[esoxfly]

Hi Rob and others.

Thought it more appropriate to put the pic's of my pike "flies" on a new thread here.

They are all tied with EP fibres and other bits and pieces.  Great movement in the water and shed water very easily.  The flies also have a very good profile from above and below (where the pike normally come at them from! ).
I mostly use Ad Swier pike fly hooks size 3/0 - 6/0.  The eyes are EP 9mm solid plastic (teddy bear) type epoxied   in place.
They are all 6"-7" long  

Perch:


Roach:


Classic:


Chartruese:


Not so natural!


Swedish G&W:


Black & Red:

[Iain Goolager]

Very interesting! - good looking patterns

Ok you guys,

I've never tyed any pike (or sea) flies before and am keen to do so, anyone benevolent enough to make a list of materials required to make say three or four recommended patterns? What supplier do you use? I'd like to fish, initially, with smaller flies (3") as I've heard that they are easier to remove from your cranium.

What type trace should be used..........the last time I went Piking (deadbaiting) I used multi strand thin cross section wire which you just twisted around itself and it held no problems - what's the norm?

Iain

[esoxfly]

Hi Iain,

here are some useful links to get you started. 

http://flytek.co.uk/acatalog/FlyTek_Tutorials.html

http://flytek.co.uk/acatalog/ - not so keen on their pike fly hooks - a bit heavy.

http://www.lakelandflytying.com/220/Saltwater_and_Predator_Products.aspx  - excellent Ad Swier Pike Fly Hooks 

http://www.pffa.co.uk/index.htm

Try to keep the end gear as light as possible - fly (hook) & trace.  DON'T BE TEMPTED NOT TO USE A TRACE!  I've read some rubbish about some tough leader material being sufficient - not worth the risk and the pike aren't wary of wire anyway.

I can't see past the EP fibres these days after trying more traditional materials such as rabbit zonker strips etc.  They just get too wet and FAR too heavy unless you keep the fly pretty small. 

I use a variety of nylon coated 19 or 49 strand knottable wires.  The "american fishing wire" one sold by Tacklebargains.co.uk is good.  They tend not to kink as easily as the usual 7 strand stuff used for deadbaiting and are genuinely knottable saving the weight of swivels and clips. 

 

Chris

[Iain Goolager]

Great Stuff - Thanks Chris.

Iain

[Mike Barrio]

Nice flies and cool photos Chris

Best wishes
Mike

[Rob Brownfield]

What Chris says

I use EP all the time (started using the 3D stuff a lot), and DNA Holofusion. Chris dresses his flies a little more "full" than I do..but then again, he can afford more material than I can

Have to say that I have gone right off the Ad Swier hooks. I now use Gamakatsu SC15's for most of my flies and also the Varivas 2600 ST-V hook. Both are exceptionally light and strong for there size. The Varivas Manta (same as the Suhuma Big Mouth) is a good hook for VERY big flies where you need a big gape.

Traces are always emotive I now use a single strand trace made from "American Fishing Wire" 48 lb stanless wire. Its very similar to the Orvis solid "bite leaders", but at a fraction of the price. Being solid it never ever kinks. It might get a few bends etc, but they can be straightened out and last ages.

Will get some pictures tonight hopefully.

[Rob Brownfield]

My "natural" Perch using blended EP fibres. I use this on very clear waters.



A slightly more hi viz Perch used when the water is a little dirty.



I think you can guess by the bright colours and large eye this is used in very very dirty water.



A small Roach pattern.



This is a simple streamer pattern using natural materials. This one casts well on an 8 weight.



I use this on a lead core line a bit like a "booby". You can inch it back and get a lovely diving motion. Also good on a floating line and brought back with a wobble under the surface.

[Cameron deBoth]

they look GREAT!!!!

[Cameron deBoth]

where do you guys get your EP Fiber 3D stuff from? Ive found a few online places jsut wanted to know whats best.   

[esoxfly]

Great looking flies (and photos) Rob 

I see what you mean about the lighter dressing.
The new blended EP fibres look really good I must order some.  They look quite sparkly - is that the fibres or have you added lots of flashy stuff too?
Last question, how do you get the eyes to stay stuck to the side of the dressing without clarting glue all over the fibres and making the body solid in the process  ???

where do you guys get your EP Fiber 3D stuff from? Ive found a few online places jsut wanted to know whats best.

The link to Lakeland Flytying I posted for Goolager is where I get the EP fibres.  Used FlyTek too - good service but a bit dearer.

 
Chris

[Iain Goolager]

 Hi L-69,

 I ordered some basics yesterday from both Lakeland and Flytek. Lakeland are slightly cheaper but their stock of some of the colours in the EP materials were depleted so I made up the difference with EP materials from Flytek.

I see there are a few 'types' of EP Fibres - standard, silky, 3D, Silky 3D, etc and I've had to fill my list from a mixture of a few material types/styles so we'll see what the differences are soon.

Maybe it was just 'traffic' last night or my computer but navigating Lakelands site when adding to cart was a complete pain - very slow. Time to get a catalogue I think.

Rob, Esoxfly,
The prefered eye size, I seem to read, is 9mm and although Lakeland have a fair range it appears that they only stock eyes up to 6mm ??? am I missing something?

I too am very curious about the setting of eyes using epoxy on an apparently fibre background?

I bought the 'Teddy Bear ' eyes c/w stalks (to be cut off if I'm not mistaken) do they have any advantage over the stick on variety?

Those Perch flies are exactly what I'm hoping to achieve............I'm sure the red & white and multi coluored tyings produce many pike but I want to tie those - look great.

Iain

[Rob Brownfield]

Great looking flies (and photos) Rob 

I see what you mean about the lighter dressing.
The new blended EP fibres look really good I must order some.  They look quite sparkly - is that the fibres or have you added lots of flashy stuff too?
Last question, how do you get the eyes to stay stuck to the side of the dressing without clarting glue all over the fibres and making the body solid in the process  ???

Chris, thanks

I do a high and low tie to get the fish shaped profile, then a light mid tie to just cover the shank of the hook. When viewed from the front the fly has much more of a fish profile than the 3D fly on the flytek site. Its also so much quicker and used much less material.

I think it was the sunlight on the fibres that made them sparkle, especially the Perch fly. I do add sparkle sometimes, normally along the flank of the fly. I have a few "rainbow trout" immitations and they are dressed with blue and pink flashabou down the flank and a pinl flash of EP on the cheek behind the eye to give it that "drag queen" look i then add black dots with a marker pen.

Because i do not have that much material down the flank of the fly, the eyes are actually bonded to the hook shank and base of the EP where I have doubled it back. This gives a strong anchor point. The exception is the Puple/Pink "bomber" with the google eyes. These are fixed either side of the head and then epoxied. I use "Zap-a-gap" super glue to bond all my eyes on. I like the fact is more of a gel so does not run onto the fibres and stick them all together.

Hope that helps a bit?

Rob

[Rob Brownfield]

Iain,
a quick guide to EP

Magnum...12" long and designed for big game flies. Stiffer and slightly more coarse.
Standard...10" long and designed for inshore/pike/bass flies. This is the one you want for 99% of your flies
Silky...8" long and very soft. I use the red for gills, targets etc (see white fly in photos). Its ideal for flies under 4 inches, but being so soft and limp its not great for Pike. Makes amaving minnow patterns for Trout though

3D in all types...these are "blended" fibres to make up colours. so..for olive green you get green, goldern yellow, a little orange and a few dark green fibres..this allows you to make flies like that "realistic" perch of mine which has a much more subtle blend of dark to light rather than a solid line between colours. the "ocean blue" 3D is proving to be veru good for sandeel patterns

A quick guide to eye size...

If you look at young fish, say Perch and Roach upto say 4 inches, there eyes look large compared to the rest of there body..almost too big...well thats the effect you are trying to get! Large eyes act as a trigger to predators, be they Perch, Pike, Rainbows, Browns etc. The teddy eye on my Perch fly is about right for a "realistic" fly..but i would have preferred an amber rather than a brown one. The red eye on the next one down is a little small for my liking, but I was trying red as a "target" point for the Pike to home in on. The google eye on the white Roach fly is a pure "trigger" eye. Its big and bold and the Pike just love them! I would use large eyes on any pattern that was being used in dirty water. I would not say there was a "perfect" size for an eye.

I get my google and teddy eyes from a local craft/material shop at a fraction of the cost the tackle shops sell them for. You can get coloured googles as well I bought a back of 100 mixed colours and sizes (upto 20mm!!!) for 99p from a 99p shop The epoxy eyes with the flashy backgrounds are from Veniard or Orvis..expensive, but for realistic flies they are perfect.

[Cameron deBoth]

great info there Rob, cheers

[Cameron deBoth]

Well as luck would have it I've just got some EP stuff 2nd hand and hardly used, the guy has too much. Bought the bellow for £25, I thought that was a good price

EP fibres: (RRP £4.95)
Yellow, unused & unopened
Orange, unused & unopened
Green, opened, barely used
Ocean blue, unused but open
Black, unused but open

EP sparkle: (RRP £2.50)
Lt Blue, unused & unopened
Holographic silver, barely used
Golden Orange, barely used
Chartreause, barely used
Red, barely used

Right rob lets get a rod now, ........................................well soon lol