Do you have a picture of a finished fly? They look pretty large. I tied some worm flies with the Payton's Bohemian yarn but it soaks up water like a sponge making the fly really heavy and difficult to cast.
Using the whole thing is impressive, but excessive and hard to cast. Even with a 12wt and especially hard when wet. Using false casts to dry it just tears it apart. However working some SHAN into the core increases durability.
That funny as I remember getting into a heated discussion one day with David Mangum a couple of years ago on Turkey Point as he felt like I was crawling up into his hood and I told him in an elevated tone of voice to kiss my ass! The closer he got with all the yelling going on is when I noticed the strange lookin fly on his clients fly rod and I wanted a better look! Now MM has brought it all together as this was the fly he was using in purple and black! THX MM!
Mike I guess u didn't see the ones Gary tied or lee tied. Toads with a 1/4 dragon tail. Quick and easy way to tie a game changer style fly. Fixing to twist some up for stripers, browns and hopefully a cobia
I saw some Lee tied, and I'm also going with about 1/4 tail for typical toad length. But I'm using EP brush for a body with a fish mask and holo eyes. This fly looks like it would bite you.
Hey MM talked to a guide buddy in the Keys and he has been using them for a couple of years now. He will takes one of the Squirmles and cuts them in half and will make 2 flies out of each one and may be 3"- 3 1/2" long. The bad side, they do not last long and can be hard to cast when wet as they load up with water. The good side, they have great action and he caught a tarpon on one just a few days ago!
Yeah the guys have been using these flies for a couple of years in the Keys. The originals fall apart with a few bad casts, the Mangum ones last a bit longer.
I think the problem with this fly is that at first tarpon are eating the shit out of them like they did when they saw their first Toad flies.
Now everyone will fish these and eventually the fish won't like them anymore. I was in the Keys last week, most of the oceanside fish were actually terrified of the dragon tail! My wife got an eat on one, from a SUP, but she scored some really happy fish!
It would probably work like a hot damn in the Glades.
I tried it also with babies, no go.
I bought a bunch of gator tails from Fly Tiers Dungeon they where cheap. Before my Tarpon trip I tied up black and chartreuse used mono loops to keep them from fouling. But our trip to Homassasa found no Tarpon in 5 days😡
The problem for guides (and commercial tyers...) is that if you have hot fishing (or a hot fly) and keep it to yourself - you end up with few customers... If you tell folks about that great fishing (or that great fly...) you get customers - but their very presence or usage ruins the effectiveness (for the fly) or that great destination fishing spot that just gets run over...
no free lunches -not ever...
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