eye fly

eye fly pattern

While not typically delivered by a fly rod, flies are often very effective for ice fishing. Lots of jigs for perch and whitefish are created to give the appearance of various nymphs found on or near the bottom of lakes all year long. While the Eye Fly does not really imitate an aquatic insect, it does appeal to that bizarre menu item that perch find hard to resist…
EYES! Yeah, perhaps a bit gross but think about it;most nymphs look like either earwigs or maggots. Lots of successful fly patterns imitate forage that falls WAY outside the realm of delicate little mayflies. Like it or not, fish have cravings for some of these. Flesh flies, dead minnow patterns, crippled/half emerged bugs that never had a chance, rodents…. Perch, well…they get the munchies for good old fashioned eyeballs. I love these fish. In my spin/bait fishing days, I used to jig for perch with minnows. I’d often feel several taps, pulls, bumps and then reel in the bait to see if it was there and working properly. Countless times, the minnow had expired and was….lets just say….sans les yeux. Weird. How can a perch make off with just the eyes? Flash forward a decade. Speaking with a fly shop owner about ice fishing tactics, it was revealed to me that all you have to do to have non-stop action with perch is to catch one, harvest it’s….you know…and use them for bait. "Can’t do it." was my reply. He smiled, and shrugged his shoulders. I trusted this guy, and decided there might be some quality perch fishing that I may just have to miss out on. Well, that was a few years back. This past Sunday, I decided to make my first ice fishing run of 2004 to Lake Scugog for what I was told would likely be some great perch action. I also decided on the eve of this outing to see if I could design a fly that would imitate what I imagined a lone perch eye might look like. Three different stlyes of Eye Flies ventured out on Sunday, the pattern below emerged as the clear winner. To the purists out there, I AM anticipating a hatch of eyes in Ontario’s jumbo perch factory this weekend~Lake Simcoe!
Tactics:
Let it sink to the bottom, and reel up about 6". Twitch the fly lightly, every 15 seconds or so. When you feel a light tap or bump, stop moving it. Set the hook when you either feel a pull, or see the line moving in any direction. The takes are often VERY light.

Tying The Eye Fly Pattern

Hook:#8 Nymph hook (Mustad #3399)
Thread:White 3/0
Weight:Med. lead wire
Body:White rabbit fur~from the hide (ends of Zonker strips a good source of material)
Eye:Streamside 3-D Eyes 7/32" Gold Prism
Color:red permanent marker
Wrap a tight base of thread. Wind lead on in tight wraps, almost filling the shank.



Dub a spiky body using the rabbit fur. If it does not look like this, using a dubbing brush to scruff it up.



Using sharp scissors, trim the fur as short as you can on the top only.



Add a couple of drops of super glue near the middle of the white fur body and apply the eye. Pinch the eye down onto the body for about 30 seconds, or until the glue sets.



Use the red marker to create the blood spots, but not too many. I colored the tips of the white rabbit guard hairs as well.





The finished Eye Fly

polar fiber streamer

I love fishing streamers, especially when conditions are right for them. A good streamer pattern, used properly, will tempt the biggest fish in the water you’re fishing. The short list of patterns I use has recently be bumped for a new star~the Polar Fiber Streamer!
Patterns using this material are not that new, but I’d been reluctant to try this synthetic craft fur~just could not imagine it having good properties when wet. Boy, was I wrong! I tied a few this spring for crappie fishing in hopes that they would both look like the minnows the bait guys use, and last allot longer. I was pleasantly surprised at how translucent the material gets, and how well it breathes in the water.
This pattern has been the only one I’ve used with success while fishing ice-out brook/lake trout this year, I’d urge you to give it a try!
Note on using Polar Fibre:While it is a synthetic fur, it has some of the properties of natural stuff~namely, underfur! (and lots of it) In the interest of keeping a small/slim bait fish profile, I take great care to rid the stuff of all of this underfur, leaving only the longest fibres. The clumps that I cut from the patch of Polar Fibre are approx. 1″x1″ For reference in the tying instructions, I’ll use “clump” as a unit of measure….very precise!

Tying The Polar Fibre Streamer Pattern

Hook:Daichi #1710 size #8
Weight:Med, lead wire, 11 wraps
Thread:White 6/0
Under body:Flashabou dubbing
Belly:Red Polar Fibre over White Polar Fibre
Back/wing:Olive Icelandic Sheep over Off-white/tan Polar Fibre
Flash:Fire Fly skirt material
Cheeks/gills:Orange (spooled) antron
Eyes:7/32″ self adhesive 3D eyes, black/gold
Head:5 minute epoxy
Optional:Dark Brown permanent marker for spots


Position your hook and make 11 tight wraps of med. lead wire. Push it forward, ALMOST to the eye of the hook. You’ll be tying your other materials over this lead wire.


Secure the lead wire with your thread, tapering it behind the lead wraps as shown.


Begin dubbing over the lead wraps using the Flashabou dubbing.


It should look like this when done.


Rotate the vise, or remove the hook and place it back in the jaws upside down. Trim and prepare one clump of white Polar Fibre and tie in about 1/4″ behind the eye of the hook.


Trim and prepare a quarter of a clump of red Polar Fibre and tie in about 1/4″ behind the eye of the hook, on top of the white Polar Fibre.


Return the hook/vise back to it’s original position and tease the Polar fibre so that its evenly distributed on either side of the hook bend.


Trim and prepare two clumps of the off -white/tan Polar Fibre and tie in about 1/4″ behind the eye of the hook as shown.


Cut a small amount of olive Icelandic sheep hair, roughly about 2/3 the volume of 1 clump of Polar Fibre. Tie in as shown.


Tie in 3 strands of the Fire Fly on each side of the streamer as shown. Trim to irregular lengths shorter than the longest Polar Fibre/Icelandic sheep.


Tie in a cheek/gill of orange antron on each side as shown. Flare it out a bit so that it takes a “fan” shape.


Position the self adhesive 3D eyes over the thread as shown, press down on them so that they stick!


Mix your 5 minute epoxy and begin applying it over the eyes, thread..under the eyes…avoid getting it on the eye of the HOOK though. If your 5 minute epoxy is new, it will be too runny when you mix it. Give it 45 seconds or so (or until you can tell its slightly thicker in consistency) before you use it. Though I’ve tried, I can only do a good job on one fly at a time. In your vise, or clipped to some hemostats, rotate the fly every 20 seconds or so to keep the epoxy from sagging. There are machines that can do this for you, but this method works fine. The epoxy will set, as the name suggests, in about 5 minutes. It will reach total hardness in about 18-24 hours.


On some of my Polar Fibre Streamers, I add small, faint brown dots on both sides to give them a baby trout-like appearance. This is optional though.

fishys hopper

fishys hopper pattern

I would hazard a guess that there are few tiers who have not heard the name Jay "Fishy" Fullum. Author of "Fishy’s Flies" and a columnist for both American Angler and Fly Tyer magazines, Jay has a well-deserved reputation for innovative, fun patterns for warm, cold and saltwater gamefish. My experience with Jay dates back a few years to the IWFF forum. It was there that I introduced myself to him while he took a break from tying an enormous foam-bodied ant. I quickly got the sense that Jay was as charismatic as his patterns. "What kind of trout do you think that’ll catch?" I asked with a smile. Jay burst into the story of how he came up with the pattern, and assured me that it has found it’s way to the mouths of many trout. Sensing he could take a joke, I suggested that the trout on that side of the border might think its real, but our trout "up here" are smart. With a knowing smile, he replied "just try it." He reached out his hand, and dropped an ant in mine.
This was, as it turns out, indicative of Jay’s generosity. I bought the sample box of flies from him (pictured below, never fished of course) as well as some of his "mini-hoppers." While I didn’t have great luck with his ant (trout IQ not a factor i’m sure), his hoppers were a different story. I tried this fly for the first time on the upper Credit one sunny, breezy August afternoon. The FIRST cast, a trout hit the hopper so fast after it landed, that I nearly forgot my next move! For a solid hour, I fished that very same fly. A trout "slammed" that hopper on almost every other drift. Note: I didn’t use the word "rise," I used the word SLAM! These trout were happy to see this tasty morsel, I was happy to see the trout! That very fly, like the blue dun dry that hooked my first trout, has been retired to a special corner of my box. I sent an email to jay before Christmas asking where to get the materials for this fly, and gave him my contact information. To my amazement, Jay called me at work the next day, and offered to provide me with the materials to try the pattern. The package arrived just before Christmas break. Santa could fly past my house for all I care, I’M SET!!!
I’d like to thank Jay for helping me get to this point with his great pattern.
Resources
Closed cell foam, yellow (from a kickboard/flutterboard) I bought mine at "Splashables Inc." Pool supply in Etobicoke (416) 620-4954
Permanent Markers-Prismacolor 167 Apple Green, 28 Olive Green (art supply stores like Loomis & Toles)
5 minute epoxy-any hardware store
Nail polish-NYC #110 green (got mine at Zellers)
Black Paint-I used Vinyl Jig&Lure paint, available at fly/tackle shops
Rubber Sili legs-English Angling Trappings (CT, USA) (203) 746-4121 ask for Jimmy Krul, tell him what you’re tying.

Tying Fishy’s Hopper Fly Pattern

Hook:Tiemco 100, size #12 (or any standard dry fly hook)
Thread:Yellow 3/0 (chartreuse 3/0 optional)
Body:Yellow, closed-cell foam, colored with permanent markers
Belly:5 minute epoxy, painted light green
Legs:Chartreuse/black sili legs (small)
Eye:Black paint
Materials

Using a VERY sharp utility knife and a ruler, cut 3/16"x3/16"x3/4" long pcs. of the foam.



Using sharp scissors, trim the bottom and sides of the "rear" of the body to a gentle taper.



Side view of hopper body, ready to tie.



Tie in yellow thread, and wind back to the bend.



Make three gentle wraps, tight enough to hold but not cut the foam. Lift the head-end of the foam and wrap the thread forward. (about 4 close wraps)



Make three gentle wraps again, wrap forward in the same manner



Make three wraps, and wind forward about HALF way to the eye. Angle thread up 45 degrees as shown and bind down the foam close to the eye where it meets the hook. If it slips, lift the head, and wind back a bit. Start this operation from a little further back.



Make a few tight wraps, tie off. (I add a drop of head cement for security)



Using the broad end of the marker, and color the back olive.



Using the apple green, color the sides and bottom where possible.



On a scrap pc. of cardboard, mix a bit of the 5 minute epoxy. Using a toothpick or bodkin, cover the thread wraps on the belly of the fly with the epoxy.



Before it has set (about 10 minutes later) paint the epoxy with the light green nail polish.



When that has dried (I leave it overnight) thread a half of a silo leg through a large needle.



Behind the first thread wrap, push the needle through the body and cut from the needle when centered. (you can adjust a bit if necessary)



Using the 3/0 chartreuse thread (or same yellow 3/0) tie in at the middle as shown, not too tight. Gently pull the legs back and wrap the thread over them to hold them back. Tie off. A gentle touch is required. If you make the wraps too tight, the legs will flare out perpendicular the fly. Be gentle, epoxy is coming.



Mix a small amount of the 5 minute epoxy and lightly coat the tie-off point for the legs, top and sides of the hopper. (from the legs forward)



Using a blunt-ended toothpick (long drill bit, about 5/64" is what I use) create the eye by dipping it into the paint, and simply pressing it onto the fly where shown. Like the nail polish step, I do this before the glue sets-up to make it adhere that much better.





Fishy’s Hopper



Have some fun, try this fly.

angora bugger

the angora bugger

I might have never even tried tying with angora goat if I hadn’t been trying to find seal fur for a British nymph pattern. It was labeled "Seal Fur Substitute." Having never tied with seal fur, I thought this stuff was terrible. Long, slippery fibers that didn’t dub easily, too shiny, impossible to tie small flies with the stuff…..I retired the bag to the hook on my pegboard that holds the odd balls. A year or so later, I saw some wooly buggers for sale with rabbit-dubbed bodies that looked nice and spiky.
When I fished them, the rabbit fur matted-down losing all it’s bulk. "Gee" I thought…"if only there was a dubbing that had long, slippery fibers that was well-suited to tying large flies.." The orange angora quickly came to mind. I couldn’t remember what other colors were available but soon found black in stock at the local shop. It took some practice to use, wax was necessary. The stuff requires a bit more pinching force when adding it to the thread, but you get the hang of it.
While I tie a few versions and colors of angora-dubbed streamers, this one has really proven itself. I’ve caught rainbows, brook trout, largemouth, smallmouth and every kind of panfish that swims in Ontario with this fly, in this color. My version of the classic bugger has become one of my most productive bass patterns, and continues to catch trout in deep-water situations. The fly’s other obvious advantage is that it uses no hackle, and has a strong wire rib that protects the thread holding the dubbing. I’ve NEVER had one come undone.

Tying The Angora Bugger Fly Pattern

Hook:Daiichi#1750/Mustad#79580 size 4/6/8
Weight:Gold plated 5/32" with several wraps of med. lead wire
Thread:Black 6/0
Tail:Black Marabou
Rib:Gold Wire
Body:Black Angora Goat
Flash:Black Krystal Flash
Fit bead onto the hook, pinching the barb might be necessary. Add several wraps of lead and secure it
from slipping by tying a small "dam" of tying thread behind it.


Select 2 black marabou plumes, align the tips and tie on as shown. The butt-ends should end where at the lead wraps.

Tie in the gold wire and dub a tapered body of angora goat. Leave a bit of room behind the bead.


Tie in 4 strands of black Krystal Flash and begin to tighten-back as shown.

Wind the wire forward in open wraps, over the Krystal Flash to hold it down. Tie the wire off and trim.

Using your bodkin (or a needle, or a toothpick) pick-out the dubbing on the top and bottom btween the wire wraps. (top is complete in this photo)

Add some dubbing (Applied to the thread loose) and dub the area behind the bead sroking the fibers back as you go.


When you are happy with the level of "bulk," sroke all he fibers back and tie-off behind the bead.Trim the Krystal Flash so that some strands are shorter than the tail, some longer. Add head cement to the wraps.



Angora Bugger