Saturday, January 19, 2013

Carp Fly Swap

I joined a fly swap started by Trevor the writer for the blog Fly Carpin. At first I was stoked at the chance too get hooked up with some awesome carp flies. Then as the list of who was participating grew the reality started to set in.   I was hit with the fact that I myself had to tie flies too. The list of who would get them is a little intimidating. Some of these guys are professional fly tiers and I'd hate for them to think I sent them trash. My first idea for a pattern that was fairly easy to tie evolved into something a lot more difficult. I tried to think of a fly I'd like to have. In the end I came up with this.
Hook: Gamakatsu Sz8 SL45
Lead Free Wire
Large Black Bead Chain
Stu Thompson Craw Colored Dubbing
Dark Olive Marabou
Olive Silly Legs
Flashabou
The thing I mainly like about this fly is the coloring. It's a cross between a dragon fly nymph and a crawfish. I'm not really one for naming flies but if I was going to I'd go with Damcraw. The dubbing I used for this fly is something I got from Stu Thompson. Stu is a guide that mainly fishes big waters in Canada. He has a DVD and various pictures of him with monster catfish and carp. He has a cult following on the site Warmfly.com. The crawfish color dubbing he sent me is the best I have ever seen. I have never had great luck with crawfish patterns. I decided to try tying some using the dubbing and pheasant feathers. I noticed the bottom feathers on a pheasant tail work as mock pincers. Tell me what you think.

10 comments:

  1. Kevin
    I am really impressed with this pattern, because of the eyes as a weight and also the hackle pattern. Thanks for sharing

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  2. Kevin, I think you have done a nice job designing this pattern. I would prefer the leaded barbell eyes instead of the mono eyes for getting that Crawfish down on the bottom. I see this as a good all around pattern and not just for carp.

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  3. Nice work Kevin. That fly would catch carp 7 days a week in my neck of the woods.

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  4. Thanks for the comments guys.

    Mel, I tied weight on the hook with lead free wire. I tried to design the fly so it will sink but not like a rock.

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  5. Kevin, well done then. I like the appearance of the mono eyes and with the added weight on the body should be great. I am always open to field testing one of those carp busters!

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  6. Beauty of a fly, and nicely tied, I'd be happy to get that in a swap any day!

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  7. Kevin,
    I think it's a killer fly. Good work!!

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  8. You did well with that one! Carp demand the respect of having such files thrown at them.

    Gregg

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  9. Thanks Gregg, I saw your flies too, they are awesome.

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