Tying flies & jigs!

bigjim5589 · March 17, 2016, 07:53:42 PM

OK, I'm putting this here because this forum is about making tackle! My one son, Brian, & I had a trout fishing trip planned for next week in WVA with another father & son, friends of my son. Well, looks like that's been cancelled as the other fellow, a high school student has broken his collar bone, again!

My son coaches a high school Rugby team & this fellow plays on that team. He had apparently broken his collar bone a few months ago & now has re-injured himself.

I had been doing a lot of fly tying & some buying to get my fly boxes ready for the trip. So, I'm posting the results here so any of you folks who also like fly fishing & tying can see what I've done!

bigjim5589 · March 17, 2016, 07:56:10 PM

Also been putting together some other flies I've collected. These are Salmon, Steelhead or flies for Alaska, but I'll use them for bass.

bigjim5589 · March 17, 2016, 08:01:53 PM

Plus, since I was tying, I tied up some hair jigs too!

Black Bear

This is a Crayfish pattern. A combination of various hairs.

Arctic Fox

cojab · March 17, 2016, 11:53:24 PM

Wow, you have been busy.
If you ever decide to come to Colorado, you have a bunch of flies that would work great here as well. There is a great caddis fly hatch coming up very soon on the Arkansas River here where those Elk Hair Caddis would be catching rising fish all day long.
Nice job.

BHubb · March 18, 2016, 06:20:39 AM

WOW!!!! Looks like a real good assortment of flies, and these pretty darn good.

Bassinkorea · March 18, 2016, 10:46:59 AM

Great work Jim. I have seen and used some of your handywork and it is of a high quality.
I have also got myself back into tying flies over this past winter. Flues for trout, carp and bass.

Lipripper · March 18, 2016, 10:55:59 AM

You have been busy Jim

Looks great though.

bigjim5589 · March 18, 2016, 11:13:23 AM

Thanks for the comments! Appreciate it!

cojab, I would like to fish in some of those states someday. Montana, Idaho, Colorado all have excellent trout fishing from what I've read.

My youngest son lived near Denver for awhile, and he said the rivers & streams are awesome. He told me he had seen some folks fishing, and would like to take me out there, but don't know if I'll ever get to try it.

BHubb, thanks! Only took me 50 years to get to this point with my tying!

Steve, sounds good! I'm glad you got some use out of those flies! Good to hear you're getting back into tying too. It keeps me in the game so to speak when I can't get out & fish.

Lip, thanks!

flowerjohn · March 18, 2016, 12:04:07 PM

You sir, are a monster! That is one absolutely beautiful collection. An arsenal. Thanks for sharing that around. Wow! J.

bigjim5589 · March 18, 2016, 12:15:25 PM

Thanks John!

snakeeater · March 18, 2016, 12:21:47 PM

Holey Moley, that's a lot of flies...I'd spend more time deciding which to throw than actually throwin'...good work, though. Obviously, you are good at what you do!

cojab · March 18, 2016, 02:43:54 PM

Quote from: bigjim5589 on March 18, 2016, 11:13:23 AM
Thanks for the comments! Appreciate it!

cojab, I would like to fish in some of those states someday. Montana, Idaho, Colorado all have excellent trout fishing from what I've read.

My youngest son lived near Denver for awhile, and he said the rivers & streams are awesome. He told me he had seen some folks fishing, and would like to take me out there, but don't know if I'll ever get to try it.

If you do, let me know. I'd be glad to show you the places I know.
When I moved here in 91, I figured that trout were the only fish here in CO. So that's what I did. Very true about lots of great rivers and great trout fishing but when I learned there were decent bass to be had,,,,,,I reverted back to my high school days and decided to chase them again.

I'm not kidding about your boxes either. You have stuff in there that does great here. I love the pheasant tails, princes and elk hair caddis, but one of my favorites that I saw you had was those green Copper Johns. Great flies for western waters. I like to either put a dropper behind them or use them as a dropper behind a bigger dry of some sort and use the dry as an indicator.

Smallie_Stalker · March 18, 2016, 03:18:49 PM

As usual your work looks great Jim. I like the fact that you tie with thread colors other than red, which a lot of people seem to use for EVERYTHING lol!

bigjim5589 · March 18, 2016, 04:23:03 PM

Thanks snakeeater! I like having options! It only took me about 50 years to get "good"!

QuoteIf you do, let me know. I'd be glad to show you the places I know.
When I moved here in 91, I figured that trout were the only fish here in CO. So that's what I did. Very true about lots of great rivers and great trout fishing but when I learned there were decent bass to be had,,,,,,I reverted back to my high school days and decided to chase them again.

I'm not kidding about your boxes either. You have stuff in there that does great here. I love the pheasant tails, princes and elk hair caddis, but one of my favorites that I saw you had was those green Copper Johns. Great flies for western waters. I like to either put a dropper behind them or use them as a dropper behind a bigger dry of some sort and use the dry as an indicator.

I did some trout fishing in MD, particularly as a teenager once I started to drive. Many of those patterns are good on a lot of waters across the country, and I never was one to stick to convention when it came to fly fishing. I also found that many of the bigger flies used for western trout also made darn fine Smallmouth flies. I really enjoy tying different patterns & styles, so will try most anything.

If I ever see the opportunity to get to Colorado, I may certainly take you up on the offer, so thanks!

Smallie, thank you! For many years I primarily tied with black thread, but over the years went to using various colors, simply because I could & I liked the way they looked. The fish don't likely care either way.

Oldfart9999 · March 19, 2016, 12:39:18 PM

Some really nice work there Jim!! While I don't trout fish it's interesting to watch an occasional you-tube video to watch the detail that goes into some of them.
Rodney

flowerjohn · March 19, 2016, 04:03:33 PM

Question for you Jim. I have looked through your lure photos and I see what appears to be orange maribou but no orange hair. It is impossible to get orange bucktail up my way. Is it available down your way? Thanks. J.

bigjim5589 · March 19, 2016, 05:44:22 PM

John, I've never had any problem getting any color. Orange is available, and I have several deer tails in orange, just don't tie a lot with it. I dye some of my own materials too, so not an issue for me anyway. Only color I don't really like dyeing is black, so I buy black bucktails already dyed.

You might look into dyeing your own if you can get a good supply of the natural tails. Orange is not difficult to dye. I don't know what's available to you as far as dyes, but someone up there should sell acid dyes.

flowerjohn · March 19, 2016, 05:49:32 PM

Quote from: bigjim5589 on March 19, 2016, 05:44:22 PM
John, I've never had any problem getting any color. Orange is available, and I have several deer tails in orange, just don't tie a lot with it. I dye some of my own materials too, so not an issue for me anyway. Only color I don't really like dyeing is black, so I buy black bucktails already dyed.

You might look into dyeing your own if you can get a good supply of the natural tails. Orange is not difficult to dye. I don't know what's available to you as far as dyes, but someone up there should sell acid dyes.

Thanks Jim. I'm going to try dyeing my own. I use a lot of natural colours but I like orange because it matches perch and sunfish when used in small, dense clumps. Up until now I've been using maribou and dyed turkey but it's just not as durable as hair. Thanks. J.

gaspumper · March 20, 2016, 07:57:45 PM

flowerjohn I see you live in Ontario,I live in southeast Ontario,you can get orange bucktail from

flowerjohn · March 20, 2016, 08:14:47 PM

Quote from: gaspumper on March 20, 2016, 07:57:45 PM
flowerjohn I see you live in Ontario,I live in southeast Ontario,you can get orange bucktail from "luremaking.com".

Thanks very much sir. I will check them out. I have tried a fewtimes in the past but no stock. Forgot about them. Thanks man. J.

gaspumper · March 20, 2016, 08:16:31 PM

bigjim I just started dying the left over bucktail from the yellow, chartreuse,orange,blue.I dyed it black using veniards dye it is made for feathers and bucktail,was very easy to dye,they came out like the black tails I buy I have boxes of off color tails that I have used over the years.Going to try dying some natural tail I cleaned last fall, yellow and chartreuse color.Google veniards dye and have a look,you use a half teaspoon of dye with 2 liters water and 3 tablespoons of vinegar to set the dye.I did a dozen tails in that amount.

bigjim5589 · March 20, 2016, 09:43:00 PM

Quotebigjim I just started dying the left over bucktail from the yellow, chartreuse,orange,blue.I dyed it black using veniards dye it is made for feathers and bucktail,was very easy to dye,they came out like the black tails I buy I have boxes of off color tails that I have used over the years.Going to try dying some natural tail I cleaned last fall, yellow and chartreuse color.Google veniards dye and have a look,you use a half teaspoon of dye with 2 liters water and 3 tablespoons of vinegar to set the dye.I did a dozen tails in that amount.

Gaspumper welcome to Ultimatebass & The Tackle Box forum! Glad to have you join us!

I appreciate the information. However, I'm already familiar with Veniards dyes. I've used some of them in the past. Since they're in England, and I'm in the USA, with shipping costs being what they are, I now stick with dyes I can get more readily. Nothing wrong with Veniards, I know others who use some of their dyes regularly.

I've never had good luck with dyeing bucktails black. I can get a good deep black, but takes a lot of effort for me, so that's why I stick to buying them already dyed. Never had that problem with feathers or some other types of hair, but deer tails give me fits when it comes to black.

For the most part, I use Jacquard Acid dyes or Dharma Trading Company acid dyes. Dharma sells both, and their house brand is a little less costly. Also some of the same colors between the two brands come out identical, so I go with the cheaper one. Some colors are slightly different between them, so in that case I go with what I like best, even if it means paying a little more. As you've pointed out, a little dye goes a long way.

Dharma has a lot of color options between the two brands too, and I like odd colors that not usually found from the tying materials suppliers.

Orange & chartreuse have always been easy colors to dye for me.

gaspumper · March 21, 2016, 08:22:35 AM

Dyes are hard to find in Ontario,the one company I buy supply's from in Quebec carries the veniards dye.I was hesitant to try dyeing,but will be doing more of i now. I can get a large quantity of deer tails in the fall,I clean 125-150 every year but can get more if needed all free from a couple of abattoirs in the area.With a little effort(washing,cleaning and curing) I can save a fair amount of money.