My first flies

[Scott V]

Here are my first flies, clousers of course. As you can see on the left ones I forgot to turn the hook over to put the green on the top, but I will try them anyways. I like the ones on the right and I will be using those tonight. The only thing I think I will change is more tinsel for more sparkle, and I really do not care for tieing with those offset eye hooks, it was hard to keep the thread from slipping down.

Hopefully tonight they will catch something, I would be totally stoked if they did, and if not, oh well there is always tomorrow.


http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y85/PsychoZ/IMGP0252.jpg

[jbird]

Those arent bad Scott. I would highly encourage you to use much less hair. You could probably tie 3 clousers with the amount you have on one. It doesnt sound logical, but sparse is almost allways better.

If you want, send me your email address and I can send you a Word document of a tutorial I created for this fly. I consolidated it into only a few easy steps and it has pictures.

Jay

[Scott V]

Went out to Watt Ave. last night with Erik and threw my new flies, I have to say I am very happy with them. I had a monster striper "over 20 inches" follow the fly right up to me, but never took it. Then about 30 minutes later "Fish on" but I made a bad mistake, my baitcasting days took over, and instead of striping the striper in I tried to reel the line in and reel the fish in. Of course as I was reeling in the slack my tip dropped down and the striper got off, but I had it within 15 feet of me and it was definetly a striper about 14 or so inches long. What an awesome feeling to hook into a fish with my first tied fly the first time I take it out. Needless to say I am now hooked on tieing my own flies, so sorry Bill I will not be buying any more flies from you, but I will be buying alot of material. As I sit here and type I still have the grin on my face from catching a fish on my own fly. :)

[Adam Grace]

Congratulations Scott!

[Hairstacker]

Great job Scott! Yep, as you've noted, you are now hooked and will very likely supply all of your own flies for all of your fly fishing needs. :D

No doubt, now that you're developing the ability to customize/modify your flies to your heart's content, you'll be examining the flies you're using with a much more critical eye toward maximizing their effectiveness and/or tweaking them to satisfy your own sense of aesthetics. As a result, along the way, you'll develop your own style and, in the end, I think you will find more depth to your interest and satisfaction in fly fishing. Anyway, again, congratulations! =D>

[erhetta]

Was a blast to get out there with ya. Fun to talk about your flies and later hear you screaming "Fish On!!!" and seeing you battle for a min.

On the sparse clouser issue:

I am having a hard time with the concept. The two stripers I have seen caught on clousers have been hand tied more densly. I look at my normal ones in the water and they almost just look like a little dart, while Scott's has some girth. Going back to my dark-side fishing days, the rule for bass was always bigger bait, bigger fish. What is the theory or practice with regards to the sparseness of the clouser?

Just curious.

[Hairstacker]

Like Jay, I too subscribe to the belief Clousers should be tied quite sparsely. I believe it is not so much about what it looks like in the water. Rather, I believe a sparsely tied Clouser has much better action.

As you strip a sparsely-tied Clouser through the water, you'll notice the bucktail bends and undulates as it drops and then rises between strips. Conversely, a more thickly tied Clouser will be stiffer and will consequently have less action in the water as it's being retrieved. Anyway, that's my theory. :D

If it means anything, I understand Bob Clouser (along with Lefty Kreh) who invented this fly also prefers tying these flies quite sparsely.

Of course, in the end, fly tying comes down to personal preferences. For example, I like the chartreuse portion to be significantly less than the white bucktail portion, because I like to think the chartreuse is intended to provide a mere outline of the top portion of a baitfish. But, again, to each his own.

[dtp916]

Scott, I will be expecting at least a half dozen flies from you on Monday when we go fishing. :D

Beadhead nymphs would be a good call. :lol:

[erhetta]

I guess I get it with the call to sparse. But for action, why not substitute the bucktail for marabou?

Anyway, I better just spend the $$$, get my darn vise, and tie my own and make some informed comments rather than just gibbering....

Thanks for the insight though.

[dtp916]

I guess I get it with the call to sparse. But for action, why not substitute the bucktail for marabou?

Anyway, I better just spend the $$$, get my darn vise, and tie my own and make some informed comments rather than just gibbering....

Thanks for the insight though.

You could use marabou, but bucktail is durable. personally I'd use kraft fur.

[mikenewman]

Erhetta

You could substitute marabou but then it wouldn't be a Clouser. When you first start tying it's tempting to start substituting and innovating from the get go. My advice is don't walk before you can run. Have fun by all means but learn to tye the classics according to their original recipes first. That way you'll get the essential skills much more quickly and, believe me, catch more fish!. In its original form the clouser is one of the greatest flies of all time and has caught squillions of fish across the Globe.

Good luck

Mike

[Bill Kiene semi-retired]

Scott & Eric,

All of us here have been right were you are now.

One of the secrets to becoming a better angler is to keep doing just what you are doing right now..........going fishing.

PS: I don't recommend "ever" putting a fish on the reel unless you can mentally afford to loose it. I only do it after I have caught enough that I don't care about landing anymore.

[JerryInLodi]

Scott, I agree with Bill, don't ever put a fish on the reel, let it put YOU on the reel. In other words, if the fish is not strong enough to take out all the line you have stripped off the reel and to begin pulling line from the reel by itself, just keep on stripping.

This is especially true for stripers. It's my belief that during a fight, a striper opens and closes its mouth in something we might call "gasping." During one of those "gasps", the fish creates a powerful suction of water entering its mouth similar to when it strikes a fly. If you have slack or only light pressure on the fish during one of these gasps, it can literally suck the fly out of its purchase, causing an LDR.

The above is purely anecdotal on my part but I do know from lots of years experience that almost all of my striper LDRs were when I tried to put a fish on the reel and reduced pressure on the line. Now, as I said, I let the fish put ME on the reel if its big and strong enough. If not, it's strip, strip, strip.

[jbird]

Mike is right on about why clousers should be sparse. Obviously, its not like you wont catch fish if their not. You found that out :D congratulations! Also the suggestion to "walk before you run" is very important. A lot of the tried and true flies went thru extensive R&D before they claimed fame. for example, buck tail works to well for clousers because its slightly bouyant, which really emphasizes the jigging action, and it doesnt foul easily, neither of which marabou is known for. There are great substitutes for most patterns, but wait until you,ve done your own R&D and have an understanding of what trait each material has.

Good luck and welcome to the laboratory :D

Jay

PS Jerry, your observation on stripers is really insightful! Very well explained and interesting. I remember you dropped a fish doing exactly that when we were together.

[JerryInLodi]

Jay, "I" dropped a fish! Golly gee, not even following my own advice! Yes, I, like most people, sometime succumb to the temptation of trying to put a fish on the reel! The results are frequently an LDR. When I have guests aboard I emphasize NOT to try to put a fish on the reel. I should listen to my own advice!

Now that I'm retired I hope to really be on top of the fish this year. I've already taken a 7 pounder on a popper along with two of his buddies one early morning when they were busting bait.

If you get a chance to come away from God's country and down to earth this fall, make sure you give me a call.

If steelheading on the Rogue is good in the next month or so, call ME!