Hey Rick,
Great article. Too bad you weren’t hooking them well. When I use the Crappie Candy fly, the hook point rides up so I end up “most of the time” hooking them in the upper harder portion of the mouth rather than the soft membrane part. When I use the Improved McGinty or Improved Black Gnat, I think the size 10 wet fly is so small that even hooked in the membrane I can get them in but not always. I do miss my fair share of Specks because of the hook set for sure. I really don’t think there is a fool-proof way of avoiding those bad hook sets on Papermouths though. However, I have learned to set hooks very light with just a lift of the rod tip by way of wrist action rather than a hard hook set so my catching (landing) percentage has gone up as a result. Less hook setting pressure also means that my hooks must be sharp so I have a hook hone for that.
CC upper lip hooked Specks
http://img.villagephotos.com/p/2006-1/1133732/10inchSpeckonthefly(Small).JPG
http://img.villagephotos.com/p/2006-1/1133732/9inchPondSpeck8FluorescentGreenCC(Small).JPG
IM side lip hooked Speck (luckily hooked on the lip portion rather than the membrane)
http://img.villagephotos.com/p/2006-1/1133732/10ImprovedMcGintypondSpeck(Small).JPG
I have a question. What is the tinsel material you use on the Goldie fly? Thanks.
