# My first flies



## BassAddict83 (Sep 21, 2010)

Well I got a fly tying kit to help cure my cabin fever. It helps a little but now I'm dying to get out and see if I can catch a fish on one of these things! Let me know what you guys think. All critism good or bad is welcome.

This was my first wooly bugger. Some guy at a fly fishing show gave me a free sample of this chenille he had just made. Its olive with tan and black. Then I used gray marabou for the tail and black hackle. 









Another wooly bugger with chartreuse chenille and white marabou for the tail along with some pearl Krystal flash and then white hackle.









This wooly bugger I did the same except I used Estaz opalescent olive chenille.









This was my first attempt at an ant. I don't have any dubbing yet so I tried to build the body with thread. I know it's not the best but I figure if anything the bluegill or sunfish will eat it.









And finally my first attempt at a clouser minnow. I used white and chartreuse buck tail and Krystal flash. The hook is a bit small (it was the biggest one i had) and I need better eyes for it but I was still pretty pleased with how it turned out. 









These are just the first of many to come. I got all kinds of stuff in my kit such as squirrel tail, hares ear, duck quil, some other furs that I'm not sure of, pheasant tail, and a bunch of other stuff so as soon as I figure out what I'm supposed to tie with those I'll post pics. Thanks for checking these out and like I said ALL critism is welcomed. I promise you won't hurt my feelings.


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## fallen513 (Jan 5, 2010)

Nice work Nic, nothing wrong with any of those.


Are you wrapping lead onto the buggers? If not, they will more or less float.

Buggers imitate more or less one of two things, either crayfish or insects.

Crayfish are near the bottom, and so your odds of catching fish will increase the closer to the bottom you get buggers in that color spectrum. 

Insects typically hatch off the bottom and rise to the top...so while weight is less important, correct proportions and color will increase your hook up rate as well. 

When tying in marabou, pinch the feather down and try to match the shank length with the feathers. What you are doing is trapping more barbels into the rear facing direction, as well as condensing the pattern, which lends itself to more subtle movements, like a large stonefly or hellgrammite. 


On the white hackle, you can see it facing forward. If you tie it in and wrap it in such a way the shiny side faces the front of the fly, it will rest facing backwards which would be the desired orientation.

The ant is good and will most certainly catch a lot of fish. I'll see you on the lake for sure.  I like that hook too.



I prefer the lead eyes like you have on the clouser. That fly will stroke fish just as it is. The original pattern has the white bucktail tied in first, on the bottom of the shank. 



You will tie many, many flies...and figure out what you like...and what works best. 

My advice is stick to dark colors, in smallish sizes. Black, brown..olive, grey...and little flash. That's the recipe for just about everything. 





Try tying in a bucktail tail...and palmering your white marabou in as a head....and that's it. Tie the tip of the marabou in, trim the excess...and wrap it like hackle while pulling the fibers backwards.


Hair and feathers in simple arrangements can't be beat!


Here is an example of palmered marabou...which simply means wrapped around the hook:


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## kingofamberley (Jul 11, 2012)

I like that clouser. So far, I have tied all mine like fallen said with the lighter color on the other side of the shank, but I know a guy on another forum prefers to tie them the way you did to protect the buck tail from rocks.


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## BassAddict83 (Sep 21, 2010)

Thanks guys! I'm going to tie a few more tonight with your suggestions in mind. My color selection is pretty limited right now since I haven't quite figured out what all I need yet but I'll be ordering some materials this week in the darker natural colors now that I have an idea of what to use. 

So what are some common flies that are tied using squirrel tail, pheasant tail, or duck quil?


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## ARReflections (Jan 7, 2011)

Nice looking flies!

Don't forget to check out the Ohio fly fishing website. They have a lot of interesting, easy to follow patterns.


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## imalt (Apr 17, 2008)

I think they all look good. I really like the ant. I have never seen a clouser tied like that but that makes sense keeping the bucktail off the rocks. I don't think the fish are that picky about what side of the hook shank the bucktail is tied on anyway.


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## BassAddict83 (Sep 21, 2010)

Here's my second attempt at a clouser minnow. I tied the white on first and secured it down in front of and behind the eyes this time. I may have gone a little heavy on the krystal flash but I'm sure that probably won't hurt. 









For this one I used a craft hair that I found at Hobby Lobby instead of the white bucktail. I don't know what kind of action it will have in the water but I thought it looked pretty cool so I figured why not give it a shot. I used a little more chartreuse than I intended to so this one might end up getting a hair cut later on. 









I was going to do some more wooly buggers tonight but I'm out of my better hackle and the hackle I bought from Hobby Lobby isn't working out as well. I'm gonna have to wait till I get the other stuff in the mail. Hopefully it's soon! It'd be real nice if I had it for tomorrow with all this snow we're supposed to get...


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## JPH (Oct 27, 2011)

Looks good, I bought paint from hobby lobby and painted my lead so i really like the red eyes with mu clousers. Not sure how the craft fur will react. Fill the sink and check the action.


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## JPH (Oct 27, 2011)

I too am just really getting into this tying thing ... So many patterns, So little Time! Lol


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## wabi (Jun 14, 2008)

I've gone to adding a small clump of light hair on both sides of the hook with Clousers.
I tie it in this order:
Eyes
Small (sparse!) clump of light hair
flip hook over
krystal flash
small clump of light hair
small clump of dark hair

Probably no more effective, but it looks more like a baitfish to me.


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## BassAddict83 (Sep 21, 2010)

I went out to the lake near my house that is stocked with rainbows and tried out a couple of my flies. The wind was blowing pretty hard and gave the water a nice chop and there were fish hitting the surface all over the place. I tried my ant first and was pretty dissapointed to see it sink like a rock. I guess making the body segments out of thread was not such a good idea considering I wanted it to be a top water presentation. Now I know to buy some dubbing and give it another shot. After that I tried out my white/chartreuse wooly bugger. I had two solid hits on it and even had a fish on for a few seconds after one of them but it came off. It was still pretty rewarding though to have a fish bite something I tied myself. And what was even better was the wooly bugger held up and is still in just as good of condition as the day I tied it. So even though I got skunked I was still pretty satisfied with my time on the water tonight.


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## Matulemj (May 29, 2012)

Are you bringing your fly rod up north next week? I'm going to bring mine because I'm cool like that. Those clousers look good. I expect good things this summer with those.


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## kingofamberley (Jul 11, 2012)

Matulemj said:


> Are you bringing your fly rod up north next week? I'm going to bring mine because I'm cool like that. Those clousers look good. I expect good things this summer with those.
> 
> 
> Posted using Outdoor Hub Campfire


Matulemj... join us... join us on the fly side...


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## sbreech (Jun 6, 2010)

BassAddict83 said:


> I went out to the lake near my house that is stocked with rainbows and tried out a couple of my flies. The wind was blowing pretty hard and gave the water a nice chop and there were fish hitting the surface all over the place. I tried my ant first and was pretty dissapointed to see it sink like a rock. I guess making the body segments out of thread was not such a good idea considering I wanted it to be a top water presentation. Now I know to buy some dubbing and give it another shot. After that I tried out my white/chartreuse wooly bugger. I had two solid hits on it and even had a fish on for a few seconds after one of them but it came off. It was still pretty rewarding though to have a fish bite something I tied myself. And what was even better was the wooly bugger held up and is still in just as good of condition as the day I tied it. So even though I got skunked I was still pretty satisfied with my time on the water tonight.


Try some craft-foam for the bodies. Also see if you can find some xtra fine dry fly hooks - they are lighter and float a little easier, but they aren't as strong, so a fast action rod might not protect them as much.


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## benjaminrogers (Jul 11, 2011)

I agree with sBreech. If you want top water insects for Bass and gills look into craft foam. You can usually find a brick of this stuff at Michaels or Hobby Lobby for cheap. Also if you can get the weekly coupon on your phone if you have a Hobby Lobby. Usually 40% off.

With your Clousers, look into a product called Streamer Hair or Craft Fur. Craft Fur you can get again at Michaels or Hobby Lobby in a large variety of colors. Down here in Columbus I use a lot of olive, rust, and white to tie Clouser Style smallmouth bass minnows.

If you ever have any questions please PM me. I'm more than happy to share the tying knowledge that I've garnered over the past few years.


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## Matulemj (May 29, 2012)

kingofamberley said:


> Matulemj... join us... join us on the fly side...


I did. I usually use a fly rod for trout fishing in upstate New York. I figured it's time to go for stripers and smallies now. I used to tie flies when I was a kid with a kit my grandfather gave me. I wish I'd stuck with it! I am going to buy fly tying kit and succumb to the fly side.


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## kingofamberley (Jul 11, 2012)

*star wars imperial march plays*


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## imalt (Apr 17, 2008)

Matulemj said:


> I did. I usually use a fly rod for trout fishing in upstate New York. I figured it's time to go for stripers and smallies now. I used to tie flies when I was a kid with a kit my grandfather gave me. I wish I'd stuck with it! I am going to buy fly tying kit and succumb to the fly side.
> 
> 
> Posted using Outdoor Hub Campfire


Don't mess with a kit. I bought a kit when I started they suck. Bass pro has a rotary vise for 45.00 and then get the rest of your stuff at delmere and hopkins in hyde park. Just don't tell them you fish with House they will charge you more. They are not fans. I would get a ceramic bobbin to so much better than the cheap metal one that comes in the kit.


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## Matulemj (May 29, 2012)

imalt said:


> Don't mess with a kit. I bought a kit when I started they suck. Bass pro has a rotary vise for 45.00 and then get the rest of your stuff at delmere and hopkins in hyde park. Just don't tell them you fish with House they will charge you more. They are not fans. I would get a ceramic bobbin to so much better than the cheap metal one that comes in the kit.


Haaa! That's funny! I'll definitely check them out and give them my business if it's recommended. I'm just a dude with a goofy hat trying to fish, I'm going to leave all the fishing politics out of it  


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## imalt (Apr 17, 2008)

Matulemj said:


> Haaa! That's funny! I'll definitely check them out and give them my business if it's recommended. I'm just a dude with a goofy hat trying to fish, I'm going to leave all the fishing politics out of it
> 
> 
> Posted using Outdoor Hub Campfire


I don't know what it's all about. I did find it funny though. On a side note I don't think that hat is appropriate for fly fishing. Unless you are fly fishing on the west side, anything goes over there.


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## Matulemj (May 29, 2012)

imalt said:


> On a side note I don't think that hat is appropriate for fly fishing.


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## sbreech (Jun 6, 2010)

imalt said:


> I don't know what it's all about. I did find it funny though. On a side note I don't think that hat is appropriate for fly fishing. Unless you are fly fishing on the west side, anything goes over there.


I like that hat....


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## kingofamberley (Jul 11, 2012)

Us warmwater fly fishermen can break the rules like that. Its a different game. Wear your hat proudly, sir.


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## BassAddict83 (Sep 21, 2010)

Matulemj said:


> Are you bringing your fly rod up north next week? I'm going to bring mine because I'm cool like that. Those clousers look good. I expect good things this summer with those.
> 
> 
> Posted using Outdoor Hub Campfire


I'm definitely bringing it! A walleye for my first fish on my new 7 wt would be legen... wait for it.... DARY!!! Hopefully it's not too crowded to use it...


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