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The Final Smallie Class

4/2/2013

Wednesday marked the final Smallmouth tying class. I am really bummed out to see this come to an end. A great group of guys and fun, fishable patterns have made this class one of my favorites. Terry and I would really like to extend a heartfelt thank you to everyone that made this class possible. For the last night I was instructing and guess what...we tied a big articulated streamer. I think I see a pattern here, no pun intended. The Strolis Ice Pick was on tap for the evening and I believe everybody enjoyed the pattern. Before we get too far into this pattern lets look at some homework from last weeks class.

Here are two samples of what I would call exceptional flies. Paul R. took what he learned in two of our classes and combined them to come up with the "Blonde" Brandywine Crawler. At the right times this pattern will be DEADLY on Smallmouth! The "Gary's Albie Fly" looks good as well. To see how well an "Albie" fly works on a wild Trout stream click here to read last weeks report. Below are samples of more exceptional homework from the class.

"One Boot" Ed did some fine work in these two pictures

"One Boot" Ed's second block of flies

Paul V with an impressive batch of homework.

Looks like somebody has Steelhead on the brain!

After checking out the home work we started on this weeks pattern, the Ice Pick. I recently instructed the advance class on another Strolis pattern, The Headbanger Sculpin. On that pattern we did a rear hook and a Fish Skull shank to make the articulated joint. Many of the guys from the advance class are in this class also so I decided to show how to do a wire connection. Many of you know I don't fish with tandem hook flies, so at the end of class I took the sample fly and nipped the hook off at the bend. This is absolutely a personal choice, If you want to fish with two hooks go ahead, just be sure to check local regulations and please pinch the barbs down.

Here is the recipe as we tied it in class.

The Ice Pick
Rear hook ; Mustad 3366 #2
Tail ; white marabou and a little pearl Krystal flash
Body ; EP Sparkle Brush Pearl
Wing ; Black Rabbit Zonker
Connection ; 30# Dacron, 26# Surflon, Beadalon, Fire Line or Power Pro braided fishing line
Front hook ; Mustad 3366 1/0
Head ; Fish Skull medium head in silver bait fish color

The great thing about this fly is that color options are only limited to your imagination For bigger flies we use the EP Sparkle brush. For Small versions of this fly or if you cant find the right color of brush you can use the dubbing loop.

Here it looks like I have tied in the Marabou and Krystal Flash for the tail and The Rabbit has been tied on top. I am preparing the dubbing brush to palmer up the hook shank.

Here "One Boot" Ed is working the brush up the hook shank.

Paul R. Working the same step.

This Next photo shows the rear section of the fly complete. Dennis made a good observation that if you wanted a smaller version of this fly you could put the Fish Skull on now and be finished. That is a great suggestion. It would not have the jointed action, but, the rabbit and dubbing brush should provide ample movement.

The next step was the wire connection. You have options here. We used 30# Dacron in class. This is the same stuff we use as backing for your fly reels. Many things exist out there that are suitable for this step. Experiment until you find one that works for you. I used two pearl beads here, this is used to prevent the tail section from fouling around the front hook. Once glued this connection is EXTREMELY strong. My own tests have proven usually the back hook will bend or break before the connection will pullout.

The best part about tying articulated streamers is that the second half usually is similar or even identical to the first half. After you make the connection to the front hook just repeat the steps you did on the first hook. On this piticular pattern be sure to leave enough room for the head and you are finished.

This was a great fly to end the class with. Again we would like to thank all of the people that participated in this class. we truly hope you had as much fun in the class as we did. At some point this summer we all need to get together and fish some of these flies. until then.

Tight lines...

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Second installment of the Smallmouth tying class.

3/18/2013

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We had the second Smallmouth tying class last Wednesday. This class really is turning into a bunch of fun. It is nice to teach the actual patterns that we fish on the Brandywine to others so they too can catch with them. We believe the guys in the class feel the same way because the homework we saw this week was great.

Here is Dale's homework. Guess he was listening about the "secret" color.

Another batch of awesome homework.

Paul was all over the Swimming Nymph.

"One Boot" Ed's block. I like the purple tail on the lower right.

The pattern we tied this week was Scott Howell's Ska-opper. A hybrid fly that combines the waking action of a skater and the chugging action of a popper hence the name Ska-opper. Originally designed as an Atlantic Salmon or Steelhead fly, we have been fishing it successfully for Smallmouth for several years now. Truly a fun way to fish because it is very visual. There is nothing like watching this fly chug and spit it's way across the surface only to see a Smallie blow up on it. Once you catch a few on the Ska-opper you will be "hooked" forever. To hear about the origin of the Ska-opper and see it in action click here.

The second fly we did last week was the Rubber Legs. A simple tie with only 2 materials, chenille and rubber legs. We used verigated chenille for the class fly, but you are only limited to your imagination. One of out great customers, Ed Collins, asked that we combine the Green Weenie and the Rubber legs for him last year. We came up with this and he couldn't be happier.

Like I said colors are only limited to your imagination, but black, brown, olive, and chartreuse seem to be the most popular.

Here are the recipies for both patterns.

Ska-opper
Thread ; black / brown Monocord or GSP
Hook ; TMC 8090 size 6 or 10
Tag ; Mylar
Tail ; Krystal Flash
Under body ; Orange sparkle yarn
Under body throat ; Orange calf tail
Body ; Deer hair stacked and clipped to shape
Rubber legs ; brown life flex
Back ; Black Evasote

M’s Rubber legs
Thread ; 6/0 color to match body
Hook ; any 3 or 4xL streamer hook TMC 5263
Weight (optional) ; .025 lead free wire wrapped around the hook shank
Body ; Medium chenille, color of choice
Legs ; Life flex, color of choice

This first picture shows all the materials ready to go Note one of the sample flies tied earlier in the day hanging on the bobbin cradle.

In this picture the tag and tail have been added to the hook. Note how the tail is applied so it is angled upwards.

Here we see the legs have been applied, the body has been wrapped and the foam has been put in.

The next series shows the deer hair being applied to the shank. I believe Terry used 4 clumps of hair while tying the class fly. While applying the hair start where the yarn body ends and work your way forward. We used a stacker in class, but this is optional. The stacking and trimming of the deer hair takes as long to complete as the rest of the fly. We spent a fair amount of time in class doing this. When you get the progression down it seems like you can bang one of these out in about 10 to 15 minutes.

And here are the completed flies. I am really excited to see the homework next week, and even more excited to hear the stories when the guys start to fish and catch with this fly.

Tight lines...

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Final Winter fly tying class

2/25/2013

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Well, I must say I am a little bummed as I write this because this is the last of the 6 week winter fly tying classes. The past six weeks have been a fun and informative time hopefully for everyone. I know it was for me. We will get a week break and then go right into the Smallmouth class. I am really looking forward to that as I think that class will be a blast.

The Tuesday class came full circle with the Catskills style Adams. We dressed it up a bit with the use of McFlylon for the wings. We used red to make the pattern a "high-vis" version of the original. Everyone did a great job as the results were impressive.

Lets take a look at some homework first.

A nice selection of Caddis flies from Dale Y.

You can really see the "sighter" on these.

I wanted to share this picture with everybody. This is Andrew's fly box. It was empty when we started the class 6 weeks ago as Andrew just started to tie. I have often said if you come to class, embrace the instruction, do your homework, and you will have a nice selection of flies to start the season with. Well, I think this picture says it all. Looks like Andrew will be ready once Trout season gets into full swing.

Great Job!

Here we see Terry doing the intro to the class.

Here we see the McFlylon wing being applied to the hook. We used white in the class, then Terry did another fly later with a red wing. We were really digging the red!

As we progress through the fly the body was dubbed and the hackle was wrapped. Everyone really did a great job with this fly. The Adams is not the easiest of ties and we are proud to say the guys nailed it.

And here is the final result with the red wing. Tying quality dry flies is an art form in my opinion. Terry did a great job, as always with this fly, it is a pleasure to watch a great tyer tie a clean fly.

If we had any doubts about how much the Wednesday class liked the "hatch' class we did last week all we had to do was take a look at the homework. Everyone did a great job and brought in some really nice flies. Lets take a look.

Some of the flies Jim S tied.

Here are some flies tied by Paul R. Love the dubbing ball on top.

We had a few requests to do a "Weave" class again this year. That was awesome for me because I love tying woven flies and was excited to teach again. The first pattern was a Polish woven Caddis Larva. This was a repeat of a fly we did last year, I figured that would be a good way to knock the rust off. The second fly we did was a variation of a fly called the Cary Special. We used the Pheasant rump feathers, but substituted the body with a split knot weave. Lets take a look at some of the guys in action.

Brian Mac and Dave S getting ready to tie. Note the embroidery floss hanging from Brian's light.

Terry D and Chris set up and ready to start the weave. Gotta love when 3 bobbins are hanging off of the fly!

Here is the second fly ready for the Pheasant rump collar.

Here are the completed flies. The Polish woven Caddis on top and the Cary special variation on the bottom. I had a blast teaching this class, Thank you for allowing me to do it.

Spoon flies were the theme for the Thursday night Saltwater class. We did two flies with two very different types of construction. The first one was the wire epoxy method. For this fly you tie a piece of wire on both sides of the hook shank at the bend. You then attach the wire at the hook eye making the shape of the spoon. The space is then filled up with epoxy. The second spoon was constructed by pressing an old metal spoon into a blob of Silly putty forming a mold. You then place the hook in the mold, fill up the space with your favorite UV resin, hit it with the UV light and you have a simple, effective fly. Lets take a look at a few pictures from the class.

The guys getting ready. Look at that plate of Zucchini bread in the middle! The Tuesday and Wednesday classes should take notice of this.

Here are the mold products Silly Putty (really, the same stuff we played with as kids) and Crazy Aaron's thinking putty. www.puttyworld.com Note the Loon UV clear in the back round.

UV mold on the left and Wire / epoxy on the right.

We would like to thank all of the participants in the winter classes. We hope you had as much fun learning as we did teaching. These were some of the strongest classes we have had to date and we owe that to you, our valued customers.

Thank you all!

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Week five of fly tying classes

2/17/2013

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The Tuesday night class moved from under the water's surface to on top of it this week as we tied the Elk Hair Caddis by Pennsylvania's own Al Troth. For many in the class this was their first attempt at a dry fly and the results were outstanding. We can really see the progression and improvement by the tiers in this class. Before we get to the Caddis fly lets take a look at some homework from last week.

Cory missed a a couple of classes and came in for a few private lessons to get caught up. By the look of his block he is doing a great job of making up for lost time. For more information about private lessons click here.

I failed to get a picture of some flies Jim R tied. He did not have the pearl mylar at home so he decided to use silver tinsel for the wing case. I must say these were some of the coolest flies we have seen in a while. Good job with a material substitution Jim.

A few shots of the class intro.

Here Robbie is getting ready to wrap the hackle over his dubbed body. Good to see he is giving that new Regal vise he got for Christmas a good workout.

Here Terry is putting the stacked wing on top, the last step to finishing the fly.

A pattern that is just too versatile not to have plenty of these in your box. You can drift it like a normal dry, you can skate it, or you can even drown it with split shot and fish it under the surface. Tied in black it is a great match for our early black Stoneflies that we usually start to see in March. Just a great all around pattern, we are happy you guys now have the skill to tie it.

It was hatch night in the Wednesday night class. We have had a few requests to "tie through a hatch" so we decided to tie a 3 stage Sulphur life cycle consisting of an nymph, emerger, and a sparkle dun. The flies were received great by the class and this is something we will do more of in the future. I was really excited to see the homework from last week. Here you go.

Here are two flies tied by Terry D. I am really excited about this pattern and cant wait to get it on the Smallmouth river this spring. Ed, Paul, Jimmy T, Nelson, Brian and Chris all had GREAT homework samples. I guess they looked so good I forgot to photograph them, Sorry guys.

Biot bodies was the theme of the night as all 3 flies we tied used Turkey biots for the bodies. A Pheasant Tail is spot on representation for the Sulphur nymph. The pattern we tied was very PT like, but we added an Ice Dub thorax.

Here is a shot of Paul R's nymph after he wrapped the biot body

Terry getting ready to dub the thorax.

Here is the finished fly. I really like the look of biot body flies!

For the emerger we followed the same tying progression. Instead of the Pheasant fiber wing case we did a "sighter" using a dubbing ball of Ice Dub on top of the shank. A really cool technique that has a ton of possiabites for many other patterns.

The nymph is in the hackle pliers on the bottom and the emerger is in the vise on top. Two great patterns for Sulphur season.

For our third pattern of the night we followed the same tying progression as the second, we just replaced the sighter with a poly wing. This pattern could represent many different stages of a Mayfly's life; late emerger, dun, or spinner.

This class was a blast. We tied three flies and showed the guys how using similar techniques and similar materials you can tie your way through an insect hatch rather quickly. Hopefully you guys will apply this system to other flies and insects. Who knows, you all might be carrying "hatch boxes" this spring.

It was a three fly night in the salt class this week also. We tied a Schminnow, Gary's Albie fly and a Andros Bonefish fly that was showed to us by our good shop friend Andrew Neithe. All three of these flies have crossover potential and can be fished in our local waters. I have caught many a Smallmouth on the Schminnow, originally designed by Norm Ziegler as a Snook fly. The Andros Bonefish fly could be a Crayfish and I am sure a big 'ole Flounder would have no trouble trying to eat one of them. Gary's Albie fly is an all around great bait fish pattern, quick to tie and effective everywhere. Lets take a look at the class.

Looks like the Ostrich is already on the tail and Jim is getting ready to palmer the cross cut Rabbit up the hook shank.

The finished fly. K.I.S.S. method at its best here. Why is it that the most versatile, effective patterns are usually the fastest and easiest to tie?

The next series of pictures shows the guys going through the progression of the Andros bone fish fly.

The finished fly.

Last but not least was the Schminnow. Again a simple yet extreamly effective pattern that can be tied with only 3 materials. You can make these as simple or as elaborate as you want and the color options are endless.

As a capper to a great week of fly tying Jim shared with us the plaque he won for taking first place honors in the tying contest held by the Salt Water Fly Anglers of Delaware a few weeks ago. Congratulations Jim.

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Fly tying classes, week #2

1/28/2013

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Well, we just finished week #2 of our fly tying classes. A quick check of the "homework" from all three classes tells us everybody is progressing great. Here are a few samples of homework from the advanced class.

The Teeny Nymph

The Cased Caddis pattern

We started the Tuesday class off with one of the all time classics, the Clouser Minnow. Shad fishing was the theme of the evening and both patterns we did were tied in the classic red / yellow, or red / white color scheme. Perfect for American or Hickory Shad. Because we were tying these patterns "Micro" size Terry opted to use Calf Tail instead of more popular Buck Tail.

Intro to the Tuesday class

Here Terry is prepping the top wing of our red / white Shad Clouser.

After everyone in the class finished the Clouser we tied a standard Calf Tail streamer suitable for Shad fishing. The class was fun and informative. Remember guys, the techniques you learned in this class hold true for bigger flies as well as different materials.

The demo flies from the week #2 Tuesday class

Ostrich was the theme for the Wednesday class. We introduced the class to two patterns that use Ostrich hurl as part of the recipe. The first fly is a very important, yet often overlooked pattern, the Crane Fly Larva. We used John Barr's pattern as the model for this one. The second fly was the Ray Charles. A Scud pattern that is so effective it is said a blind trout will eat it, hence the name. Both great patterns and we hope you had as much fun tying them as we did teaching them.

Wednesday night intro.

Lots of dubbing on these babies.

Crane Fly on the top and the Ray Charles on the bottom.

Here are some notes Jim S was taking

The saltwater class tied what is possibly the best, wide profile bait fish pattern ever invented, Lefty"s Deceiver. Everybody in the class "nailed it" according to Terry. A box full of these in a few colors and sizes will go a LONG way in our local and not so local saltwater fishing. We did have an epoxy issue. Some impromptu testing on our part reviled it was the resin that there was an issue with. I think it looks kinda cool.

Maybe we invented a new fly...The Blind Deceiver.

I cant wait to see what next week will bring. Till then...

Tight lines

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Winter fly tying classes started last week

1/20/2013

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We started the winter fly tying classes last week and they went great! Tuesday night is the beginner class. This class is as full as we have ever seen with a total of 17 people attending. We started class with the venerable Green Weenie. A staple pattern in the White Clay and a perfect pattern to start beginning tiers off with. The second fly of the night was the Wholly Bugger. Terry used the verigated chenille for the sample pattern. It is easier to see the two tone chenille when it is being wrapped around the hook shank, and this is why Terry used it. After seeing the end result I think we may have stumbled onto something.

The red thread is used so the class can see it when the pattern is being demonstrated.

It was great to see all of the guys in class learning new techniques. We are proud to say that every fly that was tied in class is "fishable" and everybody did a great job. I am really excited to see some of the homework next Tuesday night.

Here are a few more pictures from the Tuesday night class.

Terry doing the intro to the class

Demonstration of the first pattern

First pattern finished

Night two, the Wednesday night class, is the advanced fresh water class. This class has a core group of guys that return every year. This is a great thing for the shop, because it forces us to come up with new and innovative patterns to teach in class. We say "teach" some might say "torment" but it is all in the name fun. The best way to strengthen your skill set is to tie flies and patterns you might not normally attempt. We jumped right in with a cased Caddis pattern. Definitely an advanced pattern with a section of the fly tied with a dubbing loop consisting of Pheasant tail fibers. A mess for sure while tying the fly, but if done correctly it looks way cool after it is trimmed to shape. The second fly of the night was a "gimme" compared to the first one, the Teeny Nymph. With only 3 materials including the hook and thread this is a "box filler" as you can crank out a bunch of these in short order. Its ease of tying is only matched by its effectiveness in the water. A great night was had by all and once again the homework results will be interesting to see. I am sure everyone will do a great job.

Here are a few pictures from the Wednesday night class.

I missed it with the camera, but there was a sighting of dubbing wax during this step!

Paul R. hard at it taking notes.

Table "B" waiting for the next step.

The third night of class is the Thursday night Saltwater class. Staple patterns were the theme of the week with the two flies being the Clouser minnow and the Half and Half variation. Do you think it is a coincidence that we start the saltwater tying class with arguably the most effective pattern ever? This is usually the smallest class, which is a shame because there will be a ton of knowledge gained by the attendees after the 6 weeks. The guys did great. The Stripers and Blues are going to be in real trouble this spring when these patterns hit the water.

Here are the pictures from the Thursday night class.

Table set up and ready to go.

Can't tie salt flies without a good supply of these!

Recent contest winner Jim Stephens back in class this year.

Jared putting the finishing touches on his Clouser.

Mike putting the flash on top of his fly.

The tying classes are a great time for both the teachers and the attendees. If you think you may be interested in taking a class click here for more information. Till next week...

Tight Lines

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The Final Smallie Class

Second installment of the Smallmouth tying class.

Final Winter fly tying class

Week five of fly tying classes

Fly tying classes, week #2

Winter fly tying classes started last week

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