...... heads up!!!

[deaddrift]

hey

What's your recommendation for the profile for the head on clousers and why do you recommend it?

Most thread on the head is tapered because of the bulkiness of materials but tapers can still vary a great deal eg. from thick to thin, or very narrow thin ones with hardly any taper, to very thick ones that end in a blunt stub.

thanks

[Bob Triggs]

May I suggest you take this to the fly tying forum on this site? Click on Forum, then scroll to fly tying.You might get good help there.

[Dizane]

deaddrift,

I've never really thought about the tapers on clouser heads and in all honesty I don't think it matters much. In my opinion the placement of the dumbbell eyes is much more important than the taper of the head. Clousers with their eyes close to the hook eye will tend to sink more vertical, whereas Clousers with their eyes farther back on the hook shank will tend to "glide" more as they sink. These different sinking actions are important when fishing for SRC's in the salt. I've always done better with Clousers whose eyes are closer to the hook eye. I think this is because sand lance, which Clousers do a good job of imitating, dive down towards the bottom when attacked. By using a strip and pause retrieve, I can get my Clousrs to appear to swim for a bit and then dive down toward the bottom, just like a real sand lance. Since all the dumbbell eyes on mine are close to the hook eye, it forces me to tie a thick, stubby head. So while I don't think it matters much, maybe it is the head taper after all?:thumb :dunno

Dane

[Old Man]

I used to know it all---but now that I'm older I seem to forget it all.

I have just started to try and tie up some of these so all input is good. As nervous as I am putting dumbell eyes on is something to behold. But I prevail.

Jim

[scottr]

I just started tying these. The photos show where I am placing the dumbell eyes and how I am tying the head.

Scottr:beer1

[deaddrift]

hey Dane

if they're slammin' a particular baitfish, like a sandlance, then i think an accurate prolile of the head will produce more hits. That's why i think it's important to get it right. Also, there's the possibility that stubby heads move significantly different in the water than thinner narrower ones and, so, determining the one that imitates the behaviour could also be essential.

[deaddrift]

hey Jim

check your email for recommendations on ptting on clouser eyes that don't move.

[pwoens]

Tie a figure eight with the thread around the dumbell and hook in both directions and then a drop of super glue and those eyes dont move :thumb . But this brings up a point I have been meaning to ask: does super glue produce any sort of scent that may "detour" the fish around your fly?? I know alot of people use super glue for different reasons on flies :dunno

~Patrick ><>

[Old Man]

I used to know it all---but now that I'm older I seem to forget it all.

Thanks.:thumb

Jim

[fishingseaducer]

Agood article on clousers in Flyfishing Vol. 24 by
Skip Morris.
Tying the clouser minnow "A long-shank hook is standard for Clouser Minnows ,but I've used hooks ofstandard length with no noticeable loss in number of fish hooked and landed. So I suppose just about any kind of hook is fair game.
Bind the barbell eyes firmly with plenty of tight turns of thread,and use the heaviest, and therefore strongest thread you can comfortably fit into the fly. Also,mount the eyes well backfrom the hooks eye, this will give you plenty of room in which to add the bucktail and bright fibers secuerely. If the thread head looks to long to you , you can always try shortening it a little at a time with successive flies. But you'll have the easiest time if the head is overlong rather than over-short in the begining.
Its hard to say just how long the wing should be in relation to the hook ther seems to be no standard . I generally make the wing about twice the full length of the hook.The bottomline,I think is that if the proportions look fine to you they probably are.
In Advanced Fly Fishing Techniques author Lefty Kreh says'on a size 2 hook the total wing when compressed should have a diameter no larger than a barn burner wooden match. In other words keep the wing sparse it will make a much more lively fly that way.
I really can no longer imagine going fishing without a few Clouser Minnows at hand and I don't.
I hope this helps , also try coating the thread wraps with E-Z shape Sparkle Body it's flexible and won't crack off like epoxy.
,

[mcronariver]

I use the same method as Pwoens and sometimes add some epoxy. I am unsure about the scent that stuff puts off, I know if it gets heated up, say hitting or dragging on rocks, it might.

I thought those flies looked good, especially for Coho.

I have a hard time tying sparse flies too.

Mcronariver

[circlespey]

I think your eye placement is pretty good on those clousers. It all depends on the fish you are after, but I have tied lots of clousers for tuna and stripers and i have found that sparser it better. Those flies look a little too bulky to me.

The cool thing about the artificial materials you are using is that they are suggestive of a bigger baitfish. I have consistently had better results with sparse clousers as a result (not to mention that they sink faster and so the jigging action is more pronounced).

Circlespey

[scottr]

Does anyone have photos of your clousers that you would be willing to post? especially patterns that have caught you fish?

Thanks for the advice, I will try and tie these with less bulk.

I tied #1 with coho of the beach in mind. # 2 is on a smaller saltwater hook and was tied for src in the salt and to use on the yak.

Thanks

Scott