Making flies

[KJ pluggin]

I just started making my own flies this last season. I know a bunch of you guys make your own flies, I was wondering what you like to do for materials. For me instead of buying the pre-cut skirts, I went out and found my own mylar sheets and sliced them into skirts. I did end up buying some glow skirt material from Howie's because I couldn't find anything in a sheet. The beads I purchased online off of the siggs site because my local bead store was a bit pricey. If anyone has a good site for glow beads let me know. By the end of the season I had learned that sometimes less is more as far as skirt material goes and I found that the thinner I cut each strip on the skirt the better they preformed. Overall I was pretty happy with how my flies preformed. Here are a few of my flies I have made.

Sorry the colors are a little washed out, I need better lighting.

[Nailer]

They look nice Kyle. It's great getting fish on something you made yourself.

[Priority1]

They look grrr8 Kyle.

[anthonyyost]

Which colors worked best for you?

[flyman013]

Kyle, flies are looking great! What are you using for the tubing you tie the skirt to? Looks like a clear plastic aquarium tubing. I use the red nozzle straw from a WD-40 can. It's thin, but works good for me.

[Midway97]

Kyle, flies are looking great! What are you using for the tubing you tie the skirt to? Looks like a clear plastic aquarium tubing. I use the red nozzle straw from a WD-40 can. It's thin, but works good for me.

They are getting hard to find but the plastic Q-tip straws work great too...get 2 uses out of 1:grin:

[KJ pluggin]

Kyle, flies are looking great! What are you using for the tubing you tie the skirt to? Looks like a clear plastic aquarium tubing. I use the red nozzle straw from a WD-40 can. It's thin, but works good for me.

The tubing I am using is 1/4" OD tubing that you can find at any hardware store. There are also smaller sizes but I like the 1/4" because I can change out skirts without retying.

Tony -- My best colors have been the transparent greens with a little glow mixed in. I have also made a bunch off different color schemes but really haven't given them much time in the water. Its hard for me to take the stock greens and blues out of the water.

[Adam Bomb]

Your flies look great. Glad theyre putting lots of fish in the boat for you. Its a great feeling to catch fish on something you built yourself. Probably why i love lure building so much. Dont be suprised if you start to build other tackle as well. I know i got the bug and have built allot of different lures.

Anyhow, I buy all my banded mylar from Siggs Rigs. They sell it by the yard and have bulk pricing options as well. Good pricing and got everything really fast. I highly recommend dealing with them. I get my glow beads from Fisher Tackle. Theyre 12 mm ultra glow beads. Green, Chart, Purple, Blue and Pink are available. The fly heads i buy are made by silver horde. I use both the magnum glow fly heads as well as the smaller roller beads. As far as line i go with 60# Fluorocarbon leader material and tie tandem singles or the tournament tie. The fly heads, leader material and standard colored 8 mm beads i just buy local at Franks Great Outdoors in Linwood. As far as putting it all together, i wrap mine with thread and finish the threads off with fly head cement. You will literally tear the tentacles off the fly before that collar will slip off the fly head. Very durable doing it this way. I also tie some flies with Flashabou. Its a P.I.T.A. so i dont do too many like that. I have a mag glow bloody nose fly that i tie with flashabou. It works real well for me, so its worth the hassel.

Thats enough babbling for now...Have fun building.

[Rayman96]

Another free source of tubing is from spray bottles such as Windex glass cleaner.

[CAPT HEAVY]

Those flies look great! Love the green. I started making my own too. Hated spending the $$ on something that I could make at a fraction of the price.

[Yooperdad]

Great looking flies Kyle. If you haven't yet found a source for great glow beads, you can get them at http://purpletacoflysupply.com/ They are ultra glow and last a long, long time. A little on the large size but they work. His banded mylar selection is great too, and priced right.

I use 1/4 OD hard tubing from the hardware store, and then 1/4 ID clear tubing on top of that. Here are a few that I make. It's a great way to pass the winter and staying focused on big water time. Oh, our hardware has automotive vacuum tube that is hard and only 1/8 OD that works great too.

[Nailer]

Nice looking flies Mike.

[KJ pluggin]

I have to order more glow beads for the upcoming season, not sure if will order from Purple Taco or from troutbeads.com. Has anyone used Trout Beads, if so what do yo think of them?

[Rayman96]

Here's a few sites for various components. I'm sure that there are more out there.

http://shop.bigweeniebrand.com/product.sc?productId=566&categoryId=16

http://www.terminaltackleco.com/prod_detail_list/402

http://www.luremaking.com/catalogue/catalogue-index/beads-index.htm

http://www.atommiktrollingflies.com/rigging_beads.htm

http://www.jannsnetcraft.com/lure-making-parts/

I do like that Q-tip idea for tubing.

[ITOFlies]

Try this for your tubing! It is $1 a yard for hard tubing. http://www.lakemichiganangler.com/store/Trolling_Fly_Tubing.htm

There is another supplier of material http://www.stanleysstingerflies.com/Materials%20Price%20List.htm Not the biggest selection but it is only $1.75 a yard! That is the cheapest I have found for just a yard. Once I started buying it 5 yards or more at a time I went to A-TOM-MIK! http://atommiktrollingflies.com/fly_tying.htm They have the most colors on the market today!

I have started try to make flies in the looks of some of the best spoons on the lakes. Here are some of my attempts.

This is based on the bloody nose spoon series! It is a real pain to tie!

This is my natural born killer fly!

This is based on the Wonder Bread Glow Spoon! 6 colors in a fly is a bit much but it works well in low light!

[Yooperdad]

Great work ITOFlies!

Have you caught fish on the Wonderbread? I was thinking of trying something like that and now you have provided and example. Thanks.

My favorite spoons are the Blue and Green Dolphins and I made a fly version of them this winter. I'm anxious to see how they work:o

[KJ pluggin]

Nice looking flies ITO! You have inspired me to try and make some of my own spoon imitating flies. The one on the left is a NBK and the other is a Flounder Pounder. The Flounder Pounder doesn't look like much in the light but the skirt glows light green and the beads glow light blue.

[ITOFlies]

The wonderbread does work in the low light. KJ I do like the idea of useing the blue beads. I only have the green beads and I know they glow bright. It is fun to try new colors and then when you catch fish on them it is a great feeling! I have already sold about 50 of the NBK flies. And everyone is telling me they did really well on them last year.

yooperdad the blue and green dolphin flies that I tie did well last year.

[Pioneer]

Hello all, great site. I use thin wall aquarium rigged tube to tye to and soft tubing over the top. Siggs is a great place for mylar, beads, and silicon skirt. I have some of the new band-a-boo from Curt but don't have any water time on it. The 3/16 inch riggid lets my knots go through so I can change fly's. A favorite color 3 years running on the bank reef has been dark green/red fleck silicon over 1 1/2 inch crushed ice mirage then 2 inches of LBB behind a white flasher(Hotspot/E-chip).

[Nailer]

Hello all, great site. I use thin wall aquarium rigged tube to tye to and soft tubing over the top. Siggs is a great place for mylar, beads, and silicon skirt. I have some of the new band-a-boo from Curt but don't have any water time on it. The 3/16 inch riggid lets my knots go through so I can change fly's. A favorite color 3 years running on the bank reef has been dark green/red fleck silicon over 1 1/2 inch crushed ice mirage then 2 inches of LBB behind a white flasher(Hotspot/E-chip).

Chris, Welcome aboard. Take a moment and do an intro. You will like it here.

[Yooperdad]

Hello all, great site. I use thin wall aquarium rigged tube to tye to and soft tubing over the top. Siggs is a great place for mylar, beads, and silicon skirt. I have some of the new band-a-boo from Curt but don't have any water time on it. The 3/16 inch riggid lets my knots go through so I can change fly's. A favorite color 3 years running on the bank reef has been dark green/red fleck silicon over 1 1/2 inch crushed ice mirage then 2 inches of LBB behind a white flasher(Hotspot/E-chip).

Pioneer, what is 2" of LBB?

Thanks,

Mike

[KJ pluggin]

Hello all, great site. I use thin wall aquarium rigged tube to tye to and soft tubing over the top. Siggs is a great place for mylar, beads, and silicon skirt. I have some of the new band-a-boo from Curt but don't have any water time on it. The 3/16 inch riggid lets my knots go through so I can change fly's. A favorite color 3 years running on the bank reef has been dark green/red fleck silicon over 1 1/2 inch crushed ice mirage then 2 inches of LBB behind a white flasher(Hotspot/E-chip).

I also fish the Bank, how often do you make it over there. Good to here from another member that fishes the same area.

[Yooperdad]

KJ, you asked above about glow Trout Beads and I didn't see that anyone responded. I bought some this winter and they don't come close to the extended glow beads from Purple Taco. They have a good selection of colors and are cheaper, but the glow doesn't begin to compare. I glowed them both, side by side, and kept checking. No comparison.

Mike

[Pioneer]

Yooperdad, thats the "Little boy blue" color, also called "Iris" by some.

KJ, I make 6 week long vacations with a ton of people through out the season. Pile them on the Baha and Go. One of the best fishing ports I know. Its nice to know some other people that go there! Chris

[Yooperdad]

Pioneer, I just checked Siggs and Purple Taco and neither have a mylar called Little Boy Blue or Iris. Guess that's why I asked the question as there is a LBB fly, but I don't know which specific mylar is used to make it. There are a ton of blues. I hate to be a PITA but how about another name:)

Thanks,

Mike