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[HOOK]

A buddy of mine was fishing the Skagit 2 years ago for Bull trout. His wife and him were camped there for 9 days and saw many little mice which got him thinking that the bulls may eat them once in awhile. After his holiday he asked me to tie him up a couple mouse flies. I didn't want to just copy other patterns so I went about creating something and also decided I wanted it tied on a tube where most are done on hooks

This process took me two weeks of thinking or sitting at my desk going through materials trying to figure out how I wanted to put it together and what type of swim I wanted from it before I ever put thread to tube. On a Saturday I finally decided it was time to put something together. My first two "creations" were horrid and didn't sit on the water how I wanted. Version 3 was much better but still missing a couple things which I fixed with version 4. #4 is almost close to perfect for what I want however I do still see a couple areas for improvement.

This first picture shows versions 3 & 4 side by side. #3 is the one with the mostly bald tail


Here are a couple shots of the body of #4 dry, side profile and from underneath



I cut the rubber legs back a little and trimmed and flared the tube back as well. Here is the final result swimming in my sink


You can see I spun deer hair infront of palmered rabbit fur. This allows the fur to poof out and really flow gently while keeping the full profile like a mouse's body. The few strands of crystal flash by the tail are to give the illusion of small air bubbles from it's kicking feet or air trapped in the fur. Rubber legs I think might be obvious why they are there, illusion of legs and also a bit of sparkle and colour contrast to attract the eye of a fish from below. I wrapped a thin foam around the entire tube under the whole body and then added the top section 3/4 the length of the tube before folding it over it all and creating the head, don't know why I bothered shaping ears.


So the question is----- Would you fish it ?

I can tell you neither my buddy or I have yet but that's because we haven't been out for Bulls in awhile and the few hours we were nothing was biting 

[bigsnag]

Now you are an artist.......

I 'd give it a shot for sure.

[HOOK]

again, Thank you 

you should however see the strange/hideous things I've created over the years while trying to learn or create something different. Most get tied and then promptly peeled off with a sharp razor to try again.

[tburns]

have you seen that video of the guy tying up some of these and slaying trout?  absolutely awesome video if you haven't

[RalphH]

Nice flies and like Bigsnag I admire your dedication to being the best tyer you can. I am sure they'll catch fish either on the surface or sunk. The Skagit has rainbows big enough to eat mice. Also reminds me of a boss I had who used to fish for "Dollies" while camping in the East Kootenays using mice he caught in traps overnight.

However other folks needn't be put off if they can't or won't rise to a level of art in their flies. Fish don't have the same vision acuity that people do and don't particularly care how nicely the aesthetic values of a fly are balanced. If it looks right and moves right they will eat it. That's what's important.

Roughly tied or simple  flies usually will catch more fish. A comparadun  will catch as many or more fish than a fancy dry with beautiful hackles and wings cut or burned to near perfect shape and takes a fraction of the time and materials to put together. A wooly bugger is one of the best patterns for almost anything because it is bug ugly.

Often flies get more effective after they've caught a few fish and get roughed by rows of teeth. Recognizing that many of my flies get a velcro hook treatment. You can buy little stickon pads at fabric or craft shops for a buck or two. Stick a velcro hook pad to a Popsicle stick  ( you can buy those two or enjoy an ice cream bar or two) trim it to shape and you have a cheap tool to rough up dubbing or hair.

This means is the apparently rough work of the newbie tyer can be as effective as those of the person with artistic motives as long as the fly is properly proportioned and pays attention to fundamental aspects of imitation like size, shape, colour and motion.

In fly tying like most things simplify is a good approach. Flies are better if slimy dressed and use the minimum of materials. Check out the history of Atlantic Salmon flies - they got far simpler as the supply of exotic materials dried up and as most experience fishers will tell you they catch more fish than the old built and married wing patterns. The later look great in a shadow box but in the water they are stiff and unnatural.

Likewise ask yourself does the addition of amethyst pheasant or rhea make a fly more likely to catch a steehead?

There are mouse and lemming imitations that feature leather ears, whiskers and eyes. Think they'll catch fish better than a simply oval shape of clipped deer hair with a thin leather tail?

I doubt it.

[HOOK]

have you seen that video of the guy tying up some of these and slaying trout?  absolutely awesome video if you haven't

No, I have not seen the video. Could you please supply a link to it so we all could enjoy. Thank you




RalphH -- All great info about flies. My flies aren't tied to look pretty in the vise as much as they are to move and look how I want in the water (this is why I sink test them often). A lot of my patterns are very simple to tie with minimal materials and do I think a barred or long flowing feather like Amherst, Guinea, Rhea, etc will help catch fish ? I do but only because I believe the barred effect creates a more "life like" aspect when flowing in the current same as the longer feathers. Same reason why marabou is such an effective material.

Honestly a fly can be pretty or look like garbage. As long as it presented to the fish properly they'll most likely take a strike at it. This rule applies more so for moving water because the fish have less time to inspect it. Lake flies on the other hand I think need to be a little more exact if your matching a certain bug because the fish can stare at it forever if they so choose and may not bite if it doesn't look right.


I have had several times on lakes when tiny little differences can turn a dead day into very productive one.

Your hook is your canvas, have fun 

[tburns]

Here you go:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p8YOeNjQAAU

is there any way to embed it?