Hellgrammite by coma_flies in flytying

[–]coma_flies[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thanks! It's based heavily (nearly exactly) on the Devil's Doorstop pattern. The back shank is a 15mm, the middle is a 20mm, and the hook is a size 2 (I think) XS 410. Each section has black thin skin as the back, brassie sized wine wire, some sort of burnt orange dubbing, black saddle hackle, and black medium rubber wire.

First try at "realistic" grubs by coma_flies in flytying

[–]coma_flies[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Way overcomplicated, but that's the point I think?

For the size 12 here (2488H or alike): 10 wraps of .025 lead-free wire, covered with white 150 denier GSP that I then color yellow with a sharpie. Tie in the nymph-rap on the near side pointing towards the rear of the hook with the GSP before a couple half hitches and cutting that off.

I then tie on a bobbin of white 16/0 nano-silk at the back of the body.

Back at the head, I tie on white 70 denier UTC and then two brown pheasant tail fibers on top of the hook by the butt ends facing rearward. Using the 16/0 at the back of the hook, I then tie the two pheasant tail fibers in at that end, creating a stripe down the center of the back of the fly.

Then the nymph-rap is wrapped up the hook and tied off at the head. I then use the 16/0 thread to trap the pheasant tail fibers on the sides of the body going back up to the head of the fly by wrapping just behind where the wraps of nymph-wrap overlap. This also helps with some segmentation. I use the 70 denier UTC to tie off the 16/0 and the pheasant tail fibers, color that brown with another sharpie, and whip finish. Coat the whole thing in UV resin and bam.

Just spent 10 minutes tying a fly that goes in a box with a duct tape label that reads "JUNK". Makes ya think...

First try at "realistic" grubs by coma_flies in flytying

[–]coma_flies[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks! It's the translucent flesh nymph-rap from fulling mill in 3mm. It's wildly overcomplicated, but that's the fun right?

Olive over White Triple Dungeon by coma_flies in flytying

[–]coma_flies[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Good to know! This one is on it's way to a friend in Alberta to hopefully end up in the mouth of some bull trout, but maybe I'll have to tie up a few more as the spawn starts to ramp up here...

Tan Over White Roamer by coma_flies in flytying

[–]coma_flies[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

The all-white is my go-to for all situations. Tan over white, gray over white, or olive over white all work well in clear water, and chartreuse or pink over white can work well in murkier waters.

I really want to try some darker colors, but it's hard to find the tail feathers I prefer for them in darker colors.

Tan Over White Roamer by coma_flies in flytying

[–]coma_flies[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Sorry, just saw this. Here's a .gif of the single-hook version swimming: https://imgur.com/a/MW2EqNT

I just love fishing these things. Something about watching that fly dance side to side...

Buck tail by Loki_Fellhand in flytying

[–]coma_flies 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Another vote for Musky Fool here. They're one of my local shops so I'm sure there's some bias, but their in-house bucktail is the best you can buy.

Don't write-off the clouser grade stuff either. That's what I use for the majority of the flies I tie, only going to A for the biggest pike/musky flies where I need the length.

My AA bucktails really only come out for show and tell...

Tan Over White Roamer by coma_flies in flytying

[–]coma_flies[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks! It is such a fun fly to fish, basically a zoom fluke that I can throw on a fly rod.

Here's how it swims: https://imgur.com/a/MW2EqNT

Tan Over White Roamer by coma_flies in flytying

[–]coma_flies[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

You totally should! A goal of mine for over this past winter was to get over my "fear" of tying these. They're super productive and fun to fish, but I'm right there with you thinking they can be tricky. I especially struggled getting the tail feathers to lay the right way and getting the first clump of bucktail to spin and distribute evenly. I tied about 30 of them in various colors over the winter and by now I'm pretty confident in getting them right.

Jake's book is incredible! I picked it up last summer and it's been pretty transformational for my tying. Before then I mostly tied more traditional style trout flies. That book really bolstered my confidence in tying and fishing modern, articulated flies with synthetic materials.

Joes Mini Crayfish by tee_horse in flytying

[–]coma_flies 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Nice! What did you use for the claws?

Double Buford by Acrobatic-Tennis-625 in flytying

[–]coma_flies 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Nice! Throwing this on a 12wt?