Pike Flies

Some of you probably thought I went up into thin air, never to hear from me again, but guess what? I’ m still here! Now I could start to explain what happened the last couple of months but, most likely, you wouldn’t believe me anyway. And besides,
this isn’t Facebook! So I’ll stick to the things that matter (for all you pike fly fishermen anyway). I’ve had NO fishing and tying for several months (sad but true), but…
I’M BACK NOW!!!

And I have an upcoming trip to Ireland in less than two weeks, so that’s reason enough to pick up my blog again!

Besides, my vise started to send out some weird ultrasonic waves,

so unable to resist, here’s some new stuff…

This next fly is somewhat different than the previous one. First, this one still has a collar of marabou which I don’t use anymore. Some will say that it flares out while retrieving, well that’s bullshit (pardon my language), because it will only flare out when you have another material underneath that makes that happen (like bucktail for example), otherwise it will remain flat and sticky, which in this case isn’t a problem because it gives it a bloody effect. If you want something to flair out, use raccoon like I did with the first four flies.

But that’s not the reason why I posted it. The weak point with the previous flies are the eyes, sooner or later they get bitten off. I know, some types of glue are better than others, and I’m pretty satisfied with the “Loctite Flex Gel” I’m using, but it will still happen. If they don’t bite off the eyes, it will be the part of the head wherever the glue went.

So with this next fly, I put on some epoxy on the tip of the head and smeared it over the eyes. This way they will never come off. I already tested this one and it has little or no effect on the action of the fly, so I’ll certainly adjust a couple more.

This next one is a combination of two flies. I used the basics of a “ Firetiger Hangtime” by Brad Bohen for the tail and than made a collar of raccoon and my usual head of Slinky Fiber (in a brass wire dubbing brush).

And a couple of tandems as well…

I’m not quite satisfied with the colour of the head on the last one, but I‘m sure the pike won’t mind.

And now I’ll get to work again, I still got a lot of things to do the next couple of days…

Making popper/slider heads

The flies on my last post were made with these ready made poppers from Wapsi

(but loads of other brands have something similar).

 

It is a simple way to work, they have a nice shape, they are very durable (I don’t know what they’re made off, but they’re very hard, so a layer of epoxy is not necessary), and if you want, they come with hooks to match.

So, you warm your hook with a lighter (that’s how I do it), push the popper in place, fill the groove with epoxy or some UV stuff,

 

make a hole for your rubber legs (more on that matter later), paint the popper, and you’re ready to tie the rest.

But like all ready made products, they have their limitations (size, buoyancy), not to mention the fact that most fly-tiers like to make everything themselves (including me). So here we go…

 

I start with this piece of foam.
I bought this one in a fly shop (but loads of industrial foams work equally good) and cut out a square section, which I cut very roughly into shape.

And now comes an interesting trick I learned from the Grey Piker

(thanks again Philippe!).

 

I glue the foam onto a piece for my dremmel tool (this is a whetstone I only use for this purpose).

You can see that I’ve cut the foam only very roughly, which is no problem at all.

 

Just hold the foam against a piece of sandpaper and start your dremmel tool. I use two kinds of sandpaper, a ‘100’ for the rough shape and a ‘240’ to finish.

 

And the result is a nicely shaped popper (or slider) head.

 

Then I cut a groove with a scalpel.

 

If it’s a popper I want, I scour a cup with another dremmel tool. 

 

Next, I put some varnish or super glue on a hook, and put some rough thread on (this is sewing cotton).

 

Then I glue on the popper head (I reversed it here, because I wanted a slider instead, but it’s the same principle).

When dry, I fill the groove with epoxy or some UV stuff, and I’m ready to paint.

 

Now, you can actually paint the heads, or use markers, but the most interesting way I think is with a paintbrush set… 

but I don’t have that. So I use this aerosol.

One tip maybe: do it outside, you can’t believe what kind of a mess this stuff can make (not to mention the smell).

 

But, you have a nice,

quick result.

Since this foam is rather fragile (certainly when you take pike teeth into account),
it’s necessary to coat it with a layer of epoxy.

And at this point I like to add some glitter as well.

 

For the slider (red/white) I added some red and silver glitter to the epoxy. This works well when you want the same colour and amount of glitter equally around the head.

 

But with the popper (chartreuse/green), I wanted some green glitter on top of the head and gold on the bottom. So I just put some varnish on the place I want the glitter and scatter some on it. Once the varnish is dry, I put on an epoxy coating.

 

I also put on the eyes while the epoxy is still wet.

And once the epoxy is dry, I make the hole for my rubber legs.

 

There are several ways to make that hole, but heating up a bodkin or a needle and push it trough is the easiest and most popular.

 

Although I like to use this tool as well. This is boilie drill (for carp fishermen), which is basically a drill on a handle.

For once, I will not advise you to use a dremmel tool. With the speed of the rotation, the foam will melt, which leads to two possibilities. One, your drill gets stuck in this melted substance (then you can either break your popper head, or break your drill, and since I can be stubborn... I did both). Or two, you're able to push it trough but your drill ends up with a plastic coating (which is a real mess to clean).

And then of course I tie the rest of the fly…

The popper is about 13 cm and the slider about 18 cm long. They are both tied on

a Piketrek Eagle Claw Pike Fly hook, size 5/0.

If you have any questions or suggestions concerning this post (or others),

please don’t hesitate to send me a mail…

Perch/pikeperch flies

The last few days, I’ve been experimenting a lot, with very disappointing results. There’s one pattern that might work, but I’m still not very satisfied (maybe more on that later).

I also did some more Christmas shopping (sales), but I didn’t find much that I could use. I even visited some yarn stores (I’ve seen some interesting stuff on other peoples blog), but came home (almost) empty handed. One can’t always be lucky, I guess.

 

Than I came across this stuff in one of my drawers. I bought this a few weeks ago in a flower shop (of all places).

It turned out to be very easy to use, so here are some perch/pikeperch sweets.

These are about 7 cm long, tied on a Gamakatsu LS-5013F (Aberdeen), size 2/0.

 

The first one on the left has a tungsten bead inside the head for extra weight. I’ve tied more like this, but I had to start a new brand of epoxy, which really sucks (trying something cheaper, isn’t always a wise thing to do), so the rest will have to wait.

 

These are about 9 cm, tied on a 3/0.

The good news is, I will probably be able to test them in a few days, because the temperature is rising!

And while I’m at it, maybe some practical stuff. I don’t know if you see it clearly on the pictures of the flies above (just click on the pictures to enlarge), but there is some flash material inside the epoxy heads. Actually, I do this a lot, but I’ve failed to mention it before.

 

I used to mix this stuff in the epoxy (which works very well), but this way, you will have the flashy stuff in the eyes as well (which I don’t like), unless you work with two layers of epoxy (which I don’t like either).

 

So I’ve been using this stuff for a while now. This is glitter glue for the kids (they can draw sparkly things with it). I just put it on the head before I put on eyes and epoxy. It’s very easy to use, very cheap, and it gives something extra to your flies…

Practical stuff

Homemade epoxy eyes

These are sequins, used to make glitter clothing.

You can find them in any hobby or sewing store.

 









They exist in all sizes and colours.

You can glue them on, before you epoxy the head.

Or you just put a drop of epoxy on them.

You can also ad some colour before and/or after.

They look good
(at least I think so).

And they make your fly even more personal.