[chromechaser420]

So I was fishing some low, clear, and pretty skinny water the other day. Buddy had a 5w switch, and I had mine with me, but I opted to go with a single hander. Anyway, I spooked the biggest f*#*ing bull trout that I had ever seen out of this pool I was working. 65-70lbs, easy Long of the short is, I thought big bulls liked big flies, but maybe go smaller....I whipped this up on an aj#7. As I consider myself a novice at the vise, you should too. Please, some criticism and suggestions would be great. And maybe your favorite fly for big bull trout in skinny water this time of year..

 

[GR8LAKES FLYER]

I know nothing about Bull trout fishing , but I like the colours of this fly you posted .
If you are looking to go with a smaller offering , scaling down the hook size also means to scale down materials , in my opinion .
My opinion here , not that it matters , but here goes .

Your tag is nice , it runs between the barb and the hook point . Personally , I like the tag to start at the hook point and move forward . I can't see a tail on this fly , so that's cool . You have dressed the butt very full (too much junk in the trunk) . I would scale that down a bit , limiting it to half or third the size shown . Good body work . I like thin bodies , they aid in sinking the fly . When using dubbing and you want that buggy look , use a thinly made dubbing loop . This will still give the bug look and will remain thin . That rib adds a lot of contrast , I like it . When dressing scaled down flies , I like to use thin ribbing materials and use wide spacing , it adds to the sparseness of the fly . It is important to use less materials in the wing as well . Get all the under fur out so it doesn't add bulk and stop the fly from sinking . Collars are difficult to master . The hackles look so nice when you wind them on . But it's this part of the fly that tricks the tyer the most and can easily over dress your fly even though you have done an excellent job scaling down . So saying that , I will make this statement , strip off one side of the feather and only use one or two turns at most . The collar hackle should not exceed half of the body length , one third is better . I sometimes go less if I wish the contrast to be muted .

Again , these are just my opinions and not meant to pick your work apart or to be malicious in any way


Mike

 

[chromechaser420]

Mike I gotta say, I certainly appreciate the input. I will say that the collar is stripped down using inly one side of the schlappen. I am really not very good at sparse flies
I think I am getting better, but that is why I posted this here. I dont want to point/counterpoint you, some of the things you suggested I feel that is what i did, perhaps not well enough. The end product speaks for itself, need to work on being more conservative with those materials. Again, thank you so much for taking the time to critique my work.

 

[GR8LAKES FLYER]

I'm far from experience on tying

Not in my books , you tied some of my favorite flies that was ever posted in this section

My comments were more general in nature than just pointing on your fly
It could also be the photo that goofs things up a bit .
However , the teal collar is very long ... and you might like that ??
My comments are meant to be taken with a grain of salt , these are only "my" opinions .

Keep tying and posting , we like to track progression


Mike

 

[chromechaser420]

Mike, dude I totally appreciate your critique. I just meant I wasnt going to try and needle you for specifics. I think I'm picking up what you are puttin down. And as far as the status of bull trout in washington state, as a member of the nfs and a native fish advocate, I am well aware of the challenges our native char in washington face, and their esl listing. Sadly, you are allowed to retain bull trout in several rivers. I appreciate you saying something because the conservation of these fish is important.

 

[chromechaser420]

I had actually made the collar long on purpose because I heard that bull trout like longer, flowier flies, so even though I was trying to go smaller, I wanted a fly with a lot of movement. So there are 2 collars on there, ringneck rump and olive schlappen. Each is stripped in half but there are a total of like 6 wraps. I think you're right. Less wraps. I like the two contrasting materials, but I think they got built up too much. Maybe a smaller feather, not as long, but palmered through the dubbing? And as far as the polar bear wing, you think there is too much? I really tried to be sparse, and I did as you said, I grabbed the ends tightly and pinched out all the underfluff. Then I stacked it. I guess I did end up breaking it down. Lol. I really appreciate the help. What do you for smaller with alot of movement?

 

[xgolfman]

i'm not sure what the record is for bull trout out here but a 65lb would be it by around 55lbs or more i'd bet..

 

[Bron]

i'm not sure what the record is for bull trout out here but a 65lb would be it by around 55lbs or more i'd bet..

Lol...I was betting that he missed a decimal point somehwere...

 

[chromechaser420]

Ahh come on! My honest guess is about 10-12 lbs. It looked like 20. I will tell you that I was fishing the river that holds the washington state record for bull trout...

 

[Jabrowning24]

"Longer flowing hackle"

I for a long time was in the camp of more material, more movement UNTIL I actually started paying attention. I built a swim tank a while back and marabou was the first material to really show me how things work, if you put a turn or two of anything it dances and flows freely but as you start turning more and more the less dancing she does and it just looks like a ball of crud in the current. Another thing to think of (especially true with spey flies) is if you have too much material on the bottom and not enough on top that puppy will spin and/or ride upside down on the swing... This is all my personal experience and things I've picked up in my short time tying... Me, I'd go without schlappen on a sz7, all that said I think you have a great base with this fly and with a couple small tweaks it will be exactly what you are looking for!

Look up "low water style" on the site here and you will see what Mike is talking about.
KEEP POSTING! That's the best thing I've ever done for my tying progress