[handtie]

Ok I have been lurking around for sometime now and thought tonight I would chime in with a simple question.

I am fairly new to Fly'n and Enjoy it very much. I make my own flies. The prespawn for Bass in Oroville Lake is about to start. I created (I think) cool crawdad fly. Complete with a tail and pinchers. I used some pipe cleaners for the body on a 2/0 or maybe 1/0 (not sure now) straight shank hook. Problem is that after it gets in the water the body becomes water logged to the point that it is diffcult to cast. And when it hits the water it actually make a hard body lure splash. lol But It looks so dang real in the water I just love it. When the bass move into shore it will be on! But till then I need to get it out pretty good.

My question:
Being as this is my first attempt to fly fish does all bass type flyes act like this? If not can someone explain why it is taking on so much water? I attached a picture of it so you can see it. When it is dry it flies just great. But when wet very hard to get out there. I have made several other types and they don't do this.



Thanks for your thoughts and I know this may seem like a funny question so I don't mind and jokes about it.

Thanks

-handtie

[Makubwa]

Do you fish for florida bass. I used to do this a lot in Southern africa. You may want to try tying flies with lighter material. Pipe cleaners are going to be natuarally heavy when waterlogged, try stick to feathers and the 'normal' materials. Saying that if we are talking about the same type of bass. A commotion will often attract the fish, especially late morning and afternoon.

[Frank Whiton]

Its simple. The material you are using is absorbing the water. You need to use a material that does not absorb as much water. Might be a good fly to spin the body. There are other synthetic materials that won't absorb as much water. Another problem is the size of the fly. You must be right at the limit for your rod. A 2/0 fly is a big fly with a lot of wind resistance. What size or rod are you using?

[handtie]

it's a 9ft 5/6 wt. No the Lake Oroville is in Califronia USA. I don't think they stocked it with florida strain bass. I am a by nature a Baitcaster. I can usually catch bass all day. But the Art of Fly'n just seems very sweet.

[handtie]

Originally Posted by Frank Whiton

Its simple. The material you are using is absorbing the water. You need to use a material that does not absorb as much water. Might be a good fly to spin the body. There are other synthetic materials that won't absorb as much water. Another problem is the size of the fly. You must be right at the limit for your rod. A 2/0 fly is a big fly with a lot of wind resistance. What size or rod are you using?

Spin the body? Any exmaples of the synthetic materials?

Thanks for the help

[BigCliff]

"Spinning" the body would normally be done with deer hair. Spinning works like taking a wad of 50 or so drinking straws, wrapping a cable tie wrap around the middle of them, and tightening it up to make the straws bend in the middle and flare into a ball-like shape. Deer hair is similarly hollow and will do this when thread is wrapped tightly around a bunch of it. The problem with using it for your crawfish is that it is hollow, and floats.

You also could by a product called "sculpin wool", tie it on to the hook shank in clumps, and then trim it to the shape of a crawfish. This would sink if you have some weight added to the fly, but will still be heavy when you are casting it.

Honestly, after looking at your fly, it would be tough to make it lighter. One possibility would be to get felt, cut two pieces in that shape for the crawfish body, and hot glue them to each other and to the hook shank. You also could buy longer hooks made of thinner wire to reduce the weight of the fly.

One other option to make those flies easier to cast is to use a 8wt rod instead of something lighter. Many bass flies are to heavy/bulky/absorbent to be cast on a 6wt or lighter rod.

[Frank Whiton]

Originally Posted by handtie

it's a 9ft 5/6 wt. No the Lake Oroville is in Califronia USA. I don't think they stocked it with florida strain bass. I am a by nature a Baitcaster. I can usually catch bass all day. But the Art of Fly'n just seems very sweet.

The 6wt is on the light size for largemouth. With the size of your fly and other bass flies, I would be using a 8wt. The 8wt will allow you to cast those big, heavy flies and give you better control of the fish. Bass like to dive into the grass when hooked and the 8wt has the backbone to put some real pressure on the fish. If you use the 8wt you can cast your fly with out changing the material.

[BigCliff]

I should follow Frank's example and read the original post to see if it mentions what rod is being used. So yes, we agree that a 8wt rod would be a better choice for typical bass flies.

One thing to keep in mind however is that large bass will hit flies that are smaller than you think. Try tying that same crawfish fly that is about 2/3's the size of that one in your hand. A long shank #4 hook should work well. (The Mustad model #9672 is the standard streamer hook for fly tiers.) A crawfish pattern that size should be a bit easier to cast on your 6wt.

[Colorado Cajun]

Try tieing with different material and take them all out to test them. What might be a pain to cast might be the one that catches the most fish.

I had tied a bunch of crawfish in one pattern that look very real using swade as a the claws and for the shell. It is still the most realistic crawfish patteren I have seen yet. There was one problem, ant was a big one. When I stripped it in, it moved upside down in the water. The few times I tried it, I didn't catch anything on it. I had to go back to the bench and I get it better. I ended up with a different but close pattern that moves better in the water.

My point is try it out before you go crazy tying them.

[aroostookbasser]

Hey Handtie,
what they are saying is true...your best bet is to go deer hair for lightness...but counterweight it to get it to sink...but it will shed water better than the pipe cleaner. Go here to learn how:

Spun Hair Body


Go to my blog for more links on tying...they are free and will help you tie more and better flies.
Good Luck
Brent