EZ Body fresh water flies

[DAWNPATROL]

I've been involved in research and development with J.A. Enterprises the EZ body people for about 8 years and my job is to advise and design the fresh water side of this great tubing material.J.A. and myself have tried to market EZ Body to the fresh water market for about 7 years with varried degrees of success,but to be quite honest it seams as though the fresh water fly tiers are very reluctant to expierment with tubing in any other way than as a body matterial for streamers.We've developed sizes which can be used on dry flys and wet flys down to size 18 but the reception has been luke warm at best. Can anyone offer an oppinion on this subject which can explain this reluctantness?
Ive always kept an open mind toward new materials because I believe that all materials have there uses and half the fun of fly tying is to experiment with new or unusual materials.How would the art of fly tying have evolved past wet flys if experimentation never took place? Ive tied midge pupas,extended body dries,stonefly and mayfly nymphs,caddis emergers,ect.,ect., with EZ Body, my point is that any and all fly designs can be tied with any material once you learn how to use it. Please shed some light on this subject,Thank you, Bill Murf

[Ray]

Bill

What about larger fresh water flies?

I tye salt water flies only. Recently I have been thinking of the use of baitfish patterns for fresh water fish like Northern pike and Muskie.

I imagine EZ Body would be good for patterns like perch and other baitfish.

Though I haven't tried it yet, winter is coming.

Ray

Ps. You need any help doing "R&D"

[DAWNPATROL]

Ray, Thanks for the offer, currently we are assessing our R&D from 1998-present and we're rethinking our marketing approach. If in the future we need R&D help this forum may be used to "recruit" individuals such as yourself. REEL-TIME is a great way to reach a diverse and wide spread angling community which in the past was'nt possible. We just recently decided to explore this forum as an active participant and not just as an observer. Fly Tyers are very resourcefull and creative people but there is a percentage which either resist change or won't deviate from a patterns ingredients or design, therefore it is my contension that this may be at the root of the problem. Do you agree?. As for freshwater flies of the large variety I have had great success with numerous EZ Body flies over the last 8 yrs. or so. I have taken 9 species of fish on them and overall I can say that the shape,sparkle and durability are it's best attributes. Through experimentation you learn all the tricks needed to achieve various fly designs, I have produced a tip sheet for EZ Body which we hand out at fly tying demo's. Basically it's just a quick start sheet to get tyers who have never tyed with tubings/EZ Body up and going . As for Pike and Muskie I have only caught Pike so far because of my local, but Muskie is on my list of critters! I Think you'll find that bunny strips both cross-cut and long-cut work great with EZ Body on these flies. Try taking a long-cut piece and inserting it into the tubing leaving about 1.5 inches hanging as a tail. Then tie it on the rear of a "Bass Stinger" hook extended body style. Then take some cross-cut zonker strips and counter wrap or "Palmer" it along the shank right up to the eye and tie it off. This simple design which I call the Screamer has done very well for me on Pike as well as Largemouth Bass and Smallmouth Bass. Give it a try and let me Know how you like it. Bill Murf

[JBDesjardins]

Hi, in my opinion the reason that predominantly fresh water tiers don't experiment as much as those who tie primarily for salt water can be summed up in one word, tradition.

Do you have any pictures of the extended body dry flies? I've been playing with a dragon fly imitation that a small EZ body tube might make a nice tail for. Can you give me any tips on using it for this purpose.

Thanks,
John Desjardins

[JBDesjardins]

Hi, in my opinion the reason that predominantly fresh water tiers don't experiment as much as those who tie primarily for salt water can be summed up in one word, tradition.

Do you have any pictures of the extended body dry flies? I've been playing with a dragon fly imitation that a small EZ body tube might make a nice tail for. Can you give me any tips on using it for this purpose.

Thanks,
John Desjardins

[DAWNPATROL]

John, I've tied both damsels and dragonfly's with EZ Body in the midge size for the damsel and the mini and small size for the dragonfly. The best tips I can offer you in this forum are as follows:1) work the stiffness out of the tubing by twisting andor rolling it with you fingers, do this the first time you open a new package and it will not have to be done again. This is because of the manufacturing process, the tubing has been under tension and may have been dyed causing it to be a little stiff. 2) Use the smallest hook that is practicle for the size fly your tying, the reason is because the extended body is at least 1.5 inches long and the fly does'nt need any additional stiffness in its design.3)Use a pair of large fingernail snips to cut the tubing and gently scinge the ends with a lighter, then quickly roll the ends between your fingers with light pressure, this helps to maintian the shape. This is also a usefull trick when trying to distort the shape or to set the shape of an oval or egg ect.(more on this some other time).4) I often use the "Natural" color because it can easily be colored to match any damsel or dragonfly with permanente markers,I first get a black marker and lay out some newspaper,then I'll put black bands on the whole three feet of EZ Body then I'll take an olive marker and color about 1 foot then blue the second foot and tan the third foot. This is about enough for 8 to 10 flys of each color.5) Tie the body on the rear of the hook either on top or insert the hook into the tube. If you tie on top of the hook, first cover the shank with thread to keep the tube from rolling on the hook. I can go into more detail if you'd like on finishing the fly but the EZ Body is the subject for now. Play around a bit with this and see how you like it. As far as Tridition is concerned I believe that your right, I taught fly tying at our local T.U. chapter for almost ten years and found the begining tiers and younger tiers to be more accepting of new materials or willing to break the dress of "traditional" flys or more experamental. The older tyers seem to get really hung up on the particular materials used in "named" patterns. I belive that for "Dress" flys you should keep to the pattern but for "Fishing" flys it does'nt matter, it's up to the individual tyer's taste. This subject has always facinated me and confused me as well. MURF

[JBDesjardins]

Thanks for the tips. I'll give them a try.

John Desjardins

[Ray]

I do agree that many people don't like to deviate from a described pattern. I, on the other hand, deviate all the time.

I tie only saltwater flies, and have a few books, but frequently see a fly and say "how can I make that".

This year I can up with 2 new patterns, for me atleast, which worked well. One is a flats minnow, very flashy and slow to sink for shallow water, and has a very low "splash factor (Sf). And the other is a long sand eel I tied in the R.I. flat wing style. I was very pleased to hold it up to the real thing and see little differnce.

I also tied some weighted tarpon flies for stripers, but didn't get a chance to try them around any fish, YET. I'm going Tarpon fishing in Boca Grande in the spring.

Ray