The birth of a new pattern: the carnal crisscross.

 I have been working on this for a little while now, and it's nearly at it's final stage. The final tie will be shown on the next livestream this friday the 12th of March.

First try yesterday on the water, and i am so happy with the early results, wide profile, crazy moves , easy to cast and the pikes loved it!

The live sessons: Junkindatrunk 2.0

 Again i like to thank everyone  for the ongoing support for the livestreams! This  time we have a look at a streamer i developed about 4 years ago and over that time i changed it a little for best effect in the water. 

 

We are all used to see a streamer sink head first, and i wanted to change this by having the weight right at the back and adding a little foam inside the head. When fishing this fly its important to give it a pause once in a while to get the head to raise and let the cone and glass beads to slide back. 

As usual my ties work for me and where i fish them, feel free to customize yours  by adding more or less weight and altering the overall size and colours.

Here's the links for your body tubing needs:

https://flymenfishingcompany.com/products/fish-skull-chockletts-body-tubing

https://www.techflex.com/general-purpose/flexo-pet 

Clevise/Buzzbait rivet to tie your whiptail :

https://www.lureparts.nl/en/buzzbait-rivets.html

 Here's a lit of the upcoming streams for the next few weeks: 

19/02/21: Pike leaders/Flashtail whistler.

26/02/21: Brush making.

05/02/21: Jerkchangers.

12/05/21: Articulated flash tails.

19/05/21 : The Flasher.

Please don't be shy in sharing these streams with  your friends! Let's grow this channel together ;)

To finish i include the original Junkindatrunk fly:

 

The tying sessions Ep:36 The Belly Changer

Just because there is nothing more exiting than to have a pike chasing top water bugs!
This one , if tied right will have just the front of the head floating. Depending on the strips it can dive a little, jerk or try it on a slow rolly polly for that snake motion!
Fish it on a full floating line for more fun, but it can also be fished on an intermediate or even a sink tip.
My favorite is certainly full floating on rivers and let it play with the flow.
Can also  be just deadly when fishing over big summer cabbage patch on bigger loughs! Its creates so much movements that pikes can't ignore when a belly changer passes over their head.

Top tips for this tie:

• Start with tying short lengths of hair and increase the length at every shanks so you will end up with a nice, natural profile.
• Respect a good ratio of hair between the top and the bottom of the fly. It just need to have less hairs on the bottom so it will sit well on the surface and won't roll.
• Do not overload the head, no need to pack it, it's not a full surface fly, you want it to stay on the surface, but also soak up a bit of water so it can be just subsurface. 
• Use a heavy hook so it will keel  properly.  
• Try to tie it with small dumbbell eyes if you want a slow sinking version

Cant wait for the summer months to take the raft down rivers and tease a few crocs with the Belly changer !

The tying sessions Ep:35 The Gunsmoke roach

Fly tying is like cooking, put the right ingredients together in the right amount and it will be tasty!
This is a fly that will last a good few meals! Plenty of volume with the "X" style tying in the middle and super visual with the holographic flash and that punchy colour combo neon yellow and orange on the belly and throat .
But it also can be shy with the whole body structure in a stealthy gunsmoke colour.
This is a fly that i love using as it can produce in any conditions! No need for dark flies on dull days and bright flies on sunny days....This one will cover anything, clear waters, dirty waters, sunny, cloudy days...Doesn't matter to the gunsmoke....His barrel never gets cold!

The Tying sessions EP:34 The Bunny Boiler

A streamer that can be tied on a smaller hook for other predatory fish. From bass,trout, perch this fly will tempt many fish. The zonker will protect the rattle making it a very durable fly. For pike i like to cut my own zonker to have them slightly wider than the shop bought ones.
As usual fell free to change colours to suit your area and fish targeted.

The tying sessions EP:33 RAMSEY'S CYCLOP

An other top water pattern, this one was originally designed for taimen if i'm not mistaken. It represents a dying baitfish flapping on the surface. The action is a mix between a skid and a popper. Normally used in rivers this fly will feel at home on stillwater too. I have fished this fly for pike in the margins and over weedbeds with good success and i'm sure if tied in different sizes it will tempt many other predators from bass to GT and peacock bass.This fresh batch if coming with me for the Guyane trip!

As usual feel free to change colors and hook size. For pike i like to use the Sakuma Mantas and for more exotic  species i always trust a good Gamakatsu SL12S.

The Tying Sessions, EP:32 The Drowning rodent 2.0

I always liked fishing mice/rat flies. I remember when i was much younger, i was fishing with my father, we were on a river and his float fished roach disappeared in a flash. The fight was poor and short as the water temperatures were very low. Sadly after many efforts that fish decided to stay belly up. We decided not to waste it and  took it home. But when we cleaned it at the river, he had in his stomach three full grown rats, and that pike was not big pushing maybe just 3 kgs!
Since that day i cannot have a fly box without at least a couple of rats!

Tried and tested...Many times over

I like to fish them on a floating line, early spring (end February , March, April ) When most anglers wouldn't dream in using a topwater fly at this time of the year, i usually score some good fish on this pattern early in the year. Rats and mice are in full activity at this time, ready to start breeding after their long winter they often cross rivers and loughs simply because its the shorter route. Later in spring you will have the young ones, a little inexperienced and without any fear of what might lie beneath them when they fall in the water.
Later in the year, summer time , i like using these rats for late evening if it's a bright hot day, and if you have a summer like us here in Ireland (rain and not so hot...) you can be deadly fished over big weed beds. Not just margins and lillypads.
I started using deer hair for the top of the tie to give it buoyancy and Congo hair on the belly to make it sink. I caught many good fish with this tie, but i knew i could improve it's action a lot more.
This is the results, the drowning rodent 2.0! I use two types of fibers now, WATER SILK and CONGO HAIR from FLY TYERS DUNGEON .
The water silk is finer it olds and absorbs more water, the Congo hair is a little stiffer and doesn't hold water much. But water still sheds fast with a couple of false cast making this fly a lot easier to cast then it's original deer version.

 I use the water silk for the bottom of the tie(tail and first section) and introduce the Congo hair on the third shank but only on the top of the shank, belly stays in water silk. Finish the head with the foam, give it a good brush and trim.
You could make this fly with a brush instead of stacking like i do, bit stacking gives you advantages that you can't match with a brush...Using two type of fibers is one and the choice in colours that you have at your disposition.

I hope you enjoy the video, and thanks again for your continued support!