# Shop flies



## hillcharl (Feb 7, 2011)

Those are some great looking flies!


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## skinnywater3 (Feb 8, 2009)

thanks for taking the time to post Bob

looking forward to seeing more


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## Shadowcast (Feb 26, 2008)

Awesome flies Bob!! I especially love the Speed Bugs!


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## ifsteve (Jul 1, 2010)

Sweet!


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## Uno (Sep 9, 2010)

Nice work!!!!


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## iFly (Mar 9, 2010)

> ...Every few weeks I'll try to post up a few pics of the stuff I'm doing.  Next time I should have some peacock flies as well.


Keep them coming.

I can't imagine ever buying a fly but... your flies ALMOST make me want to jump the fence.


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## lemaymiami (Feb 9, 2007)

When I was starting out tying years ago, I'd find a pattern I really liked and buy one. That fly never got fished - I used it to learn from. Some times I was able to copy it and other times not.... Some of the neatest things I learned to do happened as a result of trying to match someone else's work and failing. Every now and then my attempts led me to try something new that actually worked really well... and was my own variation - not a copy of anyone else's work. 

These days I always keep a copy of anything new to use as a master pattern. That way I can precisely match colors, proportions, hook size, etc. even if I haven't tied one in ten years.


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## iFly (Mar 9, 2010)

> When I was starting out tying years ago, I'd find a pattern I really liked and buy one.  That fly never got fished....


I have a box of those, too. Some are bought just because they are pretty and some because they are interesting. So, I guess that is my clarification. I can't bring myself to throw a store bought fly at a fish (has to be something I tied) but, I have a box of.... um.... I guess I'll call them 'models'.


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## jrasband (Jul 12, 2010)

Good Stuff Capt! I started using your weedguards and my swearing rate on the water has gone down significantly!

I'll be in Miami for a month in fall and am definitely going to get in touch for a night tarpon trip. Cheers. 

Jeff


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## jsnipes (May 1, 2011)

if you have time could you write up some basic intrsuctions for the black light special? that looks really neat but hard to tell how it's constructed from the pictures. also, what size wire do you use for weedguards, #4?


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## lemaymiami (Feb 9, 2007)

This will be the short version on the Blacklight....
First the weedguards. My basic wire is usually a #5 coffee colored Malin's wire. For hooks smaller than #4 I'll drop down a size on the wire to a #4. I hoping to line up an article for the coming year that will concentrate on every kind of weedguard... Every one of the short wires have a tiny hairpin bent into one end for about 1/8" or a bit less... that's the end you'll tie in place as you add the weedguard to any pattern. Remember it only works really well on a hook the dimensions of a 34007 or just a bit less...

Now for the Blacklight, start with a #1 Mustad 34007 hook, the thread is Danville's flat waxed in black (0ccasionally in fl. green or fl. yellow). Start just forward of the bend with a few thread wraps as an anchor then add a sparse amount of buctail (about a tooth pick's worth) flared out and about 1.5" long, then add pearl flashabou, doubled and re-doubled starting with about five strands, with the ends staggered 1/4" each fold and the bundle wrapped around the barrel of the bobbin then slid into place on top of the hook. Take a dyed black maribou blood quill, strip the fibers from each side to make a bundle then tie into place on top of buck and flash. Done properly the bucktail and maribou are the same length and are hard to distinguish, one from the other. Once the tail is tied in place taper the thread then tie in a piece of Body Fur in black (Body Fur is from Dan Bailey) and palmer it forward to within 1/8" of the hook eye and tie it off. Done properly the Body fur forms a dense brush of fibers. At this point take a sharp pair of scissors and trim the sides flat so that it presents a baitfish profile. Leave top and bottom full length. Once that's done tie in a weedguard by the doubled end under the shank, then tie it a wide webby black saddle by the butt end and palmer it forward, stroking each turn of feather to the rear, "Keys style" to the hook eye, ending it with a whip finish. At this point you have a completed fly with the wire weedguard pointing straight out. Take the wire and bend it slightly away from the hook eye then put a tiny drop of super glue on the whip finish. When it's dry (less than ten minutes) bend the wire down into position, trim it just short of the barb on the hook and make a final slight bend right where the wire would touch the point of the hook. 

The very last step on this bug will be to add hard plastic doll eyes (or holo eyes if you prefer, they look nicer but don't hold up very well at all compared to the doll eyes). With a sharp pair of nippers trim off the posts that the doll eyes come with and mount one eye in place using Fletch-Tite cement (sold at most Bass Pro shops or any archery shop). With a tiny drop of cement mount one eye, then clamp it in place with a clothes pin or Irwin Speed Clamp for a few minutes, then repeat with the eye for the other side...

You'll find that this fly in any color will really show well in shallow, clear water. I use it in black or purple in the winter or in all white or fl. green and white during summer.


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## jsnipes (May 1, 2011)

awesome, ty.


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## lemaymiami (Feb 9, 2007)

Forgot to mention something... and it isn't specific to the Blacklight Special. Whenever I'm using fairly soft materials for the tail on a fly that might have a tendency to foul around the hook when they get wet... I don't like to use any mono loop the way many tiers do. Instead I tie in a sparse amount of bucktail first, then add flash on top of it, then the soft tail (maribou, rabbit strip, etc.). Works like a charm, is almost completely foul proof, and blends right in with the tail itself so you have to look closely to see if it's even there.

Here's a few pics


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