got a odd request

[spoof85]

Hey guys,

so, my friends dad comes to me from time to time with orders for flies...
Usually i have to ask you guys for input on what to do... This is no different, some of the lifers might remember some of these, one looked like a deer hair popper with long deer hair for the legs... Kind of looked like a frog of sorts... Another was a 2x long shank with nothing more then yarn for the body, crinkled deer hair for the tail, about the length of the body, and wings made also of deer hair, straight out, and swept back again the length of the body... I dont mind resurrecting old beat up patterns he brings me from the past, or creating something new altogether. But im not sure what to do with this request...

He asked me to make him floating flies in 12-14 mimicking power bait... So... Im thinking just place foam to create a ball and call it done... Unless you guys have a better idea? To be honest, im a little discouraged that he would even ask for such a thing... He asked for a imitation in chartreuse, white, corn, salmon peach, and salmon egg... Im not sure the foam will work actually, kinda tough getting a big ball without seeing any thread...

Do you guys have a suggestion on material(s)?

Personally, im not sure if im ok with making these, ive boycotted power bait my whole life... Ive grown to call fishman who use the stuff dough baiters... Obviously im not going to infuse these with pheromones or scents, so i dont think they will work at all.

Whats your opinion? On materials and weather or not its against our fly tiers code.

always love hearing from you guys,
spoof

[fishbum]

What fly tiers code? Just say "no" if you don't want to tie a Power Bait imitation. The only thing worse than tying flies you don't like tying is paying the 10% federal excise tax on them when you sell them.

Try close clipped deer hair. Use fine hair from a yearling deer.

Jerry

[James Smith]

I've never used powerbait before so I am only assuming that you wad it up like a small ball and put it on the hook shank. That said, if you decide to "tie" these flies, the easiest way to do it would be to use a Dremel like a miniature lathe, with a VERY heavy duty carpet needle as a spindle. With it set to one of the slower speeds, impale an appropriate sized chuck of flip-flop foam on the needle and use an Emory board to shape flip-flop foam to a ball. When it's shaped the way you want it, push the eye of the hook through the hole made in the foam ball. Before you insert the hook, put a base of thread on the hook shank. Add a drop of super glue when you slide it on and it will stay in place. If you look up an article here by Jim Hatch called Dreml bugs you'll see how to use the Dremel.

Jim Smith

[spoof85]

I worded that wrong... Not so much a code.... Its my understanding that most fly fishermen show respect and care for our streams and fish... Not saying that power bait is bad, just most people that use the stuff care more about ripping the legal limit out, going home, and repeating the process... Also the kind of people that like to leave their trash behind... Im not saying all people who use power bait have these traits, but it seems most do.... As for saying no, i would but he has had me do alot of work for him... Cant let one order turn a customer away... I guess i should have worded that in such a way as to wonder why he opts to go this direction... As for the deer hair, now that you say that it seems like a no brainer... Thanks
All input always appreciated

[Eric-WD]

I would use yarn. Tie a strand on each side of the hook with three or four wraps in the middle, fluff out the strands and trim in a ball.

[spoof85]

My concern with using yarn would be the effectiveness of staying afloat... As for the dremil idea... Thats a good idea, i do use my dremil to shape bass poppers out of cork, as for how to apply power bait, you got it.. Its a jar of dough, you kinda pinch and twist it into a ball around he hook... As stated before... I dont like it lol

[stcroixguy]

I once tied a few flys that resembled hatchery feed pellets..

[Bruce Norikane]

I'd try McFly foam tied in like an egg. You won't see any thread.

Does the client want the fly to float up off the bottom rising above a sinker that rests on the bottom? Some bait fishermen go to great lengths to get their baits a few inches above the bottom, and you can buy floating powerbait. Treated with floatant, McFly foam should float pretty good on the surface, but you'd have to test it for underwater buoyancy. You might have to tie the McFly Foam over a foam core.
http:// http://www.charliesflyboxinc...m?parentID=122

[Uncle Jesse]

The handiest thing I own for making flies out of foam is a battery powered rotary tool and a set of different diameter arbors. I can handle from 1/8" down to straight pin sizes. Dremel was very good to replace my variable chuck when it locked up with the arbors. I would do as Jim suggested with the flip flop foam and shape it where it could also portray salmon or trout eggs if colored correctly. We are all imitating things fish eat, this just happens to be something that comes out of a jar.

[HickoryShad]

Interesting, I don't think that he is actually wanting to imitate the power bait so much as the "fish chow" that the stocked fish are fed.
Pretty sure that the primary reason those fish hit the power bait is because of the resemblance of the pattern/color to the only food that
they ever really new.
I agree with the previous posters that egg fly imitations should work just great.