Fun with Foam

[Buddy Sanders]

Uncle Jesse,

Lots of smallmouth in Roosevelt Lake and Apache Lake, both on the salt river upstream from Phoenix. First smallie I caught on this pattern was on Roosevelt.

I now spend all summer in Colorado, just outside of Durango, at Vallecito Lake. It has a solid population of smallmouth, as well as some world class pike. That's where I do most of my fishing now.

Jeff,

Mine float back just fine, but not with the quick bobbing action of a Rapala. If you want that kind of action, you want a fly like the other ones posted or something like the one I'm posting here. This one is done with Balsa, and works pretty much like a Rapala when you give it a good jerk or strip.

Buddy

[Flyfish Dog]

I really like that. Nice ties Buddy! it has to be much improved version of the original. Will give it another try.

[jeffnles1]

Buddy,
Thanks.

I know what I'm going to be doing this weekend

Jeff

[bluefish]

Jeff, you may also want to look into the wiggle minnow. It's a pattern that is very, very effective and popular on the smallmouth and trout rivers of North Carolina and Tenn. It basically will act like a rapala and is very simple to tie once you have the technique mastered. Darrin on the CFF forum has made a tutorial of it. I've fished it for trout, smallies and stripers in the salt, and it worked on all.

Charlie

[BlueDun]

Bluefish: could you please post the link to the CFF tutorial for the Wiggle Minnow? I am currently working on those and could use the help!

[jeffnles1]

This isn't the one Darrin had over at the other fourm, but I found it on the web at hatches magazine.
http://www.hatchesmagazine.com/page/month/331

Jeff

[bluefish]

Thanks Jeff, that one's right from the horses' mouth! Worth tying a few it is.

Charlie

[BlueDun]

Thanks Jeff!

[Uncle Jesse]

Thanks Buddy, I try to get out to AZ as often as I can in the summer. Gemrod's neighborhood is a favorite place of mine. I have a friend who lives in Mesa I like to fish with. We haven't been to Apache or Roosevelt either, just trout fish on Ft. Apache Reservation and at Big Lake. That's a nice look bug you have there, is that around a No. 6 hook or larger. Smallmouth on a flyrod has been on my to do list for while, pike are pretty scarce down south.

[Buddy Sanders]

Uncle Jesse,

That diver is built on a #2 33903 Mustad popper hook. The whole bait is around 5 inches, give or take a bit, nose to tail. But with the streamlined bucktail tailing and the lightweight balsa tial, I can still throw it just fine with my 6 wt., even with my 3 wt. if it's calm.

Buddy