#wet fly

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[panfishonthefly]

Epoxy/Resin Bodied Wet Flies

I probably catch more panfish on wet flies than all other types of fly patterns combined. Although not as fun to fish as a topwater bug or popper, they catch far more fish. Since fish do the majority of there feeding under the surface of the water, it stands to reason that flies fished below the surface will catch more than flies fished on it. Wet flies are my go-to pattern for early and late season fishing when the water gets chilly. In fact, the only time I don’t fish them is in the height of summer when weed growth on some waters make fishing subsurface flies difficult.

The Wet Fly Box

My warm water wet fly boxes contain a few different types of wet flies and soft hackles. I prefer a soft hackle style fly in warm water, but there are a few winged wets in there as well. Some of the more traditional soft hackles that I rely on can be found in my Soft Hackle Selection. These flies have bodies constructed of conventional materials like feathers, fur, and floss. While highly effective, they can be somewhat fragile. One of the great things about fly fishing for bluegills and other panfish is that you often have the opportunity to catch a lot of fish. Catching a dozen or more fish on a single flies has a tendency to wear them out pretty quick. It is an excellent problem to have if you are a fly tier because now you have a reason to tie more flies! That being said, I am always looking for a way to make flies more durable.

A More Durable Wet Fly

Several years ago, I started experimenting with 5-minute epoxy to protect the bodies of my wet flies and make them more durable. An epoxy bodied fly is nearly indestructible and is perfect for flies fished beneath the surface as it helps them sink a little better. Working with epoxy had its downsides, though. Flies had to be tied in stages and treated with the epoxy all at the same time. Those same flies had to be put on drying wheels to ensure the epoxy would not sag. The 5-minute expo was also a little thick for this use and tended to create too much bulk, so it had to be applied very sparingly. Although the end result was a beautiful, durable fly, it was a lot of work for a panfish fly! The second problem I had with most epoxies is they tended to yellow with age. After a couple of seasons, the bodies on my epoxy wet flies would begin to cloud up or turn yellow. Since the flies were so durable, they tended to stick around, so this was a real problem for me.

A Solution To The Epoxy Problem

The use of UV Resins in fly tying has been widespread for a few years now. The use of UV resins was a game-changer for the fly tier. UV resins cured/hardened like epoxy in seconds when exposed to the proper light source. This was far superior to having to wait for the epoxy to dry, making it far more versatile than epoxy. New UV products showed a lot of promise, but they all shared a few common problems. The biggest challenge was the tacky surface left behind once the resin had cured. A few new UV Resins claim to have solved this problem. One brand, Solarez, has created a line of UV resins that are indeed tack-free. Disclosure: I am a Pro Team member for Solarez, so I use their products exclusively, but other brands claim they are tack-free as well. Feel free to do your own research.

The Solarez line of resins has virtually replaced epoxy in my fly tying. From coating, a soft, flexible body on a foam popper to finishing the thread wraps on the head of a salmon fly, they have a UV resin for every fly tying needs. Solarez and other companies are now offering colored UV resins as well, which will really expand their use in fly tying. This is starting to sound like a sponsored advertisement for Solarez, which it is not, so let us move on to the fly!

The Epoxy/Resin Bodied Wet Fly

As I mentioned earlier, I have replaced epoxy with UV resin in most of my fly tying so this pattern seemed a natural for a resin-coated body. Epoxy was used initially to create a durable body that would hold up to dozens of fish. It was also used to create a fly that was denser and would easily break the surface tension of the water and begin to sink without have to add beads or lead wraps under the thread body. The use of UV resins allows me to create the same effects without all the downsides of epoxy. I prefer to use a thin resin to cover the thread bodies of these flies. In this case, I am using Solarez Bone Dry. You brush on a thin layer and hit it with the light for a few seconds, and you are done. The end result is a clear, glossy, durable epoxy-like body with a smooth tack-free finish.

Thread Bodies - Simple and Versatile

Creating a fly could not be easier. The body of the fly is thread and UV resin, nothing else. For my panfish sized flies, which are tied on hooks that range from size 8 down to 18, I vary the size of the thread I use based on the fly. I use as heavy a thread as possible (based on the size of the hook), so I can quickly build a smooth body with a minimal number of thread wraps. I prefer a flat thread like Danville or UTC, which I can untwist and lay down smoothly. I coat the body with UV resin and cure it before tying in any hackle, so I eliminate the risk of getting UV resin on the hackle fibers. Threads are available in a wide range of colors, so you create flies in every color of the rainbow from subtle natural hues to bright, gaudy attractors.

Although thread makes an excellent body material you have other options as well. I often create a body with stranded flash products like Crystal Flash. This produces a very interesting effect, which can be quite effective at times. When the mood strikes me I also dress these flies up a bit by adding a thorax of a contrasting color of dubbing or chenille.

If you do not currently have wet flies in your arsenal, you need to change that immediately. If you are already using wet flies, be sure to add this style of fly to your fly boxes. You won’t regret it!

[isaacsfishingcorner]

Some days you just need to toss goofy looking flies at Bluegill

[panfishonthefly]

Fly Tying Friday - The Green Tail Caddis

This weeks submission comes from Jack Harford. Jack is a past contributor to this blog and his Green Tail Caddis has been one of the more productive wet flies I have fished this year for both warm and cold water species.

Jack writes…

A lot of anglers are familiar with the use of caddis patterns for trout. However, over the last couple of years I have found that caddis patterns, especially the Green Tail Caddis, are quite effective for bluegills and other warm water fish.

Let me tell you a secret . . . bluegills love soft hackle flies and especially this Green Tail Caddis. Even though my signature fly is the foam “House Fly,” I have to admit that more and bigger gills have been landed on soft hackles recently.

This is a simple fly to tie and is effective for bluegills on hooks size 8-12 or even 14. The trouble with size 14’s is that bluegills and other panfish tend to swallow the hook and it can be a pain in the “you know what” to get the hook out.

I like to fish two flies with my 10-foot 5wt or with the tenkara rod and have landed several doubles with this fly the past couple of years. I prefer an unweighted version that sinks slowly and seductively in the water column. If you feel you need to get deeper faster just add a bead.

Good Luck with this warm water application of the Green Tail Caddis.

Tight Lines,

Jack Harford  

Pattern Recipe:

Hook: Size 8-12, I really like 10’s a lot and have used Mustads to barbless Firehole Sticks and several in between.    

Thread: Green/chartreuse UTC 140 is my go-to thread, but olive or other greens can be used too. The key with the thread is to create a very noticeable green tail or egg sack at the rear of the fly.

Rib: Gold tinsel or flash

Body: Hares ear dubbing like Spirit River Mottled Nymph Blend Dubbing. If the caddis in your region have unique coloring, try different colors to see what the fish like.

Hackle: Hungarian Partridge.

If you have questions for Jack he can be reached at [email protected]

[panfishonthefly]

Early Season Soft Hackle Selection

Wet flies and soft hackles account for more fish than any other fly patterns that I fish. Soft hackles are irresistible to bluegill and other panfish. This selection of soft hackles will catch fish year round but are particularly effective early in the season when the water is cool. Bluegills and other panfish are reluctant to chase down a big meal when their metabolism is lowered by cold water. A properly presented wet fly loosens up that lock jaw and gets them to bite. When the water warms they will continue to be fish catching machines on their own or suspended below a surface pattern (popper/dropper).

This selection of soft hackles include patterns that have a proven track record on all species of panfish not to mention cold water species like trout.

You will get one dozen wet flies in an eight compartment fly box. The box contains two of each of the following patterns:

Partridge & Green - size 12

Partridge & Yellow - size 12

Partridge & Rust - size 12

Partridge & Pheasant - size 12

Partridge & Peacock - size 12

Partridge & Hare’s Ear - size 12

[panfishonthefly]

Ward Bean's Cockaroo

I have been a long time reader of Ward Bean’s website, Warmwater Fly Tyer . I have tied and fished many of the patterns found on the pages of his site. For the warm water fly fisher/tier this is an incredible resource. I highly recommend a visit.

Sometimes something is sitting right on front of your face, and you fail to notice it. That is the case with the Cockaroo. I have looked at the wet fly section of Ward’s site countless times. I fish wet flies more than any other subsurface patterns, and I am always on the lookout for new designs to try. I have tied many of the flies listed on his page, but for some reason, I have seemed to have skipped over the Cockaroo. During a recent exchange with a gentleman by the name of David Hutton on Facebook I was reacquainted with this particular fly. David, a blogger himself, publishes a blog called Palmetto Fly ’n Fish, he also manages a Facebook group by the same name. Both sites highlight some of the excellent fishing available in the great state of South Carolina. While not entirely devoted to fly fishing, both blog and group mostly contain fly fishing related content so I’ll cut him a little slack!

David had posted a picture of a Cockaroo that he had tied and recently fished. There was immediately something familiar about the pattern, but I could not put my finger on it, but I knew I liked it. David quickly pointed me to his source for the fly pattern, and all the pieces fell into place. The next time I sat in front of the vise, I tied up a few Cockaroos and slipped them into my wet fly box. It is still early season here in the northeast so it would not be long before the Cockaroo found itself tied to the end of my leader.

My first version of this pattern was not exactly true to the original. I tied up a variation of the fly using materials I had laying around on the desktop from the previous night's tying session. There was no peacock in sight, and I was too lazy to open a drawer and dig it out. What I did have on hand was a wire core dubbing brush in a dark brown color. Again not the exact ingredient called for, but it would be far more durable than the peacock herl, so I went with it. The other substitution was the soft hackle collar. The original pattern called for brown hen hackle, but I had a gorgeous olive Whiting Brahma Hen Cape on the desk, so I went with that. So, in the end, the fly had the same basic color scheme, but it was just a little mixed up — a brown body instead of green and a green collar instead of brown. In Ward’s own words he gave me permission to take some liberties with his pattern. In his tying notes he states, “Of all the body parts, the tail and the wing are constants. Choosing other materials for the remaining parts; the underbody, body, and collar are up to you” . I know Ward is good with my changes, hopefully, the fish would not mind the slight to the original pattern!

My very first cast with the pattern yielded positive results. As fish are still a little sluggish in the still cold water here in the northeast, I retrieved the fly with a painfully slow hand twist retrieve after the fly had settled near the bottom adjacent to a submerged tree in about 5 or 6 feet of water. As soon as the fly passed the branches of the sunken tree, there was a slight heaviness on the line. I was sure I was about to be hung up on a tree limb, but I set the hook anyway. A heavy throbbing on the end of my line greeted my hook set. After applying as much pressure as my three weight could bring to bear, the fish was coaxed out of the labyrinth of branches and after a spirited fight in open water a chunky, good sized bluegill was brought to hand.

In a few days of testing the pattern has coaxed a mixed bag of panfish from the water. After losing all of my original test patterns to tree limbs and the occasional foul mannered pickerel, I returned to the vice and tied up some more. This time I stayed true to the original pattern using peacock herl and brown hackle. The results were the same! The fish took the pattern without hesitation when presented correctly. Tied on a long nymph hook, this fly bridges the gap between wet fly and streamer. I feel it would serve well imitating both aquatic insects and small baitfish.

To address those that say that panfish will take any fly, I did a side by side test with my usual early season wet flies. Both versions of the Cockaroo took far more fish than the other wet flies when fished together on a tandem rig. A scientific study? No, but enough for me to add this pattern to my early season arsenal as well as my regular wet fly box!

Pattern Recipes

Ward Bean’s Cockaroo:

Hook: Mustad 3906B Size 8, 10, 12

Thread: Uni-Thread - 6/0Dark Brown

Tail: Ringneck Pheasant Rump Feather Fibers

Underbody: Uni-YarnDark Brown

Body: Peacock Herl2 Herl's

Wing: Ringneck Pheasant Select Rump Feather

Collar: Hen Neck Feather Furnace

Panfish On The Fly’s Cockaroo:

Hook: Saber #7231 size 8

Thread: 70 denier UTC brown

Tail: Ringneck Pheasant Rump Feather Fibers

Body: Brown wire core dubbing brush

Wing: Ringneck Pheasant Select Rump Feather

Collar: Olive Whiting Brahma Hen

[panfishonthefly]

Tandem Rigs for Pre-Spawn Bluegills

Most of you probably fish tandem rigs for panfish, the most popular being the popper/dropper rig. With a popper/dropper rig, a nymph or wet fly is tied to the bend of the hook on the popper on a 1-4 foot piece of tippet. This allows you to present two options to the fish simultaneously, one on the top and one fished lower in the water column. While it is a deadly set up to use once the water warms up, it will not be of much use to the early season angler. In late winter and early spring bluegills and other panfish are reluctant to take a top water offering. When they do, it is likely to be a minuscule midge imitation, not precisely the right choice to suspend a weighted nymph underneath!

The tandem rigs I fish during the early season are wet fly rigs. During this time of year, before the fish enter the shallows to begin scoping out areas to build their beds, they tend to group up on the drop-offs on the edges of the shallow water. In the unstable weather of early spring, they will enter the shallows on warm sunny days and retreat to the deeper water during periods of colder weather. It is a crap shoot this time of year, it all depends on the weather. Some days the fish are on the shoreline, others they are noticeably absent. The good thing is when they are not in the shallows I know where to find them.

When the fish are holding deeper, you need to get the flies down to them. I do occasionally use sinking and intermediate lines, but as we move closer to warmer weather, I am usually equipped with a floating line in anticipation of the season's first topwater bite. To get flies down under these conditions I will fish a tandem rig with two flies. One fly will be large and heavy to bring the small unweighted wet fly down to the fish. Although I will catch the odd fish on the larger fly, most will take the smaller wet fly. An added benefit to this method is that the larger fly often attracts the attention of larger predators like bass.

On a recent outing, I rigged up with two versions of a fly called a Spring Wiggler. The Spring Wiggler is a Michigan Steelhead pattern that I have scaled down and adapted for use in warm water. The Panfish Wiggler version is tied on a size eight hook and sports a set of heavy bead chain eyes to get the fly down deep. The unweighted smaller version goes along for the ride. It proved to be a deadly combination.

In the body of water I was fishing I could reach a deeper section of the pond with a long cast. This area often holds fish when they retreat from the shallows during cold snaps. What was surprising was about fifty percent of the fish took the larger fly. That is often not the case. What was also surprising was the number of doubles that were caught. The fish were much more active than I had anticipated even though the water was cold and they were not in shallow water.

You have several options for setting up a tandem rig. Many folks tie the second fly off the bend of the hook of the first one. While I do that occasionally, I prefer to attach the first fly on a dropper off of my leader. As long as you keep the dropper short (under three inches), you will never have a problem with tangles. I sue a triple surgeon knot to create the dropper with my fly being tied on the tag end pointing away from the rod tip. I feel this method gives a more natural presentation. Whether you put the heavier fly on point (the end of your leader) or the dropper depends on the conditions. When I am fishing with a real slow retrieve, I tie the heavier fly on the dropper. For more active retrieves I tie it on in the point position. In this position, it looks like the larger fly is pursuing the smaller one and this sometimes excites fish into striking.

Don’t use tandem rigs only for popper/droppers. Try a tandem wet fly rig and enjoy some quality early season fishing!

If you want to learn more about the flies mentioned in this post click on the buttons below.

[panfishonthefly]

The Pennell Wet Fly - An Early Season Favorite

A Year Round Favorite

As I have mentioned many times in the past, I am a wet fly fanatic when it comes to panfish. In late winter/early spring I seldom fish anything else. An old favorite of mine is the Pennell Wet Fly. If you are a long time reader of this blog, the name may sound familiar. I have mentioned this pattern in the past. If you are interested in trying it for yourself, the pattern recipe can be found in the wet fly section of the Pattern Page.

This season like many in the past it is the fly I am apt to select a Pennell Wet Fly from my box more than any other wet fly or soft hackle. Granted I have a lot of confidence in the pattern because I have been fishing it so long, but it is mostly because it catches fish.

One Fly, Two Versions

I tie two basic versions of this fly: a traditional Pennell Wet Fly and a one feather version. The conventional version is more or less a standard Black Pennell Wet Fly. It is a tried and true favorite, and I tie it as I was shown many years ago.

The second version, the Single Feather Pennell Wet Fly, is the one I take a few liberties with. I vary the colors of the body and the hackle on this fly and tie it in a range of colors. The Single Feather Pennell Wet Fly is created by using one feather for the tail and the hackle. The tip of the feather is tied down as the tail; then the feather is lashed to the shank of the hook and covered with a thin layer of dubbing. At the eye of the hook, the remaining feather is wrapped several times around the hook to make a hackle collar. Tie the feather off, cut it loose, form a small head of thread and your done. I use many different hackles for this fly, but my favorite is grizzly both natural and dyed.

A Versatile Pattern

One of the things I love about this pattern is its versatility. Later in the year when the fish are looking up for their next meal, I often fish this pattern as a dry. A few quick false casts will dry the fly off, and it will float like a traditional dry fly. If nothing grabs it off the surface, a little tug will submerge it, and I then retrieve it back like a wet fly. I love a fly that pulls double duty!

Top Choice For Winter Fishing

The past week I managed to get out on the water a few times during some mild weather. On the first day, there was a bit of wind, and the fish were found in deeper water just within reach of a long cast. Using an intermediate line, wet flies, brought in with a slow, hand twist retrieve, took a fish every few casts. Hits were tough to detect at times, but the action was pretty steady. The Black Pennell was the clear winner that day.

The next day the conditions had changed a bit. The daytime high was a few degrees warmer, and there was no wind. As I approached the pond, I spooked fish that were lying in just inches of water soaking up all that warmth the sun was giving them. On this day the fish were much more active. I noticed a relatively large light colored chironomid (midge) on the surface of the water. A quick look around revealed a few more out and about. While I never saw a fish rise, I decided to try a light colored Single Feather Pennell Wet Fly. While nothing rose to take the fly off the surface, I received some violent, slashing hits just as the fly was pulled under the surface. Unlike the day before when the fly had to be dragged through the depths to catch a fish, these fish were up near the surface. It was not precisely dry fly fishing, but it was close enough. You were able to see the takes as the fish rolled on the fly just under the surface. There was no mistaking the grab!

If you have never tried this pattern give it a go. While you're at it throw a few in your trout wet fly box as well, they are pretty fond of them also! If you want to learn more about this pattern use the search bar on the Home Page. Search “Pennell Wet” to find a past post and the tying recipe for this fantastic wet fly.