New sardine pattern

[Carl Blackledge]

Hey guys, Check out my new "air head" Sardine . this fly sinks real slow with a little lead and is also a lot cheaper

I also have this in killer "Tan and white"

Carl

[John H]

Looks good. What is the body material?

I have been trying to make some baitfish patterns in the last few weeks. The fish seem to like them but they have some problems I need to work on. I end up with a pretty bulky thread head and it seems like I am doing more work than I need to. They are pretty durable though so I only need a few.

That is a serious looking fly tying bench. It looks like you put some time in there.

How many flies do you make in a year?

[Darian]

Good looking airhead type pattern. Slinky Flash is one of my choices for tying salty flies, too, but the Captains at La Ventana say it has it has too much flash; they strip it out.... I'd like to see your tan/white version....

[Carl Blackledge]

Hey Darian,

I sell Gary Bulla tons of Airheads and he's the top Rooster guy in that area, he loves my flies and he doesn't pick out any flash, perhaps each his own and by the way last year we murdered the Roosters in Loreto on my version of the regular Air heads with flash and slinky. I just finished testing the new Sardine version yesterday will post some Brown and White later.

Carl

[Carl Blackledge]

Hi John,

The materials are mostly flash and slinky with shoe goo...Yeap I tie a few flies and I didn't know I sent any pictures of my tying bench? Carl Blackledge

[John H]

Shoe goo! I did not know that was on the airhead. I figured it was epoxy.

The table behind the fly looked like it could be your tying table.

Post a photo of your tying bench. I would like to see a professional set up.

I fished with Bulla 15 years ago. He did not have your flies then. I did a panga trip with him and a kayak trip.

[Carl Blackledge]

Good looking airhead type pattern. Slinky Flash is one of my choices for tying salty flies, too, but the Captains at La Ventana say it has it has too much flash; they strip it out.... I'd like to see your tan/white version....

Darian, As you know their are 3 types of flashy fiber.....SF blend-flash & slinky and slinky fiber which has no flash at all.....You don't have to tie with the "flashy" stuff to tie a killer Rooster fly. Carl

[Darian]

Carl,.... I tie with several different types of synthetics now. I've found that using wig hair is cheap, easy, flash is easily added and it's effective. The amount of flash included tends to be subtle so there's little problem and the fish and captains are happy. ;)

John H.... Shoe Goop was used in tying Charlies Airhead and many variations of that pattern. Like everything in Tying flies, adhesives used to cover the heads have evolved to include Softex, Solarez, etc. Now days I tend to use adhesives that don't enhance my consciousness. :cool: Some things that contribute to bulky thread heads is the size of the thread and whether the thread is flat or round. I've used monofilament thread for the heads on all wig hair flies. The Monofil is clear and doesn't detract from the appearance of the head or make it appear too large.