foam dragonfly

[GeorgeMcFly]

seen this recipe on the internet. figured I'd give it a try as a bass fly. what ya think? its a size 8 streamer. used insect green foam and krystal flash and hi vis yarn for the wings but don't have any mono eyes yet.. here is the recipe we used.foam dragonfly! what ya think? will it work? am gonna make some smaller sizes and more colors.. the foam they used looks great! need to get me some!

 

[jimw]

Very nice George
What kind of foam? I am very new to fresh water tying i usually tie baitfish imitations not bugs. but i find it very interesting and just bought a few used books on trout and warmwater flies. It is very different from saltwater tying, the smaller sizes take some getting used too, not much room for error.
Jim

 

[shorthaul]

Glen Weisner of Glen River Fly Co gave our fff group a slide presentation of fishing central and eastern Pa ---one of his fly kits that he sells is a blue damsel that he has caught some huge trout on---heres a pic and a link

Blue Damsel Adult

George mcfly----make your own mono eyes by lighting the end of some mono and when it melts dip it in water---bigger mono=bigger eyes

 

[GeorgeMcFly]

thats 2 mm insect green foam by hareline or wapsi? freshwaters smaller flies can be hard to tie at 1st but after ya tie a couple and get a magnifying lamp think its easier.. thats a nice looking fly there! ya we tried to make the mono eyes and they worked good but they were too small as all I had was 10 lb test line. I need some bigger line to make the eyes. we tried to just use more line but then it didn't work and just dripped off almost catchin my hand on the way down. that wouldn't feel too good haha. what size line do u recommend? maybe I can use some heavy line out of my leader making kit.

 

[shorthaul]

geo

id be looking at about 80-100# mono shock tippet---heres some 60 # .032 dia

80# flourocarbon doesnt seem to work too well

 

[GeorgeMcFly]

thnaks don't even have close to that size lol

 

[wlschindler]

Since the eyes are above the surface, do you think they make a difference to the fish? I caught myself working hard to make the fly look great on the top and they looked like crap on the bottom. Comments always appreciated.

 

[shorthaul]

Since the eyes are above the surface, do you think they make a difference to the fish? I caught myself working hard to make the fly look great on the top and they looked like crap on the bottom. Comments always appreciated.

no wischindler---i really dont think it makes that much difference---i think they might make a difference on some subsurface flies in slow moving water but i would probably use beadchain to help it sink

the speaker at our group told about the first time he used the fly and said a large trout drifted back 10 feet before he took it in slow water

 

[jimw]

I think if the fish are aggresively feeding they will take anything, but for those times when it is slow i think every little thing makes a difference. Its probally all in my head but you never know.

 

[BigCliff]

Keep in mind that that fly should be fished as a dry not a streamer- sitting fairly still on the surface instead of bine stripped/swung like a minnow.

And I would think mono around 40-50lb would give you big enough eyes. That said, burning mono to make eyes is tricky, stinky, and a bit dangerous. You can buy mono eyes that wapsi sells pretty cheaply.

 

[Frank Whiton]

Hi McFly,

It sounds like you were using a flame. You need to use a flat soldering iron or a piece of metal you heat. Hold the mono against the hot metal and It will form an eye. Using a flame is too hard to control. Ten pound mono is too small. Blacken the melted eye after it cools and you have your eye.

Frank

 

[GeorgeMcFly]

thaanks guys. I just seen the mono eyes using a lighter thing on youtube. lol.