FEB (Furled Extended Body) Hopper
By John Scott, Rigby ID
FEB (Furled Extended Body) Hopper
By John Scott, Rigby ID
Scott I'm away at work so don't have a chance to tie the pattern right now but I was wondering if you have ever used dubbing to fill in the underside of the pattern? All that bare thread just gives me the creeps.
Good looking fly John. I've never tied with that kind of foam before, or with a furled extended body. I'm intrigued enough to give it a try. Thanks for the encouragement.
That fly looks killer! I'm going to have to tie up a couple and see if the bluegills like them!
John:Tied a dozen up for my trip. They look great and are easy to tie.
Thanks,
Bruce
John,
Thanks for the recognition.
Classy....
You've done a great job with the FEB series :cool:.
Way to go John , very well done article. Thanks for sharing it with us and hope to see more in the near future.
I've not used dubbing, but that certainly doesn't mean that you shouldn't if that is the way you want to tie it. Make it your own fly and enjoy !!Quote:
Originally Posted by vargoje3
Duck -Quote:
Originally Posted by ducksterman
WELL DESERVED recognition. Several flies have emerged from the "off the hook" technique that might not have made it off the vise trying it the old way.
John
Thank you, and you are welcome.Quote:
Originally Posted by texfly
You will.
John
I really like the fly John. When you first posted it on the Fly Tying forum I tried it out. I've tyed up several in different colors of antron and foam. My wife's friend is visiting from Portland, OR and she's asked me to show her how to ty it. I think I'll show it at my club meeting tomorrow night if I get the chance. Thanks for the recipe. Jim
Great looking Fly John, can't wait to tie one up and get it on the water. I'll let you know how it does around here.
Thanks.
Got a few tied up, but as anyone I tie with can attest, I have an irresistable urge to depart from the text. I changed a few things to fit my tying style and make them a bit more panfish friendly. I was going to wait and post a few pics of them hanging out of fish lips, but I don't know when I'll get the chance, so here's a few pics of just the flies. Thanks again for a great pattern, John!
http://i202.photobucket.com/albums/a...2/IMGP3975.jpg
http://i202.photobucket.com/albums/a...2/IMGP3977.jpg
http://i202.photobucket.com/albums/a...2/IMGP3978.jpg
Obviously (:roll: ) you had not seen my post ... BUT ... now I don't have to get them off my phone!!! You all need to know that the little green one is chartreuse (bright, bright, chartreuse!), the other is lemon/lime, with bling, and the red one is from the planet Xenon!! What a great evening! thank you Bluegill and John Scott!!
I blame the glue!
Wish I could blame the glue, Steve, but that's just the way my head's screwed on:roll:
I am sure they will catch fish.
Blame them both!!
And then the fish!!!!!
Hi John,
great little hopper. I've been tying some on 8's and 10's for a friend of mine. I was wonder, while tying them up, how wide are you cutting your foam. I've always used the "rule of thumb" to cut it about the same width as the hook gap. Does that sound about right ?? I tied one on an 8 with the foam about the same width of the hook gap and it looks good, just was wonder if you did the same thing.
thanks again for another great FEB pattern, luv tying them :)
Mike
Mike -
Thanks. And you are welcome.
Hate to say that I am not scientific, but I'm not. I've just been eyeballing the foam width as I tie the fly. It's more a matter of overall proportion and what it will take to float the fly ( with some assist from the deer hair ) than any kind of formula.
For a more realist hopper look, I think the middle should be the widest part, and it probably should narrow down again at the front rather than having such a pronounced bullet head. Having said that, and considering it has probably been taken as often as a golden stone where I have fished it, I think the length, wider upper body, and all the movement to be achieved with the flexible extended body and the three sets of legs, plus the shadow ( flutter ? ) of the deer hair wing combine for a good set of triggers.
If the fishies you guys are chasing don't try to eat it, you may have to make some changes for local conditions. Kind of like the "bassed up" version on the other thread, and bluegill's "hopper porn" on this one.
Hope you enjoy fishing them as much as you enjoy tying them.
John
makes sense. I will experiment a bit with a few more I am tying tonight. Personally I like using Elk when possibly ... plus I have a whole bunch of it now so gonna tie some with deer and some with Elk :)
Mike
How do you get the furl (twist) to stay twisted? I have been experimenting with various chenilles. Maybe that is the wrong material and it won't "remember" the twist. This technique looks like a good one for all kinds of flies. I am trying to develop a good coffin fly pattern and this looks like a good way to make one.
I don't think you'll get chenille to furl mainly due to the core in it ... I tried :) Most yarns, as discussed here, will usually furl nicely.
Mike
When I get home tonight I'm going take a few photos of the F.E.B.s I tied for out West. I love writing that: "Out West." LOL! It makes me feel like a trout bum that's fished all over the world. I tied a few with tan foam and colored the front tag of the hopper (pink), where the final cut of the foam is made, for visual purposes. I furled tan, brown and creme antron for the body and tied on yellow rubber legs. Since I used three different colors of antron I pared each of the hanks about in half so the body wouldn't be too large. Tan seemed to work the best out there for me, but I also did okay with yellow foam. I'm going to look for wild mushrooms tonight. If I don't post photos tonight that means I'm cleaning mushrooms.