Suede baitfish

These are largely inspired form the latest tie form Flyskinz Instagram account. Flyskinz have some amazing products that will suit many styles of tying and will cover many patterns.
If you tie some bugs, craws or other types of creatures make sure you visit their site www.flyskinz.com for inspiration and why not stock up while you're there!
 This is my own version made with the faux suede material. Tied on Sakuma Manta Extra 6/0 and some  Crew Boss heads from www.spawnflyfish.com that i sprayed and coated prior to the tie.

• First cut some tails from a faux suede sheet. These are about 90/100mm long and the tail at it's widest is 35mm.

•  Glue and tie onto the hook.

• Now tie a strip of rabbit on both sides of the tail. The strips are 5mm wide and 35/40mm long.

 

• I then glued the strips onto the faux suede. This will stiffen the tail at it's base to wrapping itself on the hook but you will still have lots of movement from the mid section of the tail all the way to the end of the tail. 

• For the gills and head base i just make a dubbing loop and fill it with congo hair.

• For the head i put some foam, this will give a good base for the glue to hold the head and it will make the fly have a little more hang time in the water.

• Nearly finished, just need to glue the head on. If the eye of the hook doesnt fit through the small hole in the head, all you have to do is heat up the eye of the hook with a lighter and push the head over.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

Homemade poppers / part 1

In the next few months, most of my spare time at the vice will be in preparation for that trip to French Guyana. Like i said in previous posts, flies for the aimara need to be noisy! And nothing crates more splash and noise than a good popper!
For this collection i am turning the heads myself...Sure i can buy them already made, but where's the fun in that?
I will have a few foam heads, like the double barrel and Howitzers from Flymen and some home made as well, but i think durability is essential when you chase such an aggressive fish armed with teeth that would put a pike to shame...
So the heads will be made out of wood, not balsa, as i thing its way too soft (even with a couple of epoxy or envirotex coats). So i went for basswood (or known as tilia for others) , a much harder wood than balsa .Yes it's heavier than balsa, but it won't crush like balsa, and that is the key when targeting a fish like the wolf fish!

● Basswood comes in a rectangular shape in different sizes, it's up to you to cut it to size.Using a table saw is safe and gives good, clean results.

● Drill each block to prevent splitting when you will insert a nail in the next step.

 ●To make the sanding an easier task, roughly cut of the corners and shape your heads a little.

 ● Insert a nail and make sure it's a mm thicker than your hole to assure a good grip. But also be sure than the nail fits in you Dremel tool.

 ●Secure the nail in the Dremel.

 ●Spin and slowly apply your sand paper to the wood, start at the narrow side and work you way to the front of the head. Use a coarse sand paper at first and finish with a finer one.

Heads done, just need to apply the finishing touches ( Part 2 )

In part 2 we will do the finishing touches, more shaping and painting.

Here's a video explaining the same steps: