyes would start to twist and take the wing around the hook shank with it. Before you say a couple dozen fish is plenty on one fly, you’ve got to realize it’s common for Capt Mark’s clients to catch 50, 75, and sometimes 150 redfish in a day during the winter.

I tried beads used for bead headed nymphs, lead split shot, but wasn’t ever satisfied. It was then I found some split beads that a friend of mine Ted Cabali had given me years prior. He is forever tinkering with different materials and is a master at it and is always eager to share what he discovers with me. I didn’t use them at the time and stashed them for future creative inspiration.

These split beads, I knew could be the answer but I needed to find a good way to weight them and I would need more of the split beads. After a frustrating search, I finally found what I was looking for at Cascade Crest Tools. By putting the maximum amount of the strip lead around the hookshank to fill the hollow bead, the fly would get to the winter fish in the shallow lakes and bays (only four to ten feet deep) very quickly. When the lead was left out, they were light enough to use in the deeper ponds on the early spring fish, but heavy enough to get under their nose when they remain hunkered down on the bottom. With the application of Zap-a-Gap to the underside of the fly, Capt Mark reported that the flies were lasting for 75 fish before being lost to the bottom. Finally, the fly stayed on the end of a client’s line for two consecutive 75 fish trips before he took it off and gave it to the man as a souvenir of a great couple of winter redfish trips.

Since then, I have found this fly to be effective on a variety of gamefish. Afterall, it is basically just a Sparkle Beetle Jig, but don’t let IGFA know that, its really a fly like a Clouser except much, much more durable. Bass of all types eat it up, I’ve even caught channel catfish on it.
Tie it in your favorite fish catching colors and enjoy your bent rod.

Keep on tying,
Kirk

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