[macleanhewitt]

How do I make this look better. It feels off to me.

 

[Back Eddy]

Not That I know

Longer fuller tail and wing half way to end of tail

 

[roballen]

Make it smaller , lose the tinsel.,maybe add a moose throat.

That said I think it looks great

 

[Marty]

Tippit and moving water.

 

[Back Eddy]

I concur

Should have added tie it on and fish it

 

[steelhead23]

I'll bite

While I prefer foam chuggers, if you want your fly to actually skate the forward keel should be longer and formed into a scoop. Basically, leave the wing butts at least 1/4 long after finishing the fly. Soak them in head cement and pull upward and let it dry. When dry cut to shape. This is more like a popper head. Under tension, it should act as like a plane elevator (or connard) pushing the head up. Otherwise it will sink under tension - not the same effect at all. Most folks tie the greaseliners the way you have - with a too small head scoop. In my experience, the darn things sink. The approach I suggest is aimed entirely at making the thing skate and is a big part of why I prefer foam. I believe it was Todd who developed the little wang - a very good skater. If you go fishing with a couple of wangs and a couple of liners I would bet the wang would outfish the liner.

 

[ralfish]

^ nope....the fly shown is just fine... hitch it behind the head and you are good to go



99% of what I wake has no foam and no natural buoyancy and no paddle or shovel etc. I've been doing it long enough to realise its about the hitch. The rest of the bug is whatever you fancy. sort of. There is some thought given to the shape of the head and the speed of the water you are waking in. In my experience, the bigger the head or forward portion the more likely it will pull under and spin. So I have little heads for that. The rtest is a couple different coloursm some with a bit of flash and then durability. Thats why I use moose hair rather than deer.

 

[Greenbuttbomber]

skater

As most have said, it looks fishy and buggy and with a hitch will attract what we all are chasing!
I tie on tubes now, and that might be an idea for you. They allow the fly to be very light in weight depending on the hook your are using in the back of the tube. Overall though they are much lighter than skaters that are tied on regular hooks.

Check out www.fishmadman.com and see how Jesper leaves about 1/8" of the small tube coming out the head and that he puts a hole directly underneath and that's where you put the tippet through to the back.

Riffle Hitch Tube is what he calls the method, and it's been around for some time. Fact is, It really works. It's hard to sink the fly now matter what you do with it if you're skating.
Just a thought.
Looks good
Loren

 

[steelhead23]

Interesting

^ nope....the fly shown is just fine... hitch it behind the head and you are good to go



99% of what I wake has no foam and no natural buoyancy and no paddle or shovel etc. I've been doing it long enough to realise its about the hitch. The rest of the bug is whatever you fancy. sort of. There is some thought given to the shape of the head and the speed of the water you are waking in. In my experience, the bigger the head or forward portion the more likely it will pull under and spin. So I have little heads for that. The rtest is a couple different coloursm some with a bit of flash and then durability. Thats why I use moose hair rather than deer.

To be honest, I haven't tried using riffle hitches. Sounds like a good idea. I wondered how folks got their greaseliners to wake. Most of the time, the ones I tied sank under tension no matter how much floatant I used - leading me to the solution I posted above. Thanks for the info. Still, the foamies float like a cork and dominate my dry fly box.

 

[macleanhewitt]

thanks for all the great info everyone, lots to think about here.

 

[808steelheader]

As Back Eddy noted, fuller tail, longer wing and a bit more bulk on the head (hair butts left a bit longer). With a hitch coming of the bottom of the fly, it will skate well. Even though I'm mainly a foam guy, I do use sparse McMillan steelhead caddis's with a hitch as a comeback fly and they skate really well. Adrian gave me some of his greaseliners and with a hitch, they are unsinkable and effective.

Todd

 

[Peteo]

I think it would look better (and possibly skate better) on a shorter shanked hook. Either way throw a hitch on it and skate that bug. The fish will like it.