Smelt or Silver Baitfish

Smelt / Silver Bait fish pattern

Baitfish Pattern

A actual Smelt fish, which is favorite bait for many fishes.

Some Silver bait pattern tie in less than an hour...

I have the Marc Petitjean's Ice Dun - Siver dub with me for some time... but have no idea what to tie with it..... until...

I came across some very nice SLF material from PRISM the other day in our Flyshop... the PRISM SLF is a wonderful material that it's so soft and the Ice Pearl have some UV property mix in the SLF. then I realiaze together with Petitjean's Ice Dub Silver, it's going to be the best combination for bait fish pattern

This pattern imitate any silver color bait fish like 'Seluang' bait fish in our water or similar would be Smelt in colder water... it's also look similar to our small little bait fish at sea.. which we call ikan bilis... 

so this pattern is suitable for both fresh and saltwater.

Materials:

Daiichi - 10172 size 6

Petijean Ice Dub - Silver

PRISM SLF - Pearl and Charcoal

Lead wire

 Orvis 3D Oval Pupil eyes 3/16"

The step by step tying instructions:

Wind in some lead wire, and prepare the hook

The material - PRISM SLF and ICE Dub

Tie in some PRISM SLF 

Tie in some PRISM SLF at bottom and some ICE Dub on top, the fold over, tie down... 

repeat the step

It's similar technique like a hollow fly... always fold over the fiber to the back and tie down, repeat the step until you reach near the hook eye

Now tie in some PRISM SLF Pearl at bottom and Charcoal on top

Fold over the Charcoal fiber and tie down, this is to create bulk in the head profile

Now tie in some Silver ICE dub

Fold both top and bottom fibers and whip finish

Apply some cement to the head

Stick your 3D eye with Gel Super glue

The little bait fish is ready

You can tie as small as size 8 if you are fishing to match the hatch... I'm tying with size 6 hook which I get the pattern as small as 2"

Similar technique... using other color or the ICE Dub and SLF... you will be able to imitate many other bait fish pattern

Cheer and Happy tying

Tightline...!!

Latex Damsel Nymph

Latex Damsel Nymph

The actual Damsel Nymph

This Damsel nymph pattern was tie with similar technique spin off from the Latex Dragonfly Nymph... as some water have more Damsel nymph and the best thing about Damsel nymph is, they are a swimmer... you can fish them at different water pocket.

Materials:

Latex sheet

Hook - any long shank nymph hook size 10-8

Burned mono eye

Dubbing

Goose biots

CDC puff or marabou as tail

Step by step tying instruction:

Prepare the hook, here I bend the hook, but you can tie it straight from the hook, bending it is just personal preference

Wind in some lead wire about 1/4 near the hook eye, use some surgical tape to taper the body

Tie in the CDC puff or you can also use marabou

Tie in the latex strip 

( one of the best latex strip which is durable is Nymph skin by Virtual Nymph ) but I'm using latex strip cut from a normal latex glove

Wind in the latex strip, tie it down

Tie in 3 pairs of goose biots as legs

Prepare the mono eye

Tie in the mono eye

Dub in some dubbing to split the legs

Fold over the latex, tie down as head

Tie down the latex near the last pair of legs as thorax

Trim the latex, keep about 5mm for the wing case

 Now trim the latex to form the wing case

Color the pattern with markers

Now it's ready... 

It's a very simple and easy tie pattern.... very effective too...

Cooper Shrimp XS

Cooper Shrimp XS

This is a little extra small shrimp pattern which tie on saltwater hook as small as size 10, it's design to target for those bottom feeder and bonefish which is extra spooky or only takes small little crustaceans on the flats.

Due to the size of the hook, a mini size bead chain were used and to increase it's sink rate... I add in some cooper wire. The idea came from Cooper John nymph which design on the same reason, extra weight, less water resistant and fast sink rate.

Materials:

Hook - Daiichi 10172 size 10

Mini bead chain

Cooper wire - large

Orange Lady Amherst Pheasant Neck tippet

Woodchuck fiber

Flashabou

Centipede rubber legs - mini

Pink and orange color dubbing

The step by step tying instructions:

Prepare the hook

Tie in the mini bead chain

Dub in some pink dubbing as hot spot

Tie in the orange tippet as eye

Tie in a pair or two rubber legs as per your preferance

Dub in some orange dubbing which indicate as the egg sack, the tie in the cooper wire

Wind in the cooper wire, tie down at the end and trim the cooper wire

Turn the hook over and tie in some flashabou

Tie in some Woodchuck hair fiber, whip finish and trim the extra

The Cooper Shrimp XS is ready

Another view on the pattern

This pattern is so easy to tie... you can quickly tie some up in no time

Try... and go get some Bones... 

Cheers