Spirit River I-Balz

[cycler68]

I have some Spirit River I-Balz in the 1/4 and 5/16 and these things are HUGE. I'm wondering if anybody has used these things and what kind of flies you tied with them. I'd also like to know if there are any special precautions I should take to make sure they stay in place.

[MR.JML]

Saltwater Patterns. Use Super Glue to secure !!!!!!

BTW, The patterns you tie with these eyes might just work nicely in the Missouri River, but weight heavily & use full sink beacause of that nice current in the good ole Mizzou !!!!!!

[Bamboozle]

I use them on crayfish patterns.

[saltydancindave]

They're great for deep water clousers & flies you'd want to fish on the bottom or further down in the water column, probably more so for striper fishing on the Atlantic seaboard with #10 to 13 weight shooting heads & fast sink fly lines; but just as good for cobia, grouper, dolphin, albies, etc. The best way to affix them to a hook, sized around #3/0; is a figure 8 wrap with Danvilles Flat waxed thread & Zap-a-Gap glue

[cycler68]

Thanks for the replies! It seems like this thread isn't getting much response but you guys are giving me the info and the ideas I need to use these things effectively. It looks like I need to buy a good book with saltwater patterns in it but my intention is to target deeper pike, muskies, walleye & bass with them so some pattern adaptation may be needed. Unfortunately I don't get to saltwater fish very often but it looks like when I get there I'll be all set for some big time fun!

[vargoje3]

I've used them mostly on Clouser Minnows but I have also used the smaller sizes in my sculpin/trout streamers. I think eyes are sometimes important on flies especially large streamers. Zap-a-Gap is my favorite flytying superglue to make sure they don't move around the hook shank when your fishing with them.

[peregrines]

Cycler

When you tie on the eyes, after taking your figure 8 wraps, take a few turns under the eye ballz but over the hook shank (between eyes and hook shank) to cinch up the figure 8 wraps and draw them as tight as you can with heavy thread (something like Danvilles Flat Waxed Nylon etc). It will help to hold them in place. It?s good to do on all clouser eyes, but especially these big ones.

I usually tie up a bunch to this point and hit with a couple drops of super glue, 5 min epoxy or coats of Sally Hansen?s Hard as Nails and let dry overnight, or use Zap a Gap and hit with a spritz of Kicker (cyanoacrylate glue accelerator that sets it up instantly) if you want to keep tying.

Some patterns to try in addition to clousers are:

Half and Half?s (a deceiver tail and clouser front). It makes a big meaty fly, and might be good for Pike and Musky in deeper water in your baitfish colors like perch, sucker, whitefish etc, colors of popular plugs like firetiger, chicken scratch/school bus (yellow and black) as well as solid chartreuse, black, and white. It's a killer fly over deep water wrecks in SW for stuff like stripers, cobia and dredging deep holes for tarpon etc.
http://www.saltwaterflies.com/deepdeceiver.html

Punch type flies (Lime Punch, Tropical Punch and your own creations). These are often tied with beadchain eyes in the normal point down position. But with lead eyes, especially these heavy ones, you?d want to tie it inverted so it rides hook point up, with the eye ballz on top of the shank, and flipping the hook in the vise to complete the fly:
http://www.danblanton.com/punchins.html

Rabbit strip stuff like this, perhaps on a larger hook than the one listed here:
http://www.theflybench.com/pike/fly0187.htm

As far as special precautions go, you might want to wear a helmet when casting these things...

Good luck,

peregrines

PS to save money on a book, at least for now, as far as other SW patterns and tying techniques go you might want to look at www.aswf.org for a lot of innovative SW patterns and tying techniques that you can adapt for Pike and Musky. Some good ones with potential for you are listed under these guys:

Bob Popovics (Hollow Fleye and Bucktail Deceivers, Semper Fleye for big profile patterns that are easy to cast and won?t get all mangled after one fish (as an alternative to EP Fibers for example) and a flies like the Siliclone- a great fly to v wake that pushes a lot of water but is easy to cast.

Steve Farrar- Chicken Scratch Simpleclone tied in colors that replicate pike/musky Rapala type colors

David Skok?s Mushmouth for shallower water

These are all great flies here in the NE to imitate good sized baitfish, so you could probably put them to work out your way.