This is George Glazener’s pattern. I just started playing around with it the past couple of days. It is a striper fly, or a hybrid striper. I made it in a 1/0 but the recipe is 2/0-3/0. I saw George at the Texoma Tie In, and showed him the one fly I did, he told me I needed to move the eyes back, so I did. Here is the best one from the past couple of days. It still needs tweaking, but I know it will catch fish!
Don’t tell anyone but lots of “flyfishing” guides have been using “props” in front of silver (coho) salmon flies for years. And they work.
I have used a propeller in front of a woolly bugger type fly…they do work. I usually put a propeller next to the eye, with a bead behind it. They do work alright. I didn’t know coho salmon flies had propellers though. That is cool.
kelkay:
Very nice fly! Spinner blades on flies were very popular in the early 1900’s, but lost favor after WW II. There seems to have been a resurgence in their use during the past couple of decades.
aged sage
Very nice Kelkay. Pretty certain of its success.
Thanks guys. Aged Sage, I have been learning that recently. I know that the fly is fairly slow for me to tie because split rings and adding the blade and all that takes time. Then I use Bug Bond to cover nail polish on the blade. You know, if it weren’t for that, epoxy would work just fine. But I was pretty impatient and I did all the blades before putting them on the fly. I didn’t have to use epoxy stuff on the body, eyes, or thread head, but I wanted to for durability.
I bet that would be a more gooder fly fer texoma than what the standard fly would be… I have found that the spinner works a bit better if you put a small bead in between it & the head of the fly so the tippet dont twist up so bad (fer spinners without the swivel)… Nice fly… YEA !!! Allmost fergot, were gonna went back to texoma in september when its cooler weather & better fer striper fishin if ya wanna go…
Bugman, the man who did this fly had Texoma as a playground. The fly like this is particularly good in the cold water for sluggish fish. I do the bead with propeller type flies. I am thinking of using a bead, and a propeller for these flies too, but there could be a problem with line twist if the blade is too big. George said I need to allow more room in the head thread area for the fly to spin properly if it is a free spinner. So I am going to tie down the ones I have, and do another batch today.
As far as another Texoma trip, I sure want to go back, sounds good. I even bought some decent sandals for wading a couple of days ago. No more flip flops for a Texoma trip, that is for sure. Maybe I can catch a monster Smallmouth like you did that day we went…hehehe.
Nice fly!! A blade is just another synthetic material, besides a true purist wouldn’t be using a fly rod for bass, so I would worry about the purist part. What size rod will it take to cast that thing? I bet something that big and heavy looks like it would give even an 8wt a challenge.
Bass Bug, I would say no less than a 7wt, and an 8 wt would be the best smallest size. I have an 8wt, but a 9 or 10wt would really be good. I cannot use more than an 8wt, unless it is a good one. My 8 wt gives me a back ache after a while. You can also make this fly with saddle hackle, and bucktail, lead with no lead eyes…just stick on eyes…and it would be lighter. That one is called a Spinster. You can also make a Jig Hook Clouser, and that would work really well for now. (without the spinner) I will make these down to a size 4, which should be good for a White Bass or Hybrid Striper too. I hope the lead eyed fly casts okay with my 8wt. If not someone will have to take these flies lol…
Since you have concerns about line twist…and yet are adding metal…like blades, beads itc…why not a very small swivel that is designed for fly fishning?
Kelly, You will not have time in you lifetime to use all the poppers and flies you have tied. Would you sell me a batch?
Jim
PS
Kelly, I did not forget about the punch yarn. The yarn did not arrive in Kilgore til long after I got there. My check for it was lost in the mail and I had to do a stop order and send another check out. When the punch yarn finally arrived, i put it aside and out of sight…out of mind. I will have to find a good way to roll some off the spools I have and send them to you. It will be done.
I am not sure about the swivel you are speaking of for fly fishing. Can you send a link? No problem about the Punch Yarn. Pm on the rest.
Well, I don’t know where to find the smallest swivel. In times past I have seen very small swivels intenteded for fly casting. But I don’t know how to find them. I will have to search now I guess. I have been wondering if I could take the smallest light bulb switch chain…and make a swivel…
I dunno…
Hey Kelly. Where’s Ivan? I have tried to call him on Skype and no answer. IF you get a chance, please tell him I would like to get a phone call from him. My skype looks normal. I was talking to Jerry on it yesterday. But it doesn’t ring to Ivan and get no answer. I think something wrong witih my setup and I think he can help me out.
Great flies and poppers pretty young lady. But no comment on sellingme some?
Jann’s Netcraft http://www.jannsnetcraft.com/ has a wide range of swivels. Also clevis’s if thats what you might be thinking of.
I was not trying to find the smallest swivel, or split ring. They are hard for me to see to attach, and the smaller they are, the harder it is to attach them. (for me anyway) Ivan was out of town yesterday. I think he is either home, or fishing today. I sent you a message about the flies. 
Bass Bug I just made an order for spinner stuff for my flies from there. They are the best place I think for this. I am not sure how the clevis thing works, but I know they can use that for the switching blades out. I like inline spinners, and regular spinners for conventional fishing too. I usually do pretty good on using them.
That ain’t fly fishing. It’s a travesty. What a sacrilidge.
OK, what’s the recipie? Seriously, the propeller thing sounds like a good idea. One of my favorite spinning lures is a torpedo with props front and back. It’s a very old style bass lure, but it still works.
Wonder about a deer hair bug or foam bug with a prop at the nose?
May be interesting to play around with.
You had me going there for a minute…lol. The fly I made uses lead eyes, no extra lead wraps. But they are basically the same. You can use saddles, or not. I like the Flashtail Jig Hook Clouser. Also the jig hooks makes a great regular Clouser. I made a couple of them a while back. I saw a guy make a popping bug with a propeller in the back of the fly I think it was. Sure, try out anything like that. You never know till you give it a whirl.
The Spinster Materials List by George Glazener
Hook:
Eagle Claw 413 60 degree jig hook, size 2/0 to 3/0
Thread:
White and Red Danville flat waxed or Fly Master Plus
Weight:
.035 diameter lead wire
Tail:
Four long, slender chartreuse saddle hackles with 20 strands of glo white Flashabou, silver Crystal Flash, and white bucktail
Throat:
White Bucktail
Eyes:
Peel-off, stick-on eyes by Spirit River
Hardware:
#10 stainless roller swivel, #00 split ring, #/0 Indiana spinner blade and glitter flakes
I caught my biggest trout on a propeller. Was using it as an attractor and a dropper. I was using a Pistol Pete, which is a fly with a propeller, as the attractor and a prince nymph for a dropper. She took the prince nympy. No repeat scientific studies on this or anything. Just an observation and the truth. Don’t really know if the Pistol Pete had anything to do with it or not.
Nice work…
I like that idea (swivel + blade right onto the shank). I’ll use that myself
Thank you!
I saw a Ray Berman plate once, that included a big Yellow Sally wet fly tied with a Colorado Spinner up front.
I use Colorado spinners in front of big wet flies during runoff. They are also useful for grossing out
pince-nez purists. Which is a also a fun sport.
