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Everything posted by MikeFlyGuy
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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.
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It's not them, it's us. We're getting old.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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'23 MASSACHUSETTS RANDOM IMAGES
MikeFlyGuy replied to R.R. Bridge Fisher's topic in Massachusetts Fishing
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. -
OK, thanks. I'll take a look at the Jan the Netcraft version.
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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
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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.
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I may try to double up by gluing two propellers together. Not sure how well it will spin though.
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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.
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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.
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Are thy stipulating RIO because of their winder that has a square insert?
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A lot of it is a matter of building up tolerance. I don't know exactly how the bottom anatomy adapts, but the more you ride consistently over time, the more comfortable it will get.
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Thanks, RJ.
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ReeferRob, I forgot to include this in my last post. At one point I researched small single engine catamarans. Maybe this will be useful to you in the future though I didn't find much about the Livingston cat. I've attached my notes below: The Nautico 18 foot hull was built by these manufacturers: 1. Nautico. Built in Mexico but then production moved to the US in 1999. It was a much better built boat after the move. Can tell the difference in the layout, the one in the US doesn't have the rear platform. Max 90 hp. 2. Seagull. This may be when the production moved to the US. So called Nautico Seagull. Conflicting information about whether they have wood or not. Someone wrote it was made all composite starting in 2000. Either way better butyl than the ones in Mexico. Max 90 hp. 3. SeaCat. They built a version as well, much more refined with an inner hull in the early 2000's. 7.2 beam, 20 inch transom. This company also makes the 205 Comet which is a catamaran flats boat. See list below. 2 x 26 gallon tanks below deck. Later Note: I saw a SeaCat 18 for sale in Florida. It almost looked more like the Caracal and it has a 140 on it. I wonder if this mold is the same. 4. Defiant. Also early 2000's. Has the same format as the later Nautico-Seagull, but the center console has pertruding sides with rod holders like the twin vee. I believe this boat does not have wood core. 5. Leader - Looks very similar to the SeaCat in terms of the liner inside, except there aren't any side rod holders. Conflicting information about it containing wood core. Low rating 70 HP, Max rating 90 HP. These boats had problems with water getting in the compartments. If one got filled and the other was dry, it would capsize. This was probably true of all the makes of this mold. They also had fiberglass cracks between the hulls and the tunnel due to flexing. A guy rebuilding one of these added ribs to stiffen that up. And because he threw away the liner, and build a plywood gunnel, it was considerably lighter and sat in the water two inches higher. He used jump pit balls instead of foam in the individual hulls and plugs to drain. 6. Pro Sports BayKat. Looks like the original Nautico. Some were built well, some were not. Lots of complaints abut quality. Larger version of the Nautico - 18 feet, 8 foot 6" beam. 6. Caracal. A much more finished look. No rear platform either. No wood construction. Takes a larger engine, up to 140. 115 is the minimal. The skeg in the middle was made larger in the Caracal from the CatCraft because they extended the shaft length from 20 to 25 inches. I believe earlier Caracals did not have a liner whereas later models did. One 26 gallon tank above deck. 7. CatCraft. This came before the Caracal. The center skeg is supposedly lower than the Caracal and increasing the motor shaft length to 25 inches to reduce cavitation caused more drag, though water may come up over the transom. Another way is to go with a 20 inch shaft and get a jack plate. No liner except in the bow. Owners mention solid flooring and transom, so probably wood coring. This version was built by c-hawk. 8. Carolina Cat. Built by World Cat from the mold of the Caracal. It has a slightly higher rear freeboard, but looks very finished like the Caracal. 115 is the minimal HP. Other Catamarans: 1. Pro Sports BayKat 21 foot. But it also has a 18 footer that's similar to the Caracal but is 1/2 foot wider. (Later note, I think its 1 or 2 inches less.) 2. Twin Ver BayCats 17, 19, 21. Don't buy before 2006 models. Had water intrusion problems. But if someone new how to seal the deck and transom, it may be ok. People have said the 19 foot twin vee is a not a good boat but all boats seem to have mixed reviews. 3. Livingston Lv19 - World cat now. Not much to find on the 19. But there is a youtube video of a guy going offshore fishing for pelagic in a 14 footer. 4. Seagull ProKat 20. 5. Leader 19 6. Bad Cats 18 9. SeaCat Comet 21 ft. Sea Cat 205 10. 33rd group strike force aluminum cat boats
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I don't know if this was accurate, but from what I read a while back, Livingston did stop production and the molds are now owned by World Cat or whatever parent company owns them. But they aren't building on those molds currently. The 19 was more of a "bay" cat. I don't know of any company building that style of cat anymore and smaller cats in general. Even Twinvee stopped building their version.
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What has changed a lot in the last 10 years is the cost and timeliness of warranty replacement in the event you break a rod. Not all rod manufacturers are the same. That may not be a significant factor for many people but something you may want to consider along with casting dynamics.
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I use Kona Big Game Hunter hooks, mentioned earlier, quite a bit on the Monomoy rips. It's a very good hook.
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I have two 10 weights of the same model, one with thin REC titanium snake guides, the other with traditional heavy wire chromium plated whatever snake guides. I can feel a little bit of difference holding and flexing the rods in my basement. But as far as the fishing experience, the different guides sets make absolutely no difference.
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There's a battle going on in Brewster over building a new proposed board walk over the marsh to Wing Island. Most of the town residents are against it. If nothing else, it sounds like it would be a money pit given the history of damage to the Sandwich and Yarmouth (Bass Hole) boardwalks.
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Thanks for the info. The T20 with T14 running line might even get down a little bit deeper than the RiO. `But that will depend on their respective diameters. I recently purchased some T20 trolling line (10+ IPS) and a full sink 9 IPS sinking line, both from Cortland. I plan on cutting 30 feet (600 gr) of the T20 for a shooting head and splicing it to the 9 IPS sinking line. I checked every manufacturer for their different sinking heads/lines offerings and that combination is as heavy as I will be able to attain for a full sinking line. And it should still be fairly castable with a 10 to 12 wt. Now that you are back home, I hope you will have some luck fishing the depths before the warm season kicks in!
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Brian, May I ask what rod you were throwing the 850 grain head with? Also, is the RIO OBS WF12S7 a full sinking line, and maybe that's why it was getting deeper than the 850 with intermediate running line? Thanks! Mike