Mike's Eyeflies Review - Just Hook'n

[Just Hook'n]

I got to field test a few Mike's Eyeflies and I was relatively impressed.

The bodies are well made and withstand a bit. I attribute this to the large opening for fishing line. The skirt can rise up on the line after the fish has hit and save life on the skirt itself.

I was able to catch fish on both I tried.

I had the *3 UV double blue eye ghost with a single hook and the new #18 green eye hypnotist with a double hook. I LOVE the hooks.

Both fish had a hook completely pierce the roof of the mouth, one coming out a nostril the other coming out the eye socket. These fish were NOT coming unbuttoned.

I like the sparkly in the skirt on the UV double blue eye ghost. It was pretty eye catching.

I did not "glow" the beads, but in a 10 pole spread they caught two of our 6 fish and had addional hits that we were late to (not sure if they hit the fly or the slider honestly).

All in all I like the product. I REALLY like the hooks.

[Adam Bomb]

Great report Mark.

[A-Fishy-Anado]

They look great, although i have yet to actually get my hands on any. I really like the idea of being able to change leaders for bead color, size and orientation. There really is an art to presenting an effective fly spread. The length of the leader is the one that seems to be common knowledge. There doesn't seem to be many that play with the beads and that is what i was taught and made to be a believer of. To put it simply, the size of the bead that sits forward to the head impacts the degree the skirt body will flare and on a certain day that can make a big difference from my experience. This all depends on the size of the head in relation to available bead size so i am curious to actually get some of these in my hand.

Thanks for the report and i am looking forward to seeing how customizable these flies can be!

[GLF]

Nice job Mark. Any pictures???

[Just Hook'n]

I'm going out again tomorrow (Wed) with some non rookies, so I should have time to take pictures as opposed to run the boat. HEHE.

[Yooperdad]

Thanks for the positive report Mark. Hope you do well Wednesday, and also fill me in on what I need to do to go from "relatively" impressed to "IMPRESSED" Seriously:grin:

I make the flies myself and being a long time fisherman, incorporated what made the most sense to me. We all spend a lot of money to catch fish, and I wanted to make sure my flies were a good value, which I believe they are. I also wanted to deal with the storage issue that we all face. You can get a lot of flies without hooks in a plastic box rather easily, so that was the real focus for the large tubes used for the flies, making the hook sets interchangeable. Then an added plus was that the larger tube allowed for "eyes" to be added.

The silicone skirts on all patterns was an addition this year. Seems to make a difference so far, at least from the fisherman's view

Glad you like the Matzuo hooks. I tied a few double 5/0's to test and may add them to the line up soon, if they aren't too heavy for the fly. They are really mean. I have run the single 5/0 and they do some major damage to anything that grabs them.

I haven't added that #18 you ran to my web store yet, but do have them in stock and will do that shortly. There will also be a #19, Juvil Eye, made with Extreme UV from Purple Taco. It's very transparent up close, kind of like a No See Um, but it lights up with black light. I ran both of these myself at Fairport Sunday and Monday and kept 18, with about half on those patterns. The other very successful patterns were #11, the Blue Green Eye Alewife and #5, Blue Glo Eye Ghost. Didn't have time to run others.

Thanks again Mark for your very positive report and good luck today.

Mike

[Just Hook'n]

Went out wednesday and as I suspected, one of the flies that I was testing is no longer on the boat. However, the #18 is still on the line on the rigger with the 11" white echip. It caught at least two more BIG fish and they were NOT coming off. Here are some pictures of the fly.

This picture turned out like crap, but I was trying to show the big head and roundness of the area for the mono to go through. It lets the fly slide up and down the line very well, protecting it while the fish is on the hook.

With most of my flies the first thing I do is throw the hooks out and change to "G" hooks 4/0 and run two, one as a trailer.

With these flies, i would not have to change hooks out.

I highly recommend this product.

[adrenalin]

Mikes Flies really are a great new product. I have caught over 50 fish on each of my # 11 and # 17 flies and they still look like the day I took them out of the package. Their are so many advantages to the larger diameter hole in the fly head, it makes dialing in the right flasher fly combo way faster than retying a new leader for each fly. The really cool part about his flies is there aren't 100 different ones to try and pick from, they are all proven patterns .

[jimbobber]

I Am going to write a full review of Mikes flies after i get out a couple of more times but here is a pic of a fish i took the first time out,Im not sure of the flie name cus there was none on the pacage and i think i may have the wrong beads on it but it works!!! The double hooks were both thru the mouth and sticking out of the sides!!!Good product. Jimmy

[jimcr]

I will also write up a review, but as of yet only had one on and My son lost that one, been rather bumpy here , also on a side note , my season my come to an end early , Ended up in the ER on Sunday morning early due to the problems with my cervical spine. A shot in the butt and pain killer via Iv and a prescription for oxycodone , I was able to be walked back to the car like a drunk. Spent the rest of the weekend waisted and on Ice. Go see the Pain Management Dr in the morning. Surgery may come earlier than previously thought.

Tight Lines

Jim

[Adam Bomb]

I will also write up a review, but as of yet only had one on and My son lost that one, been rather bumpy here , also on a side note , my season my come to an end early , Ended up in the ER on Sunday morning early due to the problems with my cervical spine. A shot in the butt and pain killer via Iv and a prescription for oxycodone , I was able to be walked back to the car like a drunk. Spent the rest of the weekend waisted and on Ice. Go see the Pain Management Dr in the morning. Surgery may come earlier than previously thought.

Tight Lines

Jim

Sorry to hear that Jim. I know a few guys with back problems and none of them described it as an enjoyable experience. Best wishes to you. I hope they can numb the pain a bit and get you somewhat back to normal with the surgery. Take it easy bud.

[Paulywood]

Good luck Jim. I went through the same thing this year. Finally had the surgery June 2nd, the doc removed half a disk in my back. I already have the feeling back in 1 leg, but he said it would be longer for the other leg. I had the shots in my back and the spine block. They helped alot until the disk ruptured. Hope you feel better.