 Copyright ©1997 Page Rogers |
Rogers’ Big Eye Baitfish: HerringBy Page Rogers |
|
|
I had not had a very good night of fishing and was a couple of miles from the truck. Although I was pretty cold, I curled up under the berm of the cliffs to try to take a nap. Perhaps there would be a good bite at first light, once the tide started moving. A couple of hours later, I was awakened by the sounds of excited gulls and the slaps and splashes of crashing fish. There was a pretty good blitz going on right in front of me. Blues, big late October slammers, were up and down the beach, tight to shore, with bass mixed in. They were feeding on the large Atlantic Herring that migrate along the coast in the spring and fall here in New England. These herring are often from 8 - 14” long, and the gamefish follow the migration of the herring, fueling their own migration along the way. Flies which imitate this baitfish need to be large and wide. I had a few of these in a variety of sizes and colors, though none pre-rigged to wire. Not wanting to waste a moment I tied a fly on and tossed it in the wash to soak it. I then cast it out and let it dead drift, just giving it a little twitch now and then. What I had hoped for (eventually) happened; the fly got down to where the bass were feeding below the blues. That morning I lost six flies, but before it was over I had also landed five bass in the 32-41” range. Having the right kind of fly was the key to a memorable morning, and the nap on the beach didn’t hurt either! The concept for creating the Big Eye Baitfish series of flies evolved from Lefty Kreh’s timeless Deceiver pattern. Perhaps the most important difference in the two flies is that the Big Eye Baitfish employs a different use of the saddle hackle, and ties the hackles in at a different point on the hook shank. Locating your source for the longest, widest, and straightest saddle hackle can be a search, not unlike the medieval quest for the Holy Grail. I have no secret sources to reveal, only this advice: always try to purchase your hackle in person (rather than through the mail); try to develop a good relationship with your dealer and let him/her know what you’re looking for; and when you see great hackle, dismiss all other thoughts of what you thought you were going to spend your money on, just buy it, in the largest quantities you can afford. Those feathers may not come your way again! I have found the use of an 11 or 12 wt. rod, loaded with a SciAngler “Billfish” or “Bluewater” taper line, or the use of a Teeny SW 450 or 550 grain, to be one of the more effective ways of casting the larger versions of this pattern (sizes #4/0 +). Keep your leaders short and stout, and all of these things will help you punch out and turn over these flies. Although it has taken its share of bass, blues, bonito and false albacore, the Big Eye Baitfish has universal appeal and has taken fish all over the world. Tuna, wahoo, tarpon, dorado, sailfish, white marlin, kingfish, black drum, jacks, shark and cobia have all fallen prey to this pattern in one color/size or another. Some of the recipes for these different color combinations are listed in Deke Meyer’s Saltwater Flies: Over 700 of the Best (Frank Amato, publisher). Feel free to experiment with your own ideas. Also, there is videotaped instruction on tying the fly available on the tape “Saltwater Baitfish” in the Hooked of Fly Tying series of tapes produced by Jim and Kelly Watt. The flies are commercially available, in a variety of colors, from your Umpqua Feather Merchants dealer. Enjoy all of your time at the bench and on the water!
Tie thread on hook at mid-shank and tie on a tail of long white bucktail. Take 6-8 long white saddles and do not strip the webby fluff from the bottom of the feather. Align them so that you have a balanced set of feathers curving in on each other (“praying hands style”) - 3-4 on each side. Tie them on the shank at it’s midpoint, in front of the hook point, one set at a time. Turning the fly on its side, add a “lateral line” of pearl Polarflash to each side. Place drop of Dave’s Flexament on thread wraps after each tying step.
Move thread forward and begin to tie in the white bucktail belly, move thread forward and tie in more (if needed). Tie in grey bucktail shoulders. Place drop of Dave’s Flexament after each bunch of bucktail tied in.
Tie in generous amount of Olive Dyed-Over-Pearl Flashabou, top with Peacock Dyed-Over-Pearl Flashabou. Top that with long peacock herl. Secure with Flexament. |
Tie in throat of red wool or red Krystal Flash. Turn fly on its side and tie in eyeplate on each side. Place stick on eye in center or widest part of eyeplate. Color top of thread wraps at head with a black Sharpie marker. Seal fly head and eye plate/eye with two coats of Dave’s Flexament or a very thin coat of epoxy. Copyright: Page Rogers 1997 All rights reserved |
|
Reel -Time Copyright ©1997 Reel-Time |
