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Has anyone tried combining an articulated leech with a double bunny?
I'm thinking it would be easier to tie than an articulated leech, and the extra hook in the tail would increase hookups. I'm not sure what weight mono to use to get the right amount of flexibility in the tail. Maybe GSP would work better. What do you think?
Kelly Galloup ties a lot of articulated flies these days. He uses wire and not mono. http://www.hatchesmagazine.com/page/month/358 http://www.flyfishtv.com/vid_detail/..._Streamers.htm# The following is a nice excerpt from the second Link but I encourage you to read the whole interview with Kelly:
"One problem I have had over the years when fishing big streamers with the jerk strip method is I hook some nice fish, but the fish throwing the hook seems to be a problem. I seem to lose a good deal of fish within the first few seconds of the fight (more than with other methods). I've always wondered if maybe because of the fast paced erratic stripping method if maybe it was because the fish have to strike so fast they sometimes hook themselves in less then optimal places (outside the jaw?) or maybe it's due to the long streamer hooks? Have you ever noticed this problem or have any thoughts on it?
I have noticed this as well, and this problem is what brought about most of my articulated patterns. The reason for the lose and hooking outside the jaw is because trout are predators and kill or stune their prey head first. When you get a fish that is on and off quickly it is not because the fish short struck the fly it is because it ate the head of the fly and you did not get the hook in the fish, likewise when you get the fish in the outside of the jaw it is because the fish ate the head and when you set the hook the fly was held by the head and slid into the outside of the jaw. That is why I started tying so many short shanked articulated flies, it really had little to do with trying to make flies bigger, it was the realization that the fish were eating the flies at the head and we were losing so many fish due to the long shank hooks. I often hear anglers talking about short strikes or the fish ate the tail. I think this is 100% incorrect. They will always strike the head first, if a trout eats a sculpin tail first it would die by getting the spinney dorsal stuck in its throat. Everything in nature has a defense and that is the small bait fishes. The other down side to the long hooks is the fishes ability to role and torque a long shank hook out of its mouth. If you question that consider that a tarpon hook is a less than two inches long and yet many of the standard trout streamer hooks are three inches long. "
Download Headfirst Prey Manipulation
Other T.E. Reimchen Publications
Fisheries biologist T.E. Reimchen (above) confirms fish do indeed swallow prey head first.
But they don't bite the head. Not at first. Instead they swirl and attack from the side--biting at the prey's
'center of gravity,' which is usually 1/3 the way back from the head on most bait fish. After stunning the prey--at the center of gravity--they let go and then attack again, this time with swallowing in mind, and this time head first.
I also agree that long-shanked hooks increase leverage on the hook, thereby
increasing the likelihood the fish will be able to spit the hook, even after an initial hook-set.
So for me the best articulated streamers have a slightly forward of mid-body hook position,
using a short shank (well, not long shank) hook.
Roadkill Streamer (Rod and Reel, 1985):
Original Roadkill Discussion
http://montana-riverboats.com/templa...l-streamer.jpg
Pig Sticker (Articulated Streamer tied on a snelled hook):
http://montana-riverboats.com/templa...ig-sticker.jpg
....Also, soft-bodied streamers can increase the likelihood a fish will strike a SECOND time (after the initial bite, meant
only to stun the bait fish). With the following "Twinkie" fish will sometimes bite 3-4 times, and then hang on and chew:
Twinkie Discussion
http://montana-riverboats.com/templa...ie/Twinkie.jpg
Wow, that was a great article on the roadkill. I wonder if coho hit the fly the same way that trout do.
I've heard it called the rattler or rattlesnake, but I can attest this articulated pattern works well for steelhead. You can easily manipulate the weight of the fly by the type, size and number of beads on the loop. Instead of wire or mono, I've used braided line like spiderwire. A general step by step is below from a quick google search. I usually just tie a bunny body, tail, and a little flash. As with bunny leeches, you can get creative with the color combos.
Have you thought about tube patterns instead of articulated? Just curious.
http://www.taneycomotrout.com/howtotierattlesnake.html
The Reimchen paper opens with a quote: "Headfirst swallowing of fish prey is a common attribute of gape-limited predators . . .", so is it safe to say this phenomenon isn't of quite so much consequence with Largemouth Bass ?
smc
RE> largemouths and head first swallowing.Quote:
Originally Posted by SMClark
Well I don't know. Good question.
I haven't actually read that paper in a few years now. But--as I recall--he later on talks about piscivores in the general case (any critter that eats fish).
I have a hunch all piscivores swallow head first, because of nasty pectoral fins that slant and fold down one way and puncture the other way.