If I was a fish, I’d eat this…
I’m not a fish and I’d be tempted to eat it.
What is that clear goo material? …might be able to use that for shiner bodies too.
This one has a piece of clear jelly-rope over the top, ala ‘juice-bugs’, but then I put a layer of UV wader repair goop over the top of that to create even more of a transparent body.
Jelly Rope? I’ll have to find out about that.
I make golden stonefly nymphs and crayfish bodies by snipping shapes out of bass tubes. It’s interesting how (some) fly tyers are perfectly happy with plastic fly tying materials as long as they are marketed that way…but have conniptions about corrupting the purity of fly fishing if the plastic in question comes from a bass tube. I like that Jelly Rope. I’ll have to get some. Bass tubes are handy too.
I use all sorts of stuff not found in fly shops, as most modern tiers do. I love the pearlescent materials used in gift bows and around the bases of flowers. i use a lot of clear surgical tubing and cut out saltwater shrimp shapes and lash them down to hooks- very durable, and clear. I remember the days back in the '60s when there were no synthetics. I robbed goose-down out of my pillow and today I’d get some kind of foam.
You can order jelly-rope on line by googling up a fly shop that carries it. It comes in lots of colors. I get water-clear and root-beer for crawfish.
I posted a photo of a golden stonefly nymph snipped out of a bass tube here ( or somewhere ) a few months ago.
I got an email from an Oregon-based purist who told me I should expect to “be arrested by a state trooper” if I ever tried to fish that fly on “fly fishing only waters in Oregon.” Seems like it would be a game warden who’d put me in the stockade rather than a state trooper. But that’s what he said. We exchanged a few emails and got things sorted out. I could tell he’s a good guy. But his initial reaction to the bass worm fly tying material was interesting.
I’m still laughing about it every time I remember it.
I’ll definitely get some Jelly Rope. Thank you for the tip. I visited your website. Nifty flies. I’ll be back to look some more. You do good work.
WOW - jelly rope? Don, how about a fly of the week on the mysis shrimp, looks like a glass shrimp too.
Hugs,
LF
Hi Dee,
I’ll put a photo-sequence together and send it to you. The glass shrimp uses surgical tubing instead of jelly-rope:
Before this thread dies and fades away, I thought it was important for someone to point what an incredibly significant name this fly has been given by Don01: the Sandy Mite (juice bug). Franz Pott’s most successful fly was the Sandy Mite. And that fly dates all the way back to the 1920s. In fact the Sandy Mite was the best selling fly in Montana for close to 50 years. I think Sandy might be the most significant name in the history of fly fishing. Don’t you? :=))
I like the hek outa that shrimp… Nice tie there…
I don’t know if it’s THE most significant name, but it is a very famous one. About 30 years ago a gentleman brought me one at a fly show in Casper, WY, and wanted me to tie him a few dozen. I told him that part of the price was that I kept the original. He agreed. It’s on the card at the upper right. He said they just kill the trout on these, but they were no longer available. I’m not sure if it’s an original Potts-tied fly, but it looks like one, as it’s tied exactly like the photos I’ve seen of them. I have also purchased some Potts woven-hackle flies at auction (below). When I tied my Sandy Mite juice bug edition, I had Mr. Potts in mind. My fly is nothing like his, so it’s not a copy, but it’s meant to represent the same animal, and I believe it was a scud that he was imitating, using what appears to be horse-hair or something similar. He built the under-hump with thread and ?? on a straight-shank hook. I’m not going to cut it up to find out what. LOL
When i click on the attachment 8738 to see it i get the following… Invalid Attachment specified. If you followed a valid link, please notify the administrator
I re-loaded the photo- is working now.