I need some help here… While i was at the local bait shop buying a couple of things for my normal ties a man approched me and asked if I could provide him with some large flies for muskie…of course i cant resist the challenge of this so here we are, if you have or know of a pattern for this please let me know. any help would be appreciated.
Thanks!
There are many patterns for musky flies. Do an internet search and you will find plenty of them. I tie lots of musky flies using everything from magnum rabbit strips to synthetic fibers. You will be tying big flies on big hooks. I regularly use hooks from 3/0 to 8/0 and end up with flies that are often over 10 inches.
One of the easiest to tie is a Reynolds bunny strip fly developed by Barry Reynolds for northern pike. Very effective for pike and musky but as they are made from rabbit they get heavy when wet and can be challenging to cast.
Many of the popular catalogs carry musky flies and you can get a good idea of what these patterns look like by looking at the catalogs.
Rick
Thanks, Rick
I did a google search and have seen some very nice flies but there seems to be very few recipe’s or how to’s out there without purchase of a dvd or book…
Gary
Gary,
All you are really doing is tying big streamers, mostly. Muskies aren’t all that fly picky, they are mostly just hard to find. Lots of casts per fish, but if you can get a large baitfish imitating fly where they can see it, you should do okay. The big ones tend to prefer large flies. Even smaller Muskies prefer flies larger than the average pike wants.
If you want a ‘big’ streamer, something in the 6 to 12 inch ranges, you have to use long materials, or use a tandem fly.
To make these easier to cast, things that don’t hold a lot of water are preferable. Long synthetics, Yak hair, that nice islandic horse hair, things like that. Feathers, quality barred saddle feathers and such in the longer lengths also are nice.
Hard to beat a ‘deciever’ style fly, but a nice color combination lashed to a large, sharp, strong hook is what you are looking for.
Personally, I don’t like to fish with 10 to 12 weight rods for freshwater fish, so I stay away from rabbit strips that are longer than around six inches, they get too heavy to cast.
Good Luck!
Buddy
Buddy Sanders wrote
Feathers, quality barred saddle feathers and such in the longer lengths also are nice.
I second Buddy on buying good quality feathers. I have a couple of different colors of some cheap Chinese hackles & a couple of bunches of some better hackles and there is quite a difference in the length, limpness and amount of curve in them. With the Chinese hackles about the longest fly I can get with them is five inches. I can do better with the other hackles.
If possible I would look at the hackles before you buy or talk to a knowledgeable sales person if you have to buy them over the phone.
Somewhere in the Fly of the Week Archives, here at this site, is an “Embellished Deceiver” with tying instructions that we use for Northerns in NWT, Canada. By cementing after EACH step, you can expect your bug to last for 15-20 fish.
…lee s.
If you want an alternative to using rabbit strips for you Reynalds bunny, use craft fur strips. Cut the craft fur into approx 3/8" strips then stretch them. They will stretch out quite a bit. Then use as you would a bunny strip. They’re fairly durable and don’t soak up water like rabbit does. You can throw 8-10" flies quite easily.
Kevin