weed guards for bonefish

Fishing Saltwater Fly Fishing
1

am going to Ambergris caye in Belize end of Feb. and have been advised by a bonefisherman
there to have some crazy charlies, clousers, gotcha’s with weed guards on them.
My question is what should I use for guard material 10,15 20# mono. should I use the continuous loop method, one strand to the hook point or the two splayed to the sides method?? I don’t have any experience tying weed guards in. Any help appreciated.

Thanks
Bill Dorgeloh
Fredericksburg, VA

2

Bill,

I’ve only done a little bonefishing, in the Keys, but for other saltwater fishing, I like 2 prong weedguards made of 20lb Mason hard mono.

Here’s a demo on tying in a single prong guard:
http://www.fish-bones.com/flytying-weedguard.html

Instructions on tying 2 prong; this is how I do it, wish there were pictures:
http://www.catcherman.com/forums/showthread.php?t=4214

Regards,
Scott

One tip for straightening Mason out if you use it. Pull some off the spool, attach weight to one end (foreceps work great), grab the other with a pair of pliers and pour a little boiling water down the mono (do this over your kitchen sink); takes all of the curl out. Cut it into 12" lengths and then you can use a soda straw to store the mono until you need it.

3

thanks , I’ll give it a try
Bill

4

I hate weed guards. That being said; http://colo2.flyanglersonline.com/flytying/fotw2/082800fotw.php

5

castwell, good looking fly,
have tried a couple of weed guards on some Crazy Charlies and practice will make perfect.

Thanks all

6

I use 16# & 20# Hard Mason for my weed guards…mainly because they are easy to snip off after teh second or third cast.
What I have done with some success on Charlies and Gotchas is add a little Softex (or similar) to the wing to stiffen it up a bit. While it doesn’t make the fly totally weedless, it does help it out a bit.
When I was there in October, #6 pearl (with a little pink) gotcha’s were the ticket.

Have a good trip, Chris