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MikeFlyGuy

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  1. I've been making lipped flies for decades and construct my own lips. I've never used store bought Flylipps. I use lipped flies almost exclusively at night. There are several things to consider - size/surface area of the lip, weight and size the hook(s), amount of buoyancy in the fly and it's shape, and the length of the longish tail. It takes a bit of experimentation to get it right. But there are some general rules one can follow: 1. For lipped flies in fast moving current, one will need to use two hooks articulated together. The added keeling effect of the second hook is needed to keep the fly from spinning. (That notion came from a fly called the Magic Minnow in Fly Tyer magazine, I believe, many years ago.) In fast current, one hook will just be too unstable. One can get away with a single hook for a lipped fly though in still water, but the surface area of the lip has to be within reason relative to the size and weight of the hook and materials the fly is constructed with. (Note to fishfinder401. The case of the wooly bugger with the lip and the bend of the hook going in opposite directions - those two orientations are totally working against each other. The hook and lip need to be in the same orientation below the shank for stability for the fly to wiggle below the surface. You can make a nice gurgler that way though if the fly floats!) 2. Say you add feathers for a tail. They can be only so long. The lip generates a wave pattern but if the feathers are too long, the wave will dissipate by the time it reaches the end of the tail. When that happens, the head of the fly will wiggle, but the tip of the tail won't. You can shorten the feathers, or make a bigger lip which will generate a bigger wave to traverse the length of the fly, but in the latter case, the size of the lip has to remain within the limits of your casting ability. I guess what I'm saying is, a lipped castable fly is never going to be 10 inches long unless you pull out the 14 wt. Maybe around 6 inches with a 10 wt. In the pic below, I can cast the single hook ones with a 6 wt. 3. Cylindrical shapes of a lipped fly are more stable than oblong shapes positioned vertically. 4. I use cylinder foam quite a bit for lipped flies. It's very buoyant stuff, too buoyant in fact depending on the diameter, and without added weight the fly will rise too quickly in the water column. So I will add weight to make my lipped flies as neutrally buoyant as possible but a little rise is ok; the leader will dampen rise too. I've also used lobster pot buoy foam which is denser and heavier than store bought foam cylinders, so not as much weight needs to be added. But it takes more time to construct the fly. I also use foam sheet crease fly style. And finally, back in the day, I also used deer hair to tie bodies. Deer hair was probably the best material but oh my gosh, so much more work. How much weight to add to gain neutral buoyancy if needed depends on the material and amount used - once again experimentation will be needed. When I use these flies at night in relative still water, they get paused and allowed to sit for a little bit. Some nights the strikes occur during the pause. 5. I use a lot of epoxy to build around the lip to give it more durability. You are bound to hit things behind you on the back cast and you don't want the fly falling apart easily. I've probably raised a lot more questions than answers. There's a lot involved. When I get more time, I'll write up step by step construction plans on how these are made if anyone is interested.
  2. It's not them, it's us. We're getting old.
  3. A couple of summers ago I was staying at a house in the White Mountains for 5 nights. I did not hear a single coyote. I came back home to the cape and went striper fishing at night for three nights the first week I was back, all at different locations. I heard coyotes each of those nights. It made me think they thrive best in suburbia.
  4. I've used pre-made ultrasuede curly tails. It's tough stuff in that it won't rip like latex. But it does stretch over time loosing a lot of the curliness. If you use it for anything, I would buy it in sheet form, wet it out, stretch it, and then let it dry before cutting. I would think that would minimize stretch later. I don't use ultrasuede anymore for curly tails but that's what I would do if I tried using it again for curley tails or any shape.
  5. I know the section you are talking about... you were much braver than I! I never fished that stretch. I spent a lot of time at the Elizabeths in the 90's by which time I had taken up fly fishing and it was hard enough dealing with casting, line management, and boat management among the rocks even with a slight current. 98% of the time I was on my own. I liked the stretch along the Nonamesset shore just inside the channel, and Uncantena just around the corner from the channel. I did well there. I doubt those would be notable spots now. A couple of years back my brother and I were chasing Albies near Pine drifting towards Uncantena. But those were nice safe easy drifts. I'm farther away now and go out once or twice a year to the Elizabeths in the Fall, but never made it in 2023. It's such a shame how it's dropped off but once in a while you hear of a run. Either way I don't know any other area that had such great fishing coupled with such stunning background scenery. It really was extraordinary. I know there are some members on this site still go out there and I hope they are generating some of the same great memories I have of the place.
  6. I'm sorry to say I wouldn't. I also went to the islands from East Falmouth. The most dangerous section I remember was outside of the opening of Woods Hole Channel on the Vineyard Sound side. If the wind and current were at odds, standing waves would stack up there and I'd get water over the bow. Since it was only in one section and you could get through it fairly quickly, I never felt in danger, but I can't imagine doing that in an even smaller boat. That 18' Privateer I had at that time had fairly low freeboard.
  7. I used to fish the Elizabeths in an 18' Privateer with an electric motor. I could maneuver around the boulders very easily. I wouldn't think of going out there without an electric. If you don't have one on your 26', you may want to consider getting one before fishing the Elizabeths.
  8. This has been the case for years. A woman friend of mine was on an online dating site and some guy sent her some lewd text. She used facial recognition software, tracked down who he was, and plastered him on social media.
  9. OK, thanks. I'll take a look at the Jan the Netcraft version.
  10. Philly, I add a small washer behind the propeller to allow it to spin freely. That works fine. Mine are bending when added to heavily weighted flies cast with a sinking line. They don't bend when I use them on subsurface or floating flies. What propeller manufacturer are you using? Thanks. Mike
  11. Yes, thanks, I saw Wapsi offers them. They look so similar to Aventik propellers I was thinking that they are just branded differently from the same manufacturer.
  12. I may try to double up by gluing two propellers together. Not sure how well it will spin though.
  13. I I've used propellers in the past like the ones above. I don't remember the manufacturer. They worked well when attached surface flies and floating line. But when I used them on sinking flies with sinking line, the blades would bend back. I don't know if it was due to faster line speeds, or the fly hitting and rubbing along the bottom. Does anyone know of a strong propeller brand that won't bend easily? Thanks.
  14. Line spools from other manufacturers (round holes) can easily be squared off with a knife. The plastic is pretty soft. The radius of those round holes is typically the same length as the side of the square of the RIO spool. So once you square it off, it will work just as well with the RIO line winder.
  15. Are thy stipulating RIO because of their winder that has a square insert?
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