Imitating Baitfish

[FlyFishZak]

I was fly fishing in a brackish bayou, and I noticed there were several shiny silver baitfish. The baitfish were swimming in water that was 6" deep. The baitfish would only last a short while in the cove, as the other fish were eating them like crazy. I am not sure what kind of fish was eating them, but I don't care; I just want to catch them. I tried tying a streamer that looked like the baitfish, but I fear the fly is too slim. The baitfish were about 2" long, and 3/4" "tall". The fly I tied was 2" long, but 1/8" wide. I used a Miss Marabou pattern, but I used different material. I used shad gray marabou for the tail and "wing", silver Flashabou and silver cord as the body, and black bead chain eyes. I noticed that the baitfish were shiny. I am looking for a material that I could use to make the fly "taller" and make it a shiny silver. What should I use?

[LadyFisher]

Try this, the tubing comes in various sizes: [url=http://flyanglersonline.com/flytying/fotw2/032204fotw.html:30b4b]http://flyanglersonline.com/flytying/fotw2/032204fotw.html[/url:30b4b]

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LadyFisher, Publisher of
FAOL

[Feenom]

Hi Zak....this weeks "Fly of the Week" looks like just what you are looking for. If you want more flash just mix some Krystal Flash or Angel Hair with the Super Hair.
EP fibers are great for widebodied imitations.
Look in the fly archives here for the "Spread Fly" too......good luck!.....Jason

[FlyFishZak]

I tied a different fly to try to imitate the baitfish.

Tail- shad gray marabou
Wing- shad gray marabou with Flashabou.
Underbody- shad gray marabou with Flashabou
Body- gray dubbing
Eyes- bead chain eyes

I am planning on trying it out in a few hours. I will let you know how it goes.

[James Smith]

I would recommend that you try a polar fiber minnow/baitfish tied in the High Tie method. This provides a deeper profile similar to what you've discribed. You can add flashabou or a similar material to get the flash. Marabou tends to lay flat when wet so I would not use it in this application. Please feel free to email me if you have any questions on this pattern.

Jim Smith

[ducksterman]

Agree with Jim....I wouldn't use marabou

[lee s]

This is a "Hi Tie" shad immi that gets concocted and tossed around here....occasionally with success even.

The far right bug in this shot is a "Hi Tie" also. Angel Hair is the stuff used, since it happenned to be laying around at the time. [url=http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v315/leesoares/CIMG0221.jpg:599ac]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v315/leesoares/CIMG0221.jpg[/url:599ac]
.........lee s.