anybody got a recipe or site w/ directions??? i saw the one here for the bodies
simple GOOGLE search found these
take your pick
http://www.flyfishsaltwaters.com/Creasefly.htm
crease fly foam cutters
Crease fly that’s kind of like a minnow. Link below.
Robert,
I know that you like to fish a Crease Fly and that you’ve done well on it. How do you fish it and when?
Thanks!
I’m not the only one, Steve.
I hear from some of our fellow FAOLers that have done well on it also. They asked me to make mine (MCF or Minnow Crease Fly) a FOTW, so stay tuned. I give it a line twitch or I slowly retrieve it with jerks and pauses as it rides on or just below the surface. I don’t worry about it if it lays on its side sometimes as it suggests a crippled minnow. I use it when I know the fish are keying in on minnows and sometimes even when they are not. Bigger fish eat smaller fish, namely minnows. So it seems that they like to bite it under most any circumstances at least for me anyway.
Folks, Robert has sent me a couple of his crease flies and I can tell you that they are very well done and they will catch fish! I have caught large bluegill and trout on them! I have tried my hand at copying his pattern and I am not completely happy with my results, so, I am really excited to see that he is going to put his pattern on as a FOTW!
thanks for all the response. i attempted one of these and was pleased with the outcome until i tried it. it floats on it’s side (i read how this might be a good thing, like an injured baitfish) what can i do to make the thing float upright???
I wouldn’t worry too much about it being on its side from time to time but it shouldn’t lay on its side all the time. I try to make sure that most of the foam body is positioned above the hook shank when I tie them so the hook stays below the body and the buoyancy is mostly above the hook. Hope this helps.
Here is a great recipe from TexasFlyReport :
http://www.texasflyreport.com/patterns/pattern.aspx?id=42
Barry
One of those links strongly suggested using Balsa USA Gold CA (thick) to quickly and strongly glue the foam together.
I just ordered some from the Balsa USA website, after discovering our local “Michael’s” craft store didn’t seem to carry it. This glue is supposed to be waterproof and also set up quickly, which would make this fly much more enjoyable to tie (rather than clamping and waiting for hours).
I can’t wait to give it a shot, it should work really well for largemouth bass, white bass, hybrids, and probably smallies. I caught a musky and plenty of northern pike on a Rebel Pop-R topwater, so I don’t see why they wouldn’t hit this fly too!
Thanks for posting all the links, guys!
It will float upright if you make the body less tall than the width of the hook gap.
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Try Loctite Super Glue (CA) in the Easy Brush bottle. Three or four dollars a bottle at Wal-Mart. Dries really quick. Although I still use bulldog paper clip clamps to hold the body in place while drying for the short time it takes. Never have had a problem with it not holding up in water either.
Good info, Robert, thanks!
I tried that Balsa product…and I’m very impressed! I hold the bottom of the foam in place on either side of the hook for 20 seconds, and its done. TOUGH STUFF!! I tried prying it apart with my bodkin on my first go at the Crease Fly…and could see that the foam was much more likely to be destroyed before that glue was going to give.
The bad thing I’ve heard is…it may not have a long shelf life? You can refrigerate it, apparently. Is there any other good way to seal up the cap? It actually came with instructions that said “DO NOT REPLACE THE CAP, BECAUSE IT IS A DIFFERENT TYPE OF PLASTIC AND WILL BECOME FUSED TO THE THE BOTTLE” (paraphrased).
It also said you can let the glue harden in the tip, and then when you want to use it again, just press a paper towel into it until the hardened glue sticks to the paper towel…and then pull out the hardened glue “plug”.
Maybe I should just hurry up and tie up as many of these as I can while the glue is still good…
Also, I colored the white foam with Sharpies. Then I applied some Sally Hansen’s, and some of the color smudged. I don’t think the fish will care at all, but I’m reluctant to take/post pictures of them looking like that! ;o)
Other than that, though…I was really impressed with how good these flies look, and how EASY they are to make!
I don’t know about shelf life of unopened bottles (I think they would be alright), but the opened ones definitely have a short shelf life. The Loctite Super Glue is the same as any CA glue. Once you open the bottle it begins to harden from air moisture. The Loctite works just as good as the expensive stuff and lasts just as long but is cheaper.
Yep. Once the bottle is open, I have maybe two or three months before it hardens in the bottle if I’m lucky (don’t quote me on that:roll:). So I try to tie a bunch up before that happens. Its easier just to plan on tying all the CA glue flies you need to when you open the bottle. I keep a spare unopened bottle on hand in reserve also.
Here’s a site for cutters to make the Crease body. Seems a little expensive unless you are mass-producing them.
http://www.madriveroutfitters.com/pc-4769-444-crease-fly-cutters-freshwater.aspx
I took my 5wt over to a nearby public pond last night, and tried out the Crease Flies I had tied up.
Hey, they floated upright and everything! Hooray!
At first I was getting lots of hits from small fish, and no hook-ups. Bluegills and crappies, I think. I switched flies and caught a bunch of those fish, and a bass.
Then I put on a cup-faced foam popper that is “saltwater-sized”…about the size of a Rebel Pop-R, if you know what those look like? Anway, had some boils on it, but no takes. That fly was very very difficult to cast with the 5 wt! So I soon switched back to the Crease Fly, which is very light, and no problem to cast on this rod.
Anyway, after a few boils and misses, it was getting almost too dark to see the fly anymore…and then a decent 15" bass pounced on the fly, and I managed to land it. HOORAY!! It catches fish!
I teach foam fly tying classes and have learned that the best adhesive to use is super glue (my favorite is Loctite brush on which sells as 0.18 oz. at Wal-Mart for $2.94).
Mark Delaney (now sadly deceased) was a Chem. professor at McNeese Statue University and explained to me that super glue on closed cell foam changes the molecular make-up of the foam surface and when a foam-super glue-foam sandwich is created it makes a new instantaneous and permanent bond.
After thousands of flies I can attest to the results, if not the chemistry.
OK, here’s the Crease Flies I tied so far. I’ve already caught a few nice bass on them, and a nice crappie!
