My first bass bugs

[Scott V]

Last night I spent the evening attempting to make bass hair bugs, and I am happy with how my first 2 turned out. The hardest part I found was tieing on the last bits of hair, there is not much room at the head, but in time I will get better. But so far I am very pleased with my attempts.

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y85/PsychoZ/IMGP0459.jpg

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y85/PsychoZ/IMGP0463.jpg

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y85/PsychoZ/IMGP0464.jpg

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y85/PsychoZ/IMGP0466.jpg

Next time I will add eyes and other items like legs. And I find out on this Saturday if they catch anything.

Adam, these pics were taken with my Optio W30.

[Bill Kiene semi-retired]

Not bad Scott....those are very difficult patterns to tie.

We probably won't be using them again now till around March/April?

May is Kevin Doran's favorite month for top water LMB but he fishes top water for LMB starting in March and all summer through to October as long as it's warm enough.

[erhetta]

Looking good mano!

:)

[dtp916]

Nice Steve! :lol:

[Hairstacker]

Scott, nice to see you getting into deer hair! Looks like you’re having fun. :D

Yeah, the last bit of hair at the head is more challenging than the rest of the fly but is very important, not only for appearance’s sake, but for very practical reasons: For one, it helps keep the hair on the rest of the fly tightly packed. More importantly, though, the size, shape, location, and length of the head on deer hair bass bugs have a very significant impact on the way they fish, particularly so on diver-style flies. On diver-style flies, the further back the head extends from the hook eye, the more likely it is for the fly to slide across the water surface rather than dive, which is why I prefer heads that are relatively short, steeply angled upward from the hook eye, and located right up front at the hook eye.

Try this: Take a plastic sandwich baggy or ziplock and cut off one side so that you end up with a flat piece of plastic. Then cut halfway across the middle of this piece. Then place it over the hook shank and use it to hold back the hair from the area you are stacking on. You can feed the thread foward through the slit you made in the plastic. You can use a bread tie to secure the other end of the plastic around the vise so that you’re left with both hands free while the hair is held back out of your way. Works like a charm, and I do this on all my diver-style deer hair bugs.

I’ve also found this technique very helpful for holding back the hair when doing the final whip finish so that I don’t catch any hair in the final knot. Just pull out the plastic before cranking the whip finish tight so that you don’t secure part of the plastic to the fly as well.

Finally, when working in a confined area such as the front of the hook, I know it can be challenging to hold a stack of hair close and in position. Just try to hold the stack as close to where you want it as possible, put a couple of thread wraps around it, and then pull on the bobbin to pull the stack in towards the hook shank and into final position while holding the stack steady with your left hand. With practice, I think you will be amazed at how much hair you can actually pack into the last 1/8” – ¼” of space just behind the hook eye. In fact, at some point, you’re going to be trimming hair away from the hook eye so that it’s not obscured by deer hair. Anyway, just trying to help.

[Scott V]

Great tips Mike, thank you very much. I will definetly give it a try. So are you going out this weekend, I plan on going back to Lundborg on Saturday. I think Ed may join and I know Dave is planning on riding up with me.

[Hairstacker]

Darn, I wish I could join you fellas, but I promised some friends I would help them move that day. :( I'm looking forward to Sunday morning though. At this point, I'm thinking topwater for both LMBs and stripers. :D