Bob Popovics Tribute

By Nick Curcione

In testimonials, the word “legend” has become a bit commonplace. But when reflecting on my dear friend Bob Popovics and the lives he touched through his talents and his unabashed enthusiasm to share his passions with others, I am hard-pressed to find a suitable substitute. When he passed early in the morning on November 1, the fly-fishing community indeed lost a legend.

Bob was one of those rare individuals who mastered whatever he set his mind to. In the fly-fishing world, his accomplishments earned him superstar status. He pioneered and popularized materials and techniques in fly tying that are world-renowned, and it is no exaggeration to regard him as the premier innovator among leading saltwater fly tiers. When he left his beloved fly-tying room in the attic and hit the beach to test a new pattern, his prowess at flinging flies in the high surf turned heads, even among experienced anglers. He was the embodiment of the complete angler.

Less known, perhaps, are his passions outside the fly-fishing world, such as his botany-inspired rose garden, which he tended like a mother with a newborn, and the gourmet-class restaurant he ran with the love of his life, his wife Alexis. Bob took as much joy in these pursuits as he did with fly tying and fishing.

I could go on reciting a multitude of similar accolades, and no doubt, as time goes by, more will be forthcoming. A man like this has a ledger book’s worth of friends and admirers. Instead, I’ll end by relating an incident years ago at the Minneapolis–Saint Paul airport that gives a strong sense of what this man was like.

Bob, Ed Jaworowski, and I were returning from a pike fishing trip in Saskatchewan. Our flight was delayed, and we were tired as we headed for some empty seats to wait it out. A few minutes slipped by when a very distraught woman with a small child in tow stopped a few yards from us, panicked and sobbing uncontrollably. From her dress, we surmised she was from somewhere in the Middle East, and it was obvious she neither spoke nor understood English. Bob went right over to her and tried comforting her and the frightened child. He walked them over to the concession stand and bought the little boy a soft drink. The woman managed a brief smile but was still visibly upset. He took them to an airline agent to try to resolve her problem. Finally, in a stroke of luck, a departing passenger noticed the woman, approached her, and began speaking her language. Apparently, she had missed her flight, didn’t have a phone, and had no idea of how to proceed. Fortunately, the agent was able to rebook her. As Bob started walking back to Ed and me, the woman ran to him and gave him a hug that rocked him back on his heels. She was so appreciative of his efforts to help her.

Like many of his close friends, I feel an emptiness that can’t be filled. But wherever you are, Bob, know that you are a legend. You imprinted many with your talents, gifts, and generosity, and you will be missed.

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The post Bob Popovics Tribute – Nick Curcione first appeared on Tail Fly Fishing Magazine.

The post Bob Popovics Tribute – Nick Curcione appeared first on Tail Fly Fishing Magazine.

I’ve fly fished in many places around the world, from Tierra del Fuego to Alaska, and I love it all. But when it comes to my favorite place to fly fish, it would be, hands down, the Everglades.

It’s not just about the snook, the redfish, and all the other wonderful fish that live there. It’s also about the wading birds, the beautiful shallow flats with the fluctuating tides, the red mangrove trees along most of the shorelines, the other menagerie of trees, plants, and flowers, and so much more. I love that world. I love brackish water—I feel it runs through my veins.

It’s no coincidence that today I live about 90 minutes from the Everglades—and go as often as I can.

After spending so much time in that world through the years, I have accumulated a large collection of brackish water flies. And I’m often experimenting with some new fly in an effort to learn more. To me that is very exciting.

But as much as I love trying different flies, the truth is that I only use a handful most of the time. And these favorite flies were not chosen just because fish like to eat them; other conditions requiring certain qualities are even more important.

A fly that is lighter and or more aerodynamic, for example, is usually easier to cast, which makes it easier to make accurate casts to tailing fish or long casts when necessary. 

Trout on Chernobyl Crab

Certain areas in the southern part of the Everglades, like Flamingo, often have a lot of floating grass. In those conditions, a fly with a weed guard is of the essence. When fishing a shoreline, a weedless fly also does not get caught as often on branches when we miss. You just slowly retrieve your fly, jumping it from branch to branch, and then softly drop it on the water. It works quite often. So even in areas that do not have as much problem with floating grass, such as Chokoloskee in the north, I still use weed guards. Actually, most of my brackish water flies have weed guards. And if I encounter situations in which I don’t want the weed- guard, I just cut it off.

Muddy waters reduce a fish’s visibility to see prey (or a fly), so it’s important to use a fly that the fish can see or feel. For fish to see it better, a dark color or black fly can make a big difference. To help the fish feel it, a bulky fly that pushes water as it’s retrieved is easier for a fish to sense through its lateral line. A bulky black fly is a great choice in muddy waters. I like to add a bit of flash to these dark flies, preferably in gold, purple, and green, saving silver flash for light-colored fish patterns.

Often when fishing shorelines, you’ll get 99 percent of the strikes within a short distance from the edge. You want to retrieve slowly for the fly to stay in the hot zone as long as possible. The fly I often prefer here is one that breathes and wiggles at the slightest movement from your stripping hand or rod tip. And while there are several materials that will accomplish this very well, my preference usually is marabou. 

As a rule, the snook and redfish run bigger in the northern portion of the Everglades than in the southern portion. For southern areas such as Flamingo, my flies run about 3 inches or smaller—unless I’m blind casting in off-color water, when I’ll go with a bigger fly. Up north, my flies run from 3.75 to more than 4 inches.

These scenarios, however, are generalizations; there are always exceptions. But these rules work well for me—not only in the Glades, but also in similar conditions further north in Florida, and anywhere else redfish live.

Marabou Madness

For a long time, I had an idea for tying an all-marabou Sea-Ducer. Then, while working on my redfish book around 2011, I finally put a No. 1 hook in the vise and started to tie one. After a few weeks of trial and error, I had a fly I liked. The tail was a whole marabou feather, stem and all, with a bit of flash. The head was marabou feathers wrapped around the shank.

In the water, the fly breathes—even standing still. Indeed, I’ve taken many fish that ate the fly when I wasn’t moving it. When stripping it straight, with no action, it’s alive as it moves. And when working a shoreline, I can keep the fly breathing, wiggling, acting alive, while moving it very slowly, thus staying in the zone close to the mangrove roots longer than with many other flies.

For a while, I only fished it in all black, and caught all the gamefish in the Glades. I loved it. Then I went to other colors, like white with a red head, all chartreuse, and more. The black pattern now has a purple hackle. Another great color combo has been all tan with a pink hackle. Last year, fishing with Captain Steve Huff, I sight casted and landed a 20-pound snook with that color. I had tears in my eyes when I held him for Steve to take a photo. I was that excited.

Today, my friend Chris Dean ties them for me—from small ones just over 2.5 inches on a No. 2 hook to more than 4 inches on 1/0 hook. He ties them in a variety of colors, mostly with a bead chain, but sometimes with lead eyes. The small sizes are also great for baby tarpon. The Marabou Madness is my favorite fly for the Everglades.

Borski’s Chernobyl Crab

For many years I have been using Borski’s Chernobyl Crab to fish the Glades. The deer belly hair on the head does two things that I love: It lands quite softly on the water—in spite of the fact that I use large bead chain on this pattern—and the deer hair pushes water that the fish can feel as you retrieve the fly. It was designed to ride inverted, with the point of the hook up. And using mono for a weed guard is perfect for an inverted fly. For me, the fly imitates a shrimp hopping. I don’t know what redfish think it is, but they love it. I use the fly in all tan or all orange, which is my favorite. If you want to fish the fly deeper, it works great with lead eyes. There are always a few Chernobyl flies in one of my Everglades fly boxes.

Puglisi baitfish patterns

I’ve used these patterns to catch fish in fresh water, brackish water, and blue water—from black bass to snook to blackfin tuna. As you retrieve it, the combination of a great translucent silhouette and the large eyes makes it look very realistic. In the Everglades I use the white body with a green or brown back when the water is very clear, and the purple and black pattern in muddy or low-visibility water. The sizes I use most are from 2.5 inches to 4 inches. In areas where the water is very clear and the snook and baby tarpon are spooky, I generally pull out a small Puglisi baitfish pattern in white with a green or tan back, and use a 12-foot leader and a 6-weight clear floating fly line. This combo is deadly in those conditions.

Clouser Minnow

Designed by Bob Clouser, this fly can do almost anything, but I generally use the fly when I want it to go down. It is great with big bead-chain eyes. And if I need to go deeper, I use lead eyes. I also use this fly when fishing a sinking line. The classic pattern was tied with bucktail in white and chartreuse, and I like it just fine that way. It’s an excellent imitation of a minnow and many other juvenile fish. In the Everglades I use a Clouser to fish deep shorelines, potholes, and the mouths of creeks and rivers— often with a sinking fly line. Bouncing the heavy Clouser on the sandy bottom of beaches can be deadly.

The Sea-Ducer (and his cousin the Crystal Shrimp)

The hackle body and tail of a Sea-Ducer are constantly moving and breathing, whether you retrieve it or let it sit still for a second or two. The bulk of the hackle pushes water when retrieved, helping attract predators when they feel its presence. The fly is always seducing, always working for you. I’ve caught big snook in the Glades and big dolphin in the ocean with it. 

Around 1995 or so, my son Stephen, who tied lots of my flies until he went to college, came up with a variation of the Sea-Ducer that I ended up calling the Crystal Shrimp. He wrapped heavy cactus chenille on the shank of the hook before wrapping the feathers. The result was a fly that has a bulkier body to push water and more flash on the head. It also sinks a bit faster. The fly has produced lots of fish when you need the fly to sink more in the flats but you don’t want it to sink head first.

Dave Denkert Shrimp

Dave’s Little Tan Shrimp

Every time I go fishing with Captain Dave Denkert, this little tan fly is on at least one of his fly rods. Dave says he and his clients have caught every gamefish in the Glades with it, and it’s mostly what he uses. I’ve caught many fish myself. You watch it moving through the water, and it’s a very good imitation of a small shrimp.

The fly is small, with a No. 4 hook, all tan with painted bars and a little bead chain. It weighs nothing, and it’s very aerodynamic, so it’s easy to cast, even with your lightest rods. It’s perfect for tailing fish in shallow water. And yes, it’s very simple, but sometimes those are the best flies.

Hot Lips Snook Fly

Hot Lips

Nothing is more exciting to a fly fisher than the surface strike on a loud popper. But when fishing the flats, and especially in clear water, a popper would scare fish right and left. It’s too loud. And even if you retrieve it slowly, it still scares fish. It doesn’t belong there. But don’t despair; there is a great fly for those conditions.

The Hot Lips, created by Captain Steve Huff, is such a fly. Made with feathers and bucktail for a tail, and a foam body, this fly lands softly on the water, so it doesn’t spook fish as heavier surface flies often do. And it’s not hard to cast. 

When retrieved, the little mouth up front makes just the right amount of noise. It’s like a shrimp on the surface. When a fish takes it, the soft foam feels more realistic than most flies. It’s chewable. I find fish keep it in their mouths much longer than a popper, so you have a better chance of hooking up. The Hot Lips is also quite durable. I’ve caught many snook, baby tarpon, and redfish with the same fly. And after a good rinse with fresh water, the fly is still in my fly box waiting to fish again.

Just remember to use monofilament leader and especially mono bite tippets with this pattern. Fluorocarbon, with a much higher density than mono, will pull the surface fly down and ruin the action.

Snook on Hot Lips fly

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The post Go-to Flies for the Everglades by Chico Fernandez first appeared on Tail Fly Fishing Magazine.

The post Go-to Flies for the Everglades by Chico Fernandez appeared first on Tail Fly Fishing Magazine.

From the Ten Year Anniversary Issue of Tail Fly Fishing Magazine: Ten Flies We should always have.

by Joseph Ballarini

Tail Fly Fishing Magazine’s ten-year anniversary calls for something more extensive than a tutorial or pictures of destination boxes. So I’ve made a list of ten flies for ten years, and these selections should always be inside your fly box.

I’ve fished a lot of flies over the years, and I’ve also gained insight from thousands of anglers, hundreds of guides, and dozens of lodge owners. Over the last decade of publishing this magazine, I’ve pooled that information into an extensive meta analysis of fly success. Is it absolute? No. It’s simply a salty fly guy sharing ten years of his observations—and the observations and experiences of others—to try to make everyone’s fishing better.

I’m sure this list will generate debate and maybe a few arguments; I argued with myself while compiling it. I considered dozens of other flies. I didn’t include the EP Spawning Shrimp, Deceiver, Half and Half, Slider, M.O.E., Strong Arm Crab, or Aflexo. Nor did the Chernobyl Crab or Borski Slider make the cut—despite the fact Tim Borski was a major influence on my early fly tying.

You’ll likely have strong opinions about your own favorite producers, and we’d like to hear about it. Send us an email or letter, or follow our Instagram and Facebook pages to weigh in on our digital platforms.

EP Peanut Butter

White EP Peanut Butter

If you aren’t familiar with Enrico Puglisi’s Peanut Butter, you either haven’t been fly fishing long or you’re not paying attention. It’s probably one of the most common baitfish patterns in use, sold by almost every fly shop, and has a profile that catches fish in both fresh and salt water. It’s lightweight and easy to cast, swims well, and can be tied in any color combination. I’ve used it to catch striped bass, peacock bass, bluefish, mahi-mahi, marlin, tarpon, redfish, and snook, as well as various shark and trevally species. Solid white is the most versatile, fished as is, or colored with Sharpies to mimic local prey. Other favorite colors are black and purple, and the white belly with blue, green, or tan on top.

Pop’s Bonefish Bitter’s

Pop’s Bonefish Bitters

Pop’s Bitters is a time-tested and proven flats fly. It’s a little crabby and a little shrimpy, which is why both bonefish and permit like it. It’s a great pattern for Turneffe in Belize and is comparable to the crab named after the atoll. They’re similar—both have a small tuft of deer hair, a design element that usually makes them land hook up—but one slight difference gives the edge to the Bitters—the little bead of epoxy on the body/head gives the fly additional weight, more effectively getting it to the bottom. The Bitters also lands slightly softer, and I like the way it wobbles as it makes little sand puffs with each bounce. You can take permit, bones, and even redfish on it, and it’s also great for triggerfish and sheepshead.

Veverka’s Mantis Shrimp

Veverka’s Mantis Shrimp

I interviewed the late Bob Veverka about nine years ago and asked him about his most widely known fly; his answer kind of surprised me. I’m paraphrasing, but he basically said that he didn’t like tying a bunch of shrimp variations and just wanted one that would work everywhere. He also laughed and said it was just luck. Anyone who has ever fished for bonefish has probably used his Mantis. It’s usually the first fly that a guide will select from your box. Permit eat it, too. I’ve taken bonefish on three continents with it, and it’s usually the first fly that I’ll try on flats in new destinations. I’ve caught fish with it in Indonesia, Maldives, and Australia—on unknown flats, without a guide. Ververka’s shrimp is lightweight, lands softly, and fish go crazy for the front-focused rubber legs. My favorite variation is the “ghost” version, a very light tan with light barring.

The raghead crab

Raghead Crab

I hate crab flies. I tie them because they’re necessary, and because managing editor Trey Reid almost exclusively fishes them for permit. The Raghead edged out the Chernobyl Crab and the Merkin mainly because it’s so popular in Belize and Mexico. If you show up without a selection of Ragheads in your box, your guide won’t be happy. The Raghead gets the edge based on its natural materials, including marabou, which makes everything better. You can’t effectively strip crabs—the reason for my disdain—so the fly has to move when it’s stationary. But even when it’s static, the Raghead’s puffy marabou tail (the head of the crab but the tail of the fly) sways and undulates, which is likely why they’re the most common selection—and one of the biggest producers—for Caribbean permit.

Chico’s Marabou Madness

Marabou Madness

Speaking of marabou, Chico Fernandez’s Marabou Madness is another incredibly versatile pattern. It’s a simple fly made entirely of marabou with a couple of strands of gold flash. It’s the marabou version of the Clouser Minnow and EP Peanut Butter—versatile, productive, easy to tie and cast. It undulates in the water when stationary and will take tarpon, snook, and tripletail. I’ve also used a tan version to hook bonefish and a blue-and-white version for trevally, but my go-to colors are black and purple. I’ve always assumed the flash added detail, so while recently fishing with Chico, who was throwing a Madness for snook at Ascension Bay, I asked him about it. “I just like it,” he said, looking over his shoulder from the bow and grinning widely. “It serves no real purpose.” Then he turned around and made another cast.

The Clouser Minnow

Clouser Minnow

My home state of Pennsylvania has made many iconic contributions to culture. One area in central PA has given us Hershey Bars, York Peppermint Patties, Auntie Anne’s Pretzels … and Bob Clouser. The Clouser Minnow is the undisputed heavyweight champion of flies. It’s arguably the most productive fly in history and can be used successfully on almost every species. Not having Clousers in your box is like not having line on your reel. Enough said.

the Gurgler

Gartside Gurgler

The Gartside Gurgler, developed by Jack Gartside in 1988 for striped bass in Massachusetts, is the quintessential topwater fly. According to legend, Gartside’s original intent was creating a variation of a grasshopper or beetle fly for trout. But its effectiveness on striped bass couldn’t be ignored, and although it’s still useful for many freshwater species, its versatility has made it an integral part of the saltwater fly arsenal. Unlike a popper, the slow-strip retrieve often employed with the Gurgler can mimic shrimp, squid, baitfish, and worms. It can be tied in varying sizes and colors, and varying the tail’s length changes its appearance and action for different presentations. I tie it with a marabou tail, exaggerate the big fold of foam body, and minimize the lip at the hook eye for smoother movement.

Gary Merriman’s Tarpon Toad

Tarpon Toad

Gary Merriman’s Tarpon Toad is the fly that led Andy Mill to five Gold Cup Tarpon Tournament wins, cementing his legend in tarpon fly fishing. He still uses them today, and so do a lot of other people. The Toad has taken more tarpon in more places than any tarpon fly in my box. It originally was tied with a bunny strip, but that can get heavy to cast and land hard when wet. Today, both Merriman and Mill prefer the marabou tail, although the rabbit strip is still common, and most commercially produced Toads use the bunny strip. It catches fish everywhere: open water, mangroves, stained water, clear water. It can be tied in various color combinations to mimic shrimp, baitfish, worms, juvenile squid, and jellyfish.

Peterson’s Spawning Shrimp

Peterson’s Spawning Shrimp

This is one of my all-time favorite flies and a terrific example of how natural materials and inherent movement can create magic. It’s one of three flies that I use in unexplored or unknown destinations. It’s also my favorite shrimp pattern to tie (and the front half of my own Evolution Shrimp). Design is the key to this producer. The action comes mostly from the front portion, enhanced by the natural movement of the fur used for the top of the body. Like many flies on this list, it moves even when stationary. It’s great for bonefish and permit, but I also tie it on big long-shank hooks in lighter colors to use for striped bass and redfish—and for winter tarpon during shrimp runs.  With bead chain or other lighter weights, its buoyant materials make it an intermediate fly that sits in the middle of the water column. I use foxtail for both the egg sac and tail, and either foxtail or rabbit for the body.

Waldner’s Spoon Fly

Spoon Fly

In my youth I used a conventional lure called a Kastmaster—a silver oblong ellipse, polished on both sides, with a trailing treble hook. It came in numerous sizes, and fancy versions came with a small clump of white bucktail on the treble. We used them like jerkbaits, reeling it both fast and slow, and something always tried to eat it. The Spoon fly, in my opinion, is the Kastmaster of the fly world. It sinks, it wobbles, and it does everything possible to get a fish’s attention. It’s a go-to fly for redfish along the Gulf Coast, but it’s also effective for northern species like striped bass and bluefish—as well as ambush predators like snook and jacks. The wobble mimics a wounded baitfish when stripped fast and erratically, and it looks crabby when stripped slow.
The Spoon is what I reach for when they aren’t eating anything else, regardless of location or species.

Tying Drew Chicone’s Contraband Crab

Characteristics of a Great Bonefish Fly

The Evolution Shrimp Fly

Go-to Flies for the Everglades by Chico Fernandez

The post 10 must have flies for saltwater fly fishing first appeared on Tail Fly Fishing Magazine.

The post 10 must have flies for saltwater fly fishing appeared first on Tail Fly Fishing Magazine.

Material list:

Hook: AHREX NS 122 Light Stinger  or NS 172 Curved Gammarus.

Thread: UNI 8/0 o Veevus 8/0

Weight: bead chains

Antennas: 0X  monofilament

Rostrum: Rabbit hair

Eyes: Monofilament or similar

Claws and legs:  ultra chenille

Shell: Hard plastic material curved

——————————————

Step 1 : Tie in pair of bead chain eyes.

Step 2: Tie in a second pair of bead chain eyes.

Step 3:  Attach two pieces of monofilament as antennas, and paint it with permanent marker of brown color with black dots. This step can be skipped if you don’t want antennas.

Step 4: Tie in a small tuft of tan colored rabbit hair.

Step 5 :Make two monofilament eyes, burning the tip with a lighter.

Step 6: Cut off excess monofilament and secure with thread wraps.

Step 7: With a piece of Ultra Chenille build the claws, for this we only have to take the Chenille and make a simple knot, then we cut the desired length. Then, carefully burn the tips with a lighter.

Step 8:  Prepare a little quick-drying epoxy glue ( I use Poxipol because it has the ability to remain in place because of its consistency).

Step 9: With the same Vernille or Ultra Chenille of tan color, prepare the legs, cutting six small pieces and burning a tip of each piece with the lighter.

Step 10: Put glue on the bottom of the hook.

Step 11:  Add the shell- a small piece of semi-curvoid plastic that shaped with scissors. I use plastic spangles that are available in craft houses.

Step 12: Once the glue is dry and the parts are affixed, paint the shell and the top parts of the claws and paws.

Step 13: On the bottom,  paint the glue with some glaze or lacquer with glitter.

Materials used, Lacquers and permanent markers used to color the imitation.

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The Evolution Shrimp Fly

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Go-to Flies for the Everglades by Chico Fernandez

The post Ruben Martin’s Epoxy Crab: Permit Fly first appeared on Tail Fly Fishing Magazine.

The post Ruben Martin’s Epoxy Crab: Permit Fly appeared first on Tail Fly Fishing Magazine.

The Bauer Crab is a fly box staple since the 1970s. Its iconic, knotted square rubber legs allow the segment below the knot to be positioned in a rearward-facing direction giving this pattern a very realistic silhouette. When purchasing this pattern from your local fly shop, you will find that the cheap (usually dull) hook is bent to create a larger hook-gape. This weakens the integrity of the hook—not to mention altering its effectiveness. If the eyes are inserted into the wool with too much glue, the wool fibers wick the glue and stiffen as the glue cures, leaving you with a great looking “teaser” with insufficient gape.

The Scotch-Brite pattern is my variation on the Raghead Crab. I did not like the flat, unrealistic look of felt, so I searched for years to replace the material with something that was thicker, more durable and also provided a more mottled look. After a little experimentation, I found that Scotch-Brite pads can be stamped to shape and cut in half to sandwich the hook. This provided the look I was after. But the feather claws were on the rear of the fly, not the front, and the splayed round rubber legs shooting in every direction looked like a spider that was smacked with a flip-flop. Although the round rubber legs were excellent for movement, they were not durable. And they were terrible for holding the color applied with a permanent marker. After being exposed to salt water for a few hours, the color either faded away or smeared everywhere. 

The McFly Foam Crab was my fix to the majority of these issues. Yet I ran into some new problems when I tried to scale the pattern down to extremely small sizes. The pattern utilizes a Mustad C68SNP-DT, which is perfect if you are looking for a nickel-sized crab, but this hook was not as effective for matching dime-size crabs or smaller due to the wire thickness in the smaller-sized hooks. 

As a commercial fly tier, you can gather a lot of info from the orders that you get based on the location or species the anglers intend to fish. Each year it seems that the flies for all species (especially tarpon and permit) get smaller and smaller as these fish become more pressured and in turn more wary. Matching custom requests is typically not a problem. However, some materials are simply not scalable or available in smaller sizes or colors. With materials such as McFly Foam, using less to create a smaller fly does not respond the same as the original recipe—so you risk losing the realistic look or the functionality for which you picked the material in the first place. As the hook size decreases, so does the hook gape, wire and strength, which becomes a huge issue, especially when it comes to crab patterns for plus-sized permit. The obvious fix would be to go to a larger or wider-gape hook. But this is no improvement if the fly doesn’t look natural and the fish refuse it. 

In order for your fly to mimic the intended prey, it must sink at the same speed as a natural. A fly that moves too slowly or too quickly through the water column is a red flag to permit. A refusal usually follows.

Permit have huge eyes for acute vision. They often follow a fly and examine it as it is stripped all the way back to the boat. In the past, I have talked about the idea of black hooks having a tendency to silhouette over white sand and become potentially more visible in clear water. However, over the last few years this hypothesis is believed by many—including me—to be untrue. Larger fish or fish that experience a lot of pressure seem to be more spooked by the glint from a silver hook. Now I tend to tie with both black and silver hooks to hedge for any situation.

When choosing crab patterns to fill your box, I like patterns that can be easily modified on the water and fished effectively anywhere.   The materials utilized in the Contraband Crab pattern all hold color well and can be easily modified markers to mimic a unique prey’s colorations that you may encounter on the water.

Materials

Hook: Black Gamakatsu L11s-3H, size 6

Thread: Olive Danville 210 denier Flat Waxed Nylon

Eyes: 5/32nd black nickel brass dumbbell; large black EP Shrimp & Crab Eyes

Legs: Large gray square rubber

Claws: Olive Micro Chenille

Body: Tan Scotch-Brite, Greener Clean Non-Scratch Scour Pad

Adhesive: Clear e6000 Glue; White Tulip Fabric Paint

Marker: Copic YG95 Pale Olive for body; Copic E57 Light Walnut for claws

Tying Steps

STEP 1: Start the thread at the eye of the hook and wrap backward, creating an even thread layer ending in the middle of the hook shank.

STEP 2: Tie in the dumbbell eyes with a series of tight figure-eight and doughnut wraps.

STEP 3: Continue wrapping toward the bend, covering the entire hook shank with an even layer of thread. Once you reach the bend of the hook, advance the thread back to the eye. This layer of thread will provide a better bond when gluing the body of the crab to the hook assembly.

STEP 4: Whip finish at the eye of the hook, cut away the thread and set the prepped hook aside.

STEP 5:  I like to tie up several of these in advance to save time.

STEP 6: Fold two three-inch pieces of chenille in half and tie a knot about a quarter-inch from the folded end. Cut the loops to create claws. Mark with a brown or olive permanent marker for a mottled look.

STEP 7: Cut a two-and-a-quarter-inch section of square rubber legs. Separate two legs from the strip.

STEP 8: Tie an overhand knot approximately three-quarters of an inch from one end.

STEP 9: Tie a second knot on the other side of the leg, approximately three-quarters of an inch from the other end. More than likely, the segmented portions of the leg beyond the knot will be facing in different directions, and that is okay.

STEP 10: Roll one or both of the knots until the segmented portions of the legs are approximately the same length and are pointing in the same direction. Repeat on the second leg. Do your best to make the knots on the second leg slightly closer together than the first. This is very difficult to achieve and maintain with any kind of consistency using a round rubber leg or thinner flat silicone leg. This is why the square rubber legs are so important.

STEP 11: Using a crab-shaped cutter, stamp out the shell of the crab from a sheet of Scotch-Brite, Greener Clean Non-Scratch Scour Pad. If you do not have a crab-shaped cutter, simply trace a dime on the pad and cut it with scissors.

STEP 12: Using a serrated knife or micro-serrated scissors, carefully cut the pad in half from end to end.

STEP 13: When you are finished, you should have two matching crab bodies, half the width of the original pad. This is essential, because the original pad is too thick and will impede the gape of the hook when the Crab is assembled.

STEP 14: Lay out all the parts of the crab to be assembled. The rubber leg with the knots closer together will be positioned below the other leg. Trim the longer portions of the claws slightly, so they will fit onto the body of the crab.

STEP 15: E6000 is the best glue I have found for assembling the crab bodies. If you are tying up multiple bodies at the same time, however, you can substitute the E6000 for fabric paint that matches the desired color of the finished crab. The thinner paint has a tendency to wick through the body material, but it works well to glue the appendages to the body.

STEP 16: Begin assembly by laying the pair of EP Shrimp & Crab Eyes in to the glue. Cut away the portion of the mono post that sticks out beyond the Scotch-Brite Pad. The black eye should stick out slightly, beyond the body. The butts of the mono post should be angled to create a V shape. Next, place the legs into the glue so that the segmented portions beyond the knots point backward in the same direction. Complete the assembly by placing the claws at a 45-degree angle. The knots of the claws should stick out beyond the Scotch-Brite Pad and line up approximately with the eyes. Set aside to dry.

STEP 17: After the body assembly is completely dry, place the hook in the vise, point up. Place a pea-sized bead of glue on top of the hook and above the dumbbell eyes.

STEP 18: Center the body of the crab on top of the dumbbell eye.

STEP 19: Using a bodkin, spread the glue evenly on the exposed thread wraps and dumbbell eyes. This will create a much better bond between the body and the hook.

STEP 20: With your index finger, press and hold the body in place for 20 to 30 seconds until the glue starts to set up. Make sure that the body does not cover the eye of the hook.

STEP 21: Once the glue is thoroughly dry, trim the segmented portions of the leg to approximately half an inch.

STEP 22: Place a loop of blue painters tape on an index card and stick the crab to the tape on top. This will keep the fly from blowing away when coloring it with the Copic airbrush or markers.

STEP 23: Select your color of choice, and spray the shell and legs of the crab. If you do not have an airbrush, mark these portions with a permanent marker.

STEP 24: Allow ample time to dry, then turn the fly over and color the underside of the crab. (If using a Copic airbrush, you must spray the fly with a layer of clear coat to insure that the ink does not fade.)

STEP 25: Cover the exposed thread wraps and dumbbell eyes with a thin layer of fabric paint. Most crabs are white on the underside, but feel free to match the fabric paint color to the crabs you are trying to imitate.

see more from Drew Chicone at: saltyflytying.com

Dangermuffin Crab

Soft Chew Wiggler 2.0

Candy Corn Crawler

Boogie Crab Number 9

The post Tying Drew Chicone’s Contraband Crab first appeared on Tail Fly Fishing Magazine.

The post Tying Drew Chicone’s Contraband Crab appeared first on Tail Fly Fishing Magazine.

If you’ve ever wondered who invented the Cockroach, it wasn’t Lefty Kreh, as many websites and fly shops erroneously report. It was Norman Duncan.

Norman was great friends with Flip Pallot, Chico Fernandez, and “Little John” Emory in the early 1960s. Together, they put fly fishing in Miami and the upper Keys on the map with their inventions and creativity. Little John died from melanoma when reaching his prime. Flip and Chico became Flip and Chico. Norman joined the common man’s workforce and fell from the limelight, but he’s always had an indelible reputation for his foresight in those early years. Norman is responsible for many innovations including the Inside/Out fly, the Mutton Cockroach fly, the Permit Puff, and of course, his Cockroach for tarpon.

Duncan’s Cockroach fly remains a staple for tarpon throughout Florida, Central America, and the Caribbean. Most well-stocked fly boxes have at least a few Roaches in different color combinations.

The Cockroach requires only a few materials and is easy to tie. It looks great in the water and will elicit an eat more often than not.

Duncan was interviewed on the Millhouse Podcast and when asked about his most well known creation, he had this to say:

Andy Mill: You were one of our sports’ great innovators. Tell me about one

of the greatest tarpon flies for decades, the Cockroach.

Norman Duncan: Joe Robertson and Little John (John Emery) were out fishing at Loggerhead Point, and they were throwing orange flies and others, and the fish had lockjaw. John said “I’ve got some flies that Norman tied in my tackle box; let me tie one on.” Joe looked at it and said, “What’s that?” and throws it in the water next to the boat, and Joe said, “That looks like a damn cockroach, no self respecting tarpon would ever eat that!”

Andy Mill: So that’s how it was named?

Norman Duncan: Yeah, he said, “That thing looks like a damn cockroach!” So John threw at the first tarpon he saw and the rest is history. We kept it quiet for a few years, and one day I went down to Sea Center on Big Pine Key, where all the guides went out. I didn’t think anybody knew about the fly. I know all the guides, you know, and all the rods were rigged; it was early in the morning. I looked down and they all had my fly on, and I asked, “Where did you get that fly?” “Oh, John told us about it, but he told us you were the one who tied it.”

Homosassa:  A Reminiscence of The Greatest Tarpon Fishery

5 Things To Consider For Your First Tarpon Trip

The Aquarium: Tarpon Fishing in Puerto Rico

The post Tarpon Cockroach – One of the Best Tarpon Flies of All-Time first appeared on Tail Fly Fishing Magazine.

The post Tarpon Cockroach – One of the Best Tarpon Flies of All-Time appeared first on Tail Fly Fishing Magazine.

The post Deep Dive on the Clouser Deep Minnow first appeared on Tail Fly Fishing Magazine.

The post Deep Dive on the Clouser Deep Minnow appeared first on Tail Fly Fishing Magazine.

Tying a Dangermuffin Crab

by Doug McKnight

The permit curse had haunted me for more than a decade, and all I had to show for it was a pile of shots and memories of a mid 30-pounder that I lost after a 40-minute battle.

This all changed in 2009 on a DIY trip to Honduras. I hit the vise hard before the trip with great anticipation, and with the Bauer flats crab as a basic template, the effort spawned the Dangermuffin Crab.

The trip produced a pair of permit in the mid teens that I caught while wading. Since then, this crab has been sealing the deal all over the Caribbean, often in jaw-dropping fashion.

In place of the standard wool, I stumbled into a happy accident of mixing rabbit fur and deer hair on those first few Dangermuffins that I tied. Between these two readily available materials, the sky’s the limit when coming up with different color combinations to match any type of crab you would ever want. When Pat Cohen came out with his super-realistic crab claws cut out of synthetic suede, I added them onto the DM. I was sold after seeing what they did on the water.

I typically tie these from No. 2 to 8 in a variety of colors, with mottled white (shown here), olive, tan, and brown covering most occasions. I’m not really sold on magic flies for permit fishing.  But I’ve seen some non-typical permit behavior when the DM is presented. Tied in smaller sizes, it’s also a killer bonefish fly for big, picky fish.

Recipe:

Hook: Umpqua X506H- #2-8

Thread: Flat waxed nylon white

Weight: .025 lead wire and small dumbbell eyes for a #4 hook

Shell:  White rabbit fur, bleached, and golden brown deer body hair, roughly mixed

Legs/eyes: White micro ultra chenille (legs), tan for eyes

Claws: Pat Cohen crab claws (extra small for #4)

Belly: Single layer of cream furry foam

Adhesives: Zap a Gap for lead wire and eyes, Zap Goo for crab assembly

Markers: tan and orange permanent markers

Steps:

1. Roughly mix rabbit and deer hair.
2. Place bead of Zap a Gap on hook shank and wind lead wire; attach lead eyes.
3. Stack clumps of hair blend on the point side of the hook shank.
4. Trim crab shape.
5. Cut 8 pieces of white ultra chenille for legs and two tan pieces for eyes.
6. Squeeze out a pea-size drop of Zap Goo and spread all over the underside of the crab shell.
7. Place legs, eyes, and claws as shown. When those are in place, add another small amount of Zap Goo.
8. Cut a single layer of furry foam into an approximate crab shape and place over legs, claws, and eyes.
9. Pinch and squeeze the tip and bottom of the shell to ensure a tight seal.
10. Trim legs; singe with a lighter.
11. Paint it with markers.

The post Dangermuffin Crab first appeared on Tail Fly Fishing Magazine.

The post Dangermuffin Crab appeared first on Tail Fly Fishing Magazine.

Fleeting Attraction

Fly Anglers Can’t Ignore, Northeast Cinder Worm Spawn

by Alan Caolo

In contrast to most perennial opportunities that saltwater anglers anticipate each season, cinder worm events remain somewhat cloaked in mystery. But I believe the unpredictability of the worm event is the magnet that fuels its annual cult-like pursuit—sort of like a gambler’s addiction.

Worm “hatches” draw attention from fly-rodders from all walks of the sport. They are enormously appealing to freshwater anglers because of the similarity to dry fly hatches adored by trout fishers; for many of these folks, worm events are the only saltwater fishing they consider all season. But the worms interest salty fly-rodders as well—lots of them.

School fish under 30 inches can become maddeningly difficult in the midst of a worm hatch, challenging even the veterans. But despite there being no guarantee the event will even unfold as anticipated on any given day, worm hatches consistently draw daily gatherings of like-minded anglers simply for the camaraderie of fishing with on-the-water friends.

Similar to dry fly fishing, these are entirely visual events. The riveting nature of technical fly casting to surface-feeding gamefish cannot be overstated. Northeast worm events attract attention from many game species, including striped bass, bluefish, and hickory shad, and they represent a premium angling opportunity for fly-fishers.

Cinder Worm Spawning Dynamics

Let’s clarify a common misunderstanding up front: The cinder worm event is a spawn, not a hatch. The label “worm hatch” is a misnomer likely derived from its similarity to insect hatches common in fresh water. Despite the unpredictable nature of the worm event…

Learn how to fish the Cinder worm Spawn and what flies to use: Click Here to Subscribe or Pick Up the Latest Issue

The post Fleeting Attraction first appeared on Tail Fly Fishing Magazine.

The post Fleeting Attraction appeared first on Tail Fly Fishing Magazine.

Tie a Boogie Crab Number 9  Catch More Redfish

by John E. Wood

Slowly and silently drifting across the surface of the Texas marsh in a borrowed kayak, my “bug guy” mentality was showing. Nick Haxhijaj (hi-gee-eye) had just called for the second time in ten minutes, “Where are you? Get out here; there are dozens of fish tailing at the opening to the bay.” His tone was urgent, as if the fish would suddenly disappear, which they sometimes do. But I was busy checking out the crabs.

I was struck by the behavior of the seemingly endless population of these energetic little crustaceans. As I drifted over them in the kayak, the majority would scramble for cover or bury themselves. The rest took on a defensive position, body elevated on eight tiny legs with claws raised toward their perceived threat. My guess is they were trying to appear larger than their 1.5-inch diameter size and letting me know they were ready to fight. The first thing that came to mind was the crabs feeding on the pipe in Disney’s Finding Nemo.

Still mesmerized, studying one from about 6 feet, the spell was broken when a sheepshead darted from several feet away and engulfed the distracted crab. Undisturbed by my presence, another sheepshead picked off another crab a few feet from the first. Just like that, the show was over. The phone rang again. It was my first time on a kayak in this marsh. Nick was getting concerned I had taken a wrong turn in the labyrinth of channels. I told him what I was up to. “I’m not surprised,” he said. “Get out here.”

Learn to tie the Boogie Crap Number 9  and get the whole story  Click Here to Subscribe or Pick Up the Latest Issue

Bio: John E. Wood is a writer, photographer, and fly designer currently living in Billings, Montana. Find his other creations at jwoodflyfish.com.

The post Boogie Crab Number 9 first appeared on Tail Fly Fishing Magazine.

The post Boogie Crab Number 9 appeared first on Tail Fly Fishing Magazine.