Top row is like what we started with Sat. AM, and the bottom row is what we tossed back in the fly box Sat. PM.
Nuff said, for this lazy, non-computerized EYEtalian!
…lee s.
Lee, Tell me about the weed guards on those patterns. I’ve been looking for something like that for a crawdad pattern I want to drag across the bottom. Any hooking problems? Who makes 'em?
Best to remain silent and be thought a fool, than to open your mouth and remove all doubt.
Something I seldom remember to do.
We make’em here at home…adding them to the bug last. They are either guitar string wire or single strand trolling wire, both stainless, about 30mm dia.
They’re just like the guards on the Eagle Claw worm hooks the gear guys use.
No hook-up problems for us. At least we think not. The stuff we toss into for LM’s require a GOOD guard. 
One strand of wire doubled with the ends inserted thru the hook eye and bent over to the back side and tied on. Do the other bending last.
Clear as mud? Sorry…
…lee s.
Will do very amature pics if necessary.
PS - They snap up under the hook point when in use.
Maybe a pic with it pushed up against the hook might be helpful?
Best to remain silent and be thought a fool, than to open your mouth and remove all doubt.
Something I seldom remember to do.
OK…
Great looking patterns. I personally don’t like the weed guards and think they do affect hook-setting. Even though they aren’t as effective, I prefer the mono guards. I purchased some Gulley Worms last year which had the wire guards and I took them off after a few great hits without hook-ups.
When we were kids we used to pester some catfish in the water troughs my cousin had for the cows. Sticking just your finger in the water often resulted in a catfish rising and grabbing it. They bit HARD and fast.
A bass crushes much of it’s prey. Sudden stunning is essential for bass survival. Something that has and uses all that power in it’s jaws is hard for me to envision being too weak to spring that guard. Maybe they work for us because we almost always do top-water…? Who knows.
We do miss some fish…but we miss some without weedguards too. We prefer the wire because it CAN be restored to shape after a fish bends it up (and they will ) and it seems the only places that interest us are complete jungles of foilage and structure. Mono has proven to be completely inadequate for us to be weed free, and, once mangled it does not straighten out enough to suit us.
We kinda think the extra time in the water will produce enough hits to compensate for the hits lost while removing salad.
Maybe if our target was not LM’s, stripers, or pike, we would concider mono or some other type guard…maybe.
PS - There were even some fish that were hooked and the guard returned to “pinned” position, thus making it an impossibility for the fish to throw the hook in any way.
Strange…
Thanks Lee that helped a bunch. I’ll have to give that a try. Nice looking fly’s by the way.
Best to remain silent and be thought a fool, than to open your mouth and remove all doubt.
Something I seldom remember to do.