well, after a bit of searching around i found the size of paracord i was looking for. so here are some of the minnows i tied with it.
a close up of one
the whole batch
the largest one at the bottom is 9 1/2 inches with a tandem treble hook attached with 12 pound test mono. the perch was dyed just using permanent markers.
duckster, it may take a bit of searching. i know the size you are talking about, that was the only one i could find at first. the flies pictured with the olive hair ontop were made from that. i had to check walmart, Dick’s sporting goods, and Sports authority at potomac mills mall before i found the right size for the bigger ones.
and they swim great, when i tested them. though i havn’t really started fishing them yet, so i havnt caught anything on them. i’ll be using them later in the year, but since i’m going after crappie right now, i havnt used them yet.
hope this helps
edit: come to think of it, i should try some of these for crappie… maybe on my next outing.
Sports authority at Potomac Mills in the camping section.
and i had no idea there were any other FAOLers that close… thats pretty cool. You ever hit Burk Lake? i go up there every once in a while. its supposed to be a decent Musky spot. and i have a feeling these flies might be great there…
"Interesting material - wet flies of course? Does the material perform well in the water? Because the construction of the flies looks good.
Jeanne"
yep wet flies. they actually swim very well in the water. and if youwant to alter them to make the sink faster of whatnot, just wrap a bit of wire around the like you can see i did to some in the picture.
and as far as holding up to fish, i havnt caught any with them yet, but by the way the fly is made, it can get all bent up and mangled from fish, and it takes it pretty well. as long as its not actually cut up, the body will just be pushed dowm the hook shank out of the way when a fish hits, and all you have to do is just pull on the tail to straighten it.