Delta 9-09

[Hairstacker]

Hit the Delta this morning for some topwater largemouth bass bugging out of the inflatable kayak. Focused on a favorite area I haven't fished in a while. It was a beautiful day with very little wind:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v484/Sachlil/9-09-07Delta6.jpg

Fished the same frog pattern deer hair bass bug that I used on the last couple of trips and did quite well. The majority of the bass today were a chunky 14" or a little better, with only one that only went 12" and none over 16". The green/yellow frog pattern seems to be pretty popular among the bass and I must say it's pretty durable -- today was the 3rd time I've fished it and it still looks as good as new. I only had one frog pattern fly with me today and it was the only fly I used. (I'm going to have to tie up some more!)

I did particularly well targeting holes up against the bank next to the thick stuff. I was fishing and finding most of the fish in water like this today:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v484/Sachlil/9-09-07Delta1.jpg

In the photo above, you can just make out a couple of holes next to the bank. As you can tell, this kind of fishing takes quite a bit of accuracy rather than distance to keep your fly out of trouble. Also, one of the keys to this type of water is getting the fish up, across the weeds, and to the boat as quickly as possible. The bigger fish in particular will often head down towards the bottom and tie you up otherwise. As it was, I did lose a couple of nice ones in this stuff today. So it goes. Here a few more shots:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v484/Sachlil/9-09-07Delta3.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v484/Sachlil/9-09-07Delta4.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v484/Sachlil/9-09-07Delta2.jpg

At one point, I cast to a spot shaded by a large tree that I was just sure held a 5lb+ fish. Sure enough, I got a hit and a hookup, only to find that this redear sunfish had taken my deerhair bug:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v484/Sachlil/9-09-07Delta5.jpg

That's a 3 3/4" bass bug tied on a size 2 Tiemco 8089 hook! :shock: Ah well, I'm not one to complain if another species of fish wants to join the fun. :D

Well, didn't land any lunkers but it was definitely another very fun day on the Delta!

[kokaneejr]

Hairstacker,

Great report as usual. Love the photos and tips. One request (if you don't mind) could you photograph a couple of your favorite bass flies for me so I can see what you are using. There are a few partials but I would love to see your frog pattern. And what size hook caught that sunfish? By the way I won't feel bad if you chose to keep a secret.

Thanks Craig.

[dtp916]

Hairstacker,

Great report as usual. Love the photos and tips. One request (if you don't mind) could you photograph a couple of your favorite bass flies for me so I can see what you are using. There are a few partials but I would love to see your frog pattern. And what size hook caught that sunfish? By the way I won't feel bad if you chose to keep a secret.

Thanks Craig.


That's a 3 3/4" bass bug tied on a size 2 Tiemco 8089 hook!

Read, partner, read :D

Nice job Mike. I'm jealous.

[Adam Grace]

Nice fish Mike, congrats!

[BigBill]

wow thats a pretty big sunfish! Looks like the Delta is pretty consistant with 14-16" LMB eh? Fun!

[jbird]

Awesome Mike!

Love all the pictures...felt like I was sharing the kayak with ya :D

Jay

[kokaneejr]

Sorry guys must have been a harder day of work than I thought the other day. :? Either that or I couldn't believe a sunfish was caught on a size 2 hook. Most of mine can't even get a size 12 in their mouths.

By the way I would still love to see that frog pattern. :D Craig.

[Bald-heron]

Hairstacker:
Good on Ya!!!!!! Good bugs & presentation are definitely doing the trick out there. Your pics are great - don't remember the water clarity being this good last year. Getting the fish out of that debris is indeed a problem, but its of the good kind. Gary

[Hairstacker]

Craig, I'm flattered by your request, and I will try to get some pictures up of the flies I rely on. I tried to take some pictures of the frog pattern last night but my camera takes lousy indoor pictures so I may have to wait until this weekend when I can take some pictures outdoors.

As it stands, I rely on 4 topwater patterns for all my LMB fishing and they are all tied on size 2 Tiemco TMC8089 hooks:

1. Red/White Tap's Bug
2. Blackbird Diver
3. Blackbird-colored Dahlberg Diver
4. Frog-colored Dahlberg Diver

The Tap's Bug is a great imitation of a fleeing baitfish when very rapidly retrieved and I've had both LMBs and stripers hit it. It can also be quite effective with a pause-pop style of retrieve. I've experienced times on the Delta where this fly worked when none of the others did, so I never leave home without it and it remains a fond favorite:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v484/Sachlil/TapsBug2.jpg

The picture above was taken a few years ago and I now tie the red portion of the head a little tighter but it's still basically the same bug.

My Blackbird Diver is a Dahlberg with ostrich feathers for the tail rather than marabou/neck hackle. Here's a picture of my fly that was taken by someone else (which is why it's such a nice picture :lol: ):

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v484/Sachlil/BlackbirdDiver2.jpg

As soon as I can get pictures taken of my frog-colored and blackbird-colored Dahlbergs, I'll post those as well. :D

[jbird]

Craig
If you think catching a sunfish on a #2 hook is hard to believe, you should see the size of this particular #2. If its the hook I use, it has a gape of nearly a 4/0! I have had large crappie eat that hook.

Jay

PS Love those deer hair poppers! Oh, to tie with patience.... :D :lol:

[sculpin]

Great post Hairstacker.

[Tony Buzolich]

Hairstacker,
It sometimes takes me a while but I finally figured out how you got your name. Those are beautiful bugs.
TONY

[Bill Kiene semi-retired]

Those are $10.00 bugs.

[kokaneejr]

Mike,

As others have said, fantastic job. I had seen partial photos in your other posts but I new it wasn't flattery as you can just tie!

I have been experimenting with foam bass flies even making one out of a foam earplug.(a popper one way and a slider the other.) But my deer bodied flies have a ways to go. It seems like I either can't make it spin or I brake my thread in the process. Plus have you tried to find and old fashioned razor blade lately, it's tough.But I will keep trying. By the way I have sen a lot of your posts and your photography isn.t bad either. :)

Keep it up Craig.

[Hairstacker]

Thanks fellas!

Craig, I was having thread issues as well until I started tying with Wapsi Ultra 200 denier GSP. You'll never break this stuff and it works great for stacking and spinning deer hair. Here's a picture of the stuff:

http://www.wapsifly.com/gsp.html

As far as razor blades, I use the double-edged ones you find at Wal Mart. They're really cheap and you can bend them with your finger-tips to shave curved surfaces, like the head on that Blackbird Diver pictured above. They also work really well for trimming a flat bottom. For areas where the hair isn't tightly packed, though, for me, nothing beats a really sharp pair of scissors -- the Tap's Bug pictured above was trimmed solely with scissors.

Good luck with the spinning. All it takes is a little practice. Practice stacking as well, as that is the key to a really dense fly, if that's what you're aiming for. In fact, the Blackbird Diver pictured above was tied solely by stacking -- there is no spun deer hair on that fly.

Anyway, thanks again for the kind comments!

[kokaneejr]

Thanks for the link Mike. I will check for it in my local shop. I have never stacked hair before so searched out a youtube video of Ken Bohannon tying a Dahlberg Diver. Pretty nice tecnique. I will try it and let you know how I do. I appreciate the tips and encouragement from all....Craig.

Here is a link to the stacking and spinning section.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1p272QK7BpU

[Hairstacker]

Craig, yep, you will definitely want to incorporate stacking into your deer hair bug-making. In addition to making patterns and spots, like it shows in the video, you can use stacking to add density to a fly by stacking on top of hair that has already been spun or stacked.

Additionally, although spinning works great on a bare hook, stacking is easier if you're adding deer hair on top of other materials, such as at the tie-in point of the tail of the fly. Just some other things to think about. :D

[Hairstacker]

Ok, here's a picture of the actual frog-colored Dahlberg Diver I used on the last 3 trips on the Delta. Now that I look at it, it is a little scruffy-looking after having been slammed against countless rocks, dragged through a ton of weeds and muck, and mauled by quite a few bass intent on killing it, but it is still very fishable, although the weed guard is pretty tweaked (there was a 3/16" or so gap between the hook and weed guard when I first tied it):

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v484/Sachlil/FrogDahlberg.jpg

(By the way, the bit of line at the hook eye is what remained after snipping it off the leader after the last trip, it is not part of the weed guard.) Anyway, it is tied with a tail composed of yellow marabou, 4 yellow strung neck hackles (two on each side flaring outward), and 20 strands of "peacock/pearl" Krystal Flash. The rest of the fly is made of stacked green and yellow deer hair. I know it isn't actually the color or look of any frog any of us has ever seen but the bass seem to love it anyway. :D By the way, if anyone's interested, I'd be happy to post step-by-step tying instructions.

[Matt Frey]

Mike
Nice looking bug. If it is not too hard I would appreciate seeing step by step instructions.
Thanks,
Matthew

[David Lee]

Mike
Nice looking bug. If it is not too hard I would appreciate seeing step by step instructions.
Thanks,
Matthew

Better yet -

Why not a get-together at the shop next weekend ..... to go over Deer hair tying basics ???

Anyone game ?

David :evil:

[Matt Frey]

David,
That sounds like a lot of fun. I am going to have to be a "maybe" for now. I have a fishing trip scheduled this weekend, however, rumor has it that its getting cancelled. I am going to see my buddies tonight and I should know more by tomorrow. That said it would be a lot of fun to get together and tie some flies one of these days soon. I will let you know.
Thanks for everything,
Matt

[Hairstacker]

A get-together at the shop this weekend sounds great, as always, but I don't know that I can make it this weekend. That said, David Lee knows his way around deer hair, and I would highly recommend folks sit down with David for a tying session whenever he's available -- I've got a deer hair frog pattern from him that is just awesome!

Well, I've drafted some tying instructions for the "frog Dahlberg" but it's a page and a half long, single-spaced -- awfully long to post on a board. Once I finish editing it, I'll be happy to e-mail it to anyone who's interested.

[kokaneejr]

Mike count me in to get a copy of those instructions. That pattern looks real fishy. Just let us know when you are ready.

David I would love to see a demonstration but I won't be getting any weekends off till the official end of our park season mid october. Maybe you could do another one in the winter.

That said do either of you have a recomendation of a book on stacking or spining bass flies? Thanks, Craig.

[Mike McKenzie]

..are Chris Helm's videos...For instance this one...

SPINNING DEER HAIR (60 Minutes) – Produced for the tier interested in learning how to SPIN and STACK deer hair
put in red gill spots and other techniques to make tieing hair flies much easier. Learn which whitetail deer subspecies
produce the best hair for tying hair bugs and where to find the best hair on the hide. Chris also explains the correct
hooks, threads, and tools used to tie great Bass bugs. For the beginning through the advanced tier. This video will
provide you the fundamentals used in tying all hair bugs. $24.95 DVD $19.95 VHS

Others are available, check his catalog at :

http://www.whitetailflytieing.com/
Look under videos on page 8
Get the DVD versions if you can or maybe Kiene's can order them for you....Anyway they're well worth the effort..

Mike

[Darian]

Remember, Bill Carnazzo is scheduled to to appear at Kiene's on the 22nd (....This Saturday). He'll be tying his Caddis patterns for our benefit. Maybe the deer hair session should be scheduled for next Saturday (the 29th :?:) :?: :?: :?:

[Hairstacker]

That said do either of you have a recomendation of a book on stacking or spining bass flies? Thanks, Craig.

Craig, I'm not familiar with many books on stacking or spinning bass flies. I taught myself how to do it out of the book, "Bass Bug Fishing" by William G. Tapply, whose father, H. G. Tapply, invented the Tap's Bug. I like this book, because it's a nice primer that discusses quite a few aspects of bass bugging, including its history, as well as descriptions of bugs from years' past. It also features a lot of quotes from well-known fly fishers that I particularly enjoyed.

All of the books I've looked at only described the basics of spinning and stacking, but maybe there's one out there that goes into more intricate techniques and detail. If there is, I'd sure like to hear about it. I just picked up the basics and then practiced, picking up my own tips along the way.

Of course, nowadays there are a lot of great resources on-line. To this end, there are some nice tutorials on deer hair spinning and stacking in the Intermediate fly tying section of www.flyanglersonline.com that you'll want to check out.

[Bill Kiene semi-retired]

Jay Murakoshi will be at Kiene's Fly Shop on October 6th, Saturday spinning deer hair so it might be a good time for many to see someone really do it well in person. No charge too.

[lee s.]

GRAND thread guys!!! :) LOVE that delta! :wink: And them bass. \:D/

[Hairstacker]

Well, I've finally finished the "Frog Diver" tying instructions. Will be happy to e-mail them to anyone who's interested, just need an e-mail address.

[bolden]

If anyone is interested, this site has the best instructions i have ever seen on many different flies.

http://www.charliesflyboxinc.com/

Since people are asking about the frog diver, this one should help.

http://www.charliesflyboxinc.com/flybox/details.cfm?parentID=38

[Hairstacker]

Bolden, that's a very nice set of tying instructions, especially the photos --appreciate you posting the link, as I think it will be very helpful. That's where I learned about using a section of plastic to hold deer hair out of the way when stacking -- a very useful tip.

I do several aspects of my divers differently than shown in the link, as you always balance the advantages and disadvantages of doing various things in different ways and arrive at your own set of personal preferences. Let me hasten to add I am most definitely not implying his way is not as good, as he obviously knows what he's doing, and he clearly ties some really pretty, solid bugs. In any case, for discussion's sake, the major differences I noted are as follows:

1. He covers the hook shank with thread, whereas I do not. Covering the thread shank makes it less likely for hair to spin around while stacking but makes it a little more difficult to pack the hair and half-hitches. Take your choice.

2. He likes to use 3 big clumps of hair for the body (i.e., collar and backward), whereas I like to use the same amount of hair but in 5 clumps. 3 clumps is quicker but I feel 5 clumps are more secure and thus less likely to spin around. I've tried the 3-clump approach and found I was having difficulty keeping the hair from spinning and it was more challenging keeping it packed between bunches. Then again, he covers the shank with thread and I do not, so I think those two aspects kind of go together.

3. He trims the bottom rounded, while I trim flat. This may be neither here nor there, as I've never tried a rounded bottom, as I have been satisfied with the performance results of a flat bottom.

4. I prefer a shorter head, as I have found it makes it easier for the fly to dive and, coupled with a more upright, slightly shorter and thus stiffer collar, creates more of a pop and carries more bubbles under the water as it dives. Then again, this may just be a personal preference thing.

5. I prefer to have no deer hair sticking downward from the rear, bottom of the fly. Just a personal preference thing from an appearance standpoint.

Anyway, as you practice on your own vise, no doubt you will arrive at your own set of preferences. That, of course, is the beauty of tying your own flies -- you can always have it your way! :D

By the way, also, if you go to the "Virtual Fly Tying Classes" section of www.flytyingforum.com you'll see a whole bunch of links to deer hair stacking/spinning/trimming videos that have recently been uploaded to youtube -- definitely worth checking out as well.