# Flounder hatchling...



## HaMm3r (Dec 11, 2006)

I came across this pattern and thought it would be an excellent bottom fly for the more northern parts of Florida, where flatties are commonplace.









At times, I'll see schools of these little guys, usually even smaller than the one I'm holding here.









Worked slow along the bottom, kicking up a mud trail...man, I could see it being deadly.   There was no recipe with the picture though, so I'll have to figure it out myself, unless someone else has tied one before?


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## deerfly (Mar 10, 2007)

thats really neat! I have no idea where to start, but I suspect its close to a spoon fly recipe. Maybe BobFla will chime since he's a spoon fly tying expert.


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## St._Sophie_Girl (Dec 13, 2006)

That's awesome looking...


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## Bob (Feb 2, 2007)

But can you cast and retrieve it without twisting everything into a mess? Whip one up & tell us how it works out.


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## captkenroy (Jan 10, 2007)

That is a really cool fly.  It would be hard to beat for realism.  I don't imagine it would be very hard to tie at all.  I'll bet my wife could tie it in a heart beat but she has lots of experience.  I am certain it would catch fish----if you can cast it.  

I have lots of trouble casting "Flat" flies like spoon flies but I am not a very good fly caster.  Some of these things sound like a helicopter going over.  At any rate, short, low powered casts work best for me with spoon flies.

I stay away from flat flies whenever possible and don't use Clousers because they hurt.  Again, I am not a great fly caster but a fairly good fly fisherman.


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## HaMm3r (Dec 11, 2006)

> I am not a great fly caster but a fairly good fly fisherman.


I'll have to remember that quote right there.  ;D

I'm in the midst of my first attempt at tying one of these right now. Just checking the forum while waiting for an epoxy coat to dry. It's looking fairly decent, although I admit the color isn't exactly where I'd want it. I guess this first one will be just a "proof of concept" tie.  

Oh, and "tie" isn't exactly the right verb for this pattern. I haven't used even one wrap of thread so far...  :


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## HaMm3r (Dec 11, 2006)

Ok, here's my first crack at tying "The Doormat".  ;D










While far from perfect, it's not terrible and I learned a lot about how to improve it the next go around. Most importantly, I need to find some darker feathers, so I don't have to color them with marker. That should make the body and tail look much cleaner.


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## deerfly (Mar 10, 2007)

excellent, what did you use for the main body?


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## captkenroy (Jan 10, 2007)

I'm gonna try to duplicate this as a jig. 

BTW, If your fly looked any better, I'd hang one in my ear.

My wife suggested washing a few of the same feathers you used with dish washing detergent then dye them with strong tea. Hair dye works too. I always use markers myself.

I killed several roosters a couple of years ago and saved the necks and some of the other feathers. I'll check to see what I have to see if any look promising. I'll send you a bunch if they look good.


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## HaMm3r (Dec 11, 2006)

Thanks guys!  

I used a white plastic Dixie drinking cup for the shell. I just cut out an oval shaped piece, so that the curvature of the cup went across the body, rather than nose to tail. I also left a little rectagular tab on the tip of the nose, so I could fold it under and push the hook thru it. I did not add weight to this one, because I want to experiment by crimping splitshot to the hook shank and see how best to make it stay flat and upright.

If I get a good design, I promise I'll share a detailed recipe.


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## deerfly (Mar 10, 2007)

> Thanks guys!
> 
> I used a white plastic Dixie drinking cup for the shell. I just cut out an oval shaped piece, so that the curvature of the cup went across the body, rather than nose to tail. I also left a little rectagular tab on the tip of the nose, so I could fold it under and push the hook thru it. I did not add weight to this one, because I want to experiment by crimping splitshot to the hook shank and see how best to make it stay flat and upright.
> 
> If I get a good design, I promise I'll share a detailed recipe.


thanks hammer, very innovative. Others might want a recipe, I'm not a big spoon fly fan, too much trouble to cast, line twists, etc. BobFla gave me a really neat carbon fiber spoon fly the other day. I'll probably give it a try a few times, but streamlined flies are enough trouble, especially in a stiff breeze. If I want to throw spoons for real I have very capable plug casting tackle for that.  I was mostly curious how you approached tying this thing. I'm very impressed with how you did though, especially on the first crack.  Great job, keep it up.


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## HaMm3r (Dec 11, 2006)

> I'm not a big spoon fly fan, too much trouble to cast, line twists, etc.


I'm just thinking out loud here, (_well not exactly out loud...you know what I mean_) but have you ever seen a swivel used with a fly to reduce line twist? I could see placing one beneath the body of this fly, so only the front eye protrudes. I'd have to move the hook farther back, but other than that it wouldn't change the appearance at all, and might make it more manageable??


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## deerfly (Mar 10, 2007)

> > I'm not a big spoon fly fan, too much trouble to cast, line twists, etc.
> 
> 
> I'm just thinking out loud here, (_well not exactly out loud...you know what I mean_) but have you ever seen a swivel used with a fly to reduce line twist? I could see placing one beneath the body of this fly, so only the front eye protrudes. I'd have to move the hook farther back, but other than that it wouldn't change the appearance at all, and might make it more manageable??


nothing first hand, but I have heard of other guys using swivels for this reason. To me, when you need to start adding hardware like that to manage things you're slipping away from the essence of fly fishing. The hook is about the only metal I like on the end of the line.  Of course wire weed guards and dumbbell weights and so forth are metal too, but you get the idea.  

Why not give it whirl (pun intended), if it works you can claim it along with your catfish fly as another original innovation. ;D


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## Gramps (Nov 1, 2007)

Found this on another forum:










Flounder Around

tied by striblue
Fly Type: General Saltwater, 
Target Species: Striped Bass, 
Recommended Region: Northeast US, 
Imitation: Flounder, 
Material List: Hook- 3/0- Varivas wide gap; Thread- white, Body- light brown foam and Mallard flank feather; Tail- Brown rabbit strip and Crystal flash. White pait, samll eye and epoxy. Two leaded bumbells for hook shank.
Tying Instructions: Please see picture sequence.... 
Choose appropriate feathers... 
cut foam to shape... 
then tye in two dumbells... 
epoxy mallard flank feather on top of cut foam as shown..
leave ends of the mallard flank over lapping..
this is important as it will give the fish the appropriate fins. Mark the top with brown marker and (although not shown on this pattern) dot with a few ,no more than say 5 dots of white paint).. 
Then secure the foam body to the hook and push the hook though the body... 
I have changed this pattern to have the hook long enough to come off the end of the fly without going thought the body. Then glue in the the flash and then rabbit hair with goop as shown... 
then cover the bottom at the hook shank and the rabbit hair as shown with epoxy to lock the pattern to the hook... 
flip over and add eyes... than cover the entire body with a thin coat of epoxy...
let set , then paint the bottom white with the usual acylic paint..let dry...
then cover that with Hard as hull to secure the paint in.

Here is the link (sorry if linking another site is bad...):http://www.flytyingforum.com/pattern187.html


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## deerfly (Mar 10, 2007)

that looks like more work than a taxidermist would do to mount one with a hook stuck through it. ;D


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