Beyond the Bondorew Bucktail

[The Fisherman]

I first tied and fished the Bondorew Bucktail last year. I only tied one fly, caught some stripers on it, then lost it on the bottom somewhere in CT or RI. But I always liked that single-feather flatwing fly, with its relatively sparse composition and full profile. So last week I tied another one up, about 4" long:

http://www.flyaddict.com/gallery/data/519/medium/BondorewBT.JPG

This got me to thinking: what if I played around with the basic pattern, and adapted elements from another pattern into the mix? Being spring, I was thinking about the blueback herring, and since I don't have a lot of different colored long saddles, I though this would be a good experiment in tying a longer fly using mostly bucktail for the body. This is Ken Abrames' Herr Blue pattern modified to into a Bonderew Bucktail format, about 7" long. There are nine different colored bucktail hairs blended in there. I'm calling it Herr Bond:

http://www.flyaddict.com/gallery/data/500/medium/HerrBond.JPG

I really like the way the Herr Bond came out, so I got ambitious and turned my sights toward an Alewife pattern. Using the color descriptions of what the bait can look like underwater, and consulting several color palletes in other alewife patterns, Ray's Wife was born:

http://www.flyaddict.com/gallery/data/500/medium/Ray_sWife.JPG

Then I decided to break format and use the saddle hackles I had on hand to make an even bigger alewife pattern, while still relying on bucktail to fill in the colors I didn't have. This is a nine-feather flatwing, about 9" long, hence the name Alewife #9:

http://www.flyaddict.com/gallery/data/500/medium/Alewife_9.JPG

I have not fished these yet, but they are the kind of fly that will cast small and fish big. Speaking of big, that's the kind of striper I'm hoping will grab onto them. :-)

[BRK TRT]

Very nice flies.

That third one would make a good trolling fly for LL salmon.

[Andrew]

They all look very nice. The hooks don't look like saltwater hooks - is that the case, or just the lighting?


As far as bluebacks vs. alewives, it's my understanding from talking to an expert here at Yale that they are virtually indistinguishable fish, even to experts. And in any case, I think it would be very hard to tell what you were fishing over just by seeing them splashing around, so I would imagine that any of those patterns that incorporate multiple colors and have the dark top would do a more than adequate job of imitating your "basic river herring".


Speaking of herring, I like to watch these videos to get a feel for how the colors come and go as the fish move:

http://www.vimeo.com/1038761

[pork]

Those are some nice looking flies, especially that last one. That thing is huge! You're going to have to carry these around in a tackle box.

[The Fisherman]

You are correct, Andrew, those are not stainless steel hooks.

These were all tied on a 3/0 Eagle Claw 253. It's a spinnerbait hook.

[Andrew]

I don't know if it's universally true, but it always seems to me that freshwater hooks are sharper than saltwater, maybe because they're often thinner. For me, the problem is that my hooks sometimes rust in the fly boxes if I'm not vigilant about keeping them free of saltwater. But I would imagine a spinner bait hook has a bit more "beef" to it than a standard freshwater fly tying hook - is that correct? (Some of my larger freshwater fly tying hooks still look like a big striper would open them right up!)

By the way, I didn't mean to suggest, by my comments, that spending time on a blueback pattern, AND an alewife pattern was a waste of time, given the similarities of the fish. Tying is just fun, so you should do it however you wish. It just reminded me of that conversation I'd had with the Yale biologist. I said "I am seeing a lot of herring - how can I tell if they're alewives or bluebacks?" And he said "You can't."

(I think maybe they're spawning period is slightly different, if I remember what he told me correctly.)

[The Fisherman]

These hooks are pretty sharp out of the box. I can tell you they have held up pretty well for me; then again, I'm vigilant about rinsing things off after the salt. I think these are either nickel or tin plated, but I'm not sure.

I didn't take your comments that way. Quite frankly, I couldn't tell the differences between them. I was just basing these flies on other patterns (or a combination of) and having fun trying something new. I really like the blending of colors and the multitude of hues it creates.

Now, we'll see what the bass think of them. ;-)

[Andrew]

These hooks are pretty sharp out of the box. I can tell you they have held up pretty well for me; then again, I'm vigilant about rinsing things off after the salt. I think these are either nickel or tin plated, but I'm not sure.


Is there something in particular about them that makes you choose them?


By the way, speaking of sticky sharp, I tried something last year that I read about somewhere. Take some fine grit sandpaper, the black kind, and glue strips of it to popsicle sticks. You have a lightweight, floating, rust-proof file. They don't take off much metal, so they don't work for bent tips or even for the initial sharpening up, but for just adding that extra bit, they're great. They make hook points so sticky sharp they should be illegal.

[The Fisherman]

When I started to tie, I taught myself mostly by following along with "A Perfect Fish." Most of Ken's patterns called for Eagle Claw 253 or 254 hooks.

I'm not a fan of the 254 in larger sizes (too hard to sharpen and they're dull as heck to start with) but the 253 does right by me, and they're inexpensive to boot. I have them in 1/0 and 3/0.

I also use the Mustad 3407, mostly for size 1-6.

[MuddlerMinnow]

Very nice ties!

[The Fisherman]

I did the same sort of bucktail version of the Striper Moon last night, and it came out just swell. Perfect for a deeper bodied baitfish.

Just spent about an hour ruminating on a pink/white/chartruese soft hackle/maribou streamer...so many flies to tie! ;-)

[hookandhackle]

Pictures please!

[The Fisherman]

OK, when I get the chance. The SM looks fishy as heck. It's about 7.5".

I tied the two smaller (3.5") 2-feather flatwings last night with lots of maribou and some bucktail in the colors outlined above. They're mostly white with a chartreuse topping and a hint of pink.

I have high hopes. :-)