Articulated flies

[Ringlee]

Articulated Flies are something that I tie alot of. I was wondering how different people attach them. I can't find hooks for the front with an eye large enough to get my backing through and still have enough room for me to tie it on to a leader. I build my flies this way

-Tie the back fly first and then loop backing through the eye. I generally make 6 or a dozen because those are the easy ones to do.

-I then take my front hook and put it on the vise. I wrap 3/0 thread along the whole shank and then glue it done and cut it.

-Wait for it to dry and then use kevlar thread and wrap along the whole shank and place the backing down. Wrap it forward and add glue.

-Wrap it back and add more glue. Then wrap it forward and add more.
The process takes a good amount of materials and time.
I was wondering if anyone does this differently or has a hook that has a large enough eye to allow me to save some time. I tie alot of these flies because they work for rainbows and dollies. They wont turn down a big pice of meat!
The flies I am tying are on the left side of my box. The huge flesh flies.
Chris

[Flyn'dutchman]

I have some cheap salt water hooks with large eyes I use for the front hooks. You don't say how heavy the line is you are using between the hooks. I'm using Super Strong braided line. I has a fairly small diameter. Just wrap through the eye and then back down the shank about 3/4 inch, wrap with 6/0 thread and super glue. Haven't had one pull yet. I'm wrapping rabbit fur on mine so I make the whole hook rig before adding the rabbit. Takes two vices to do it right and watch out for the back hook, seems I always end up with it in a finger at least once while tying these.:thumb:

[kenai]

check this out. as a guide we go through a lot of articulating leaches and it gets
spendy so we started tying them on finishing nails!!! i make a braided loop at each end of the nail, one for the leader and one for the trailer hook. you can adjust the length by cutting the hook. we weight some of them so you just use a heavier nail. they are very inexpensive, a lot less then the front hooks i did use before. most of the guides are using this method. give it a try--tony--

[Ringlee]

I use 20 pound regular Backing. It works pretty well and is cheap. I have a 100 pack of mustad streamer hooks that I get for 3 bucks from cabelas. I use that for my front hook because they are dirt cheap for hooks. Have to go to Lowes and get some orings for my norvise and get some nails as well. I tend to go through alot of these flesh flies guiding as well in Alaska.
I have the technique, to be pretty cheap, but it does take awhile to tie these flies.
Chris

[Hywel]

I use an Octopus/Beak hook furled on 20lb Amnesia leader material and lashed to a 25 to 35mm Waddington shank.

Don Johnson wrote a great article called, "The Art of Articulation" that can be found on salmonfly.net that best explains the furling technique.

Hywel

[halcyon]

For my front hook I want a large diameter ring eye and I don't care about the rest of the hook because I am going to cut it off so I use the very inexpensive Mustad Bass Stinger hook number 37187 in a size 2. Plenty of room to run 30# dacron backing or braided mono through and still have plenty of room for tying on to the tippet.

Regards,

[Scott Behn]

All I use is straight 20lbs. maxima. I wrap it along the shank of the front hook and then wrap the tag ends on top of themselves...

:cool:

[tightlines]

All I use is straight 20lbs. maxima. I wrap it along the shank of the front hook and then wrap the tag ends on top of themselves...

:cool:

Same here--with glue, glue, then some more glue. boy it starts to smell nice after a few coats:eek:

[papafsh]

A very simple, but very effective articulated fly can be made without all the attachment problems by simply useing an open eye siwash hook and black barrel swivel. They are fast and easy to tie and they articulate better than any others I've tried. I use them for Steelhead, Bull Trout, and Salmon. I'm planning to try some smaller versions for Trout soon.

Hook: Gamakatsu Siwash (any size you want, I use mostly 1's and 2's)
Head: Black barrel swivel (again any size to fit the hook, I use size 3)
Tail: Marabou
Body: I like Polar Chenille, any standard streamer body material is fine.

I make up the swivel "heads" first by super glueing the swivel eye's, front eye horizontal, rear eye vertical. Place the rear eye in the vise and attach you head covering. I use stuff like "Super Braid", "Petite Estaz", "Chenille", whatever you want cover the swivel from back to front and tie off and use head cement on the thread and put a few drops on the covering as well to secure it to the swivel. Set aside.

Pinch barb and place hook in vise, as usual. I use mostly Marabou for the tail and "Polar Chenille" for the body. Once the bodies are complete attach the hook to the swivel, close the eye of the hook and you are ready to fish.

These fly's get down without any extra weight (I do use a sink tip line though) and can be made to look like almost any regular sculpin, leach, or streamer. Give it a try, I think you will like them. I have switched to this set up, exclusively, for articulated fly's. The last Bull Trout I caught was on one of these, tied as a sculpin, you've seen this fish pic before but, here it is again to show the fly, which is seen with the the swivel head canted to one side.

LB

[Scott Behn]

Heh there Papafsh where do you attach the Coors Light to the fly...;)

I like it...

:cool:

[papafsh]

Right after each completed step :beer1: That's about one beer per fly :beer2:
After completing 4 or 5 fly's time to celibrate and admire your work ptyd LOL!

LB

[Ringlee]

Well, looks like I have a few new techniques to try out. Tried some with nails and they look good so far. I will put a picture up of them for you guys to see them. Thanks for all the info.
Chris

[tightlines]

Those flies look great Ringlee--good job!

I am confused about the nail-to-hook transition. I can see the braided loop in front, but I can't see how you attached the hook. At what step in tying the fly do you do this?

[Trout Master]

I use the Partridge waddington shanks in the front and a small split ring (Thanks Brita!!!!) to the rear hook. Works great ,and easier than tying in mono or backing.

[Ringlee]

Tighlines,
There is a braided loop in the rear as well. That hook is a tiemco 5262 streamer hook. I tie the rear fly first. Then loop backing through the eye and then attach the backing to the front hook, Shank, or nail.
I will make some today and upload a step by step process.
It's -15 for a high and I dont want to go outside.
Chris

[hikepat]

Instead of using nails try cotter pins. The front eye of the hook that way is already taken care of. I think I pay about $3 per 100 at the hardware store.

[Banzai]

I've benn making my own "shanks" with some bright finish, small diameter wire I picked up at a local garage sale for about a quarter. About the same size as 40 lb mono, 50 yards of material, so I think i'll be OK for a while. Rigid enough to hold the hook out straight behind, flexible enough to bend.

[snbrundage]

Hikepat,

What a great idea! Thank you. And cotter pins come in so many lengths and diameters, they're easy to trim too!

Thanks again.

Steve

[Ringlee]

I am putting a step by step articulated flesh fly up on the site. I will start a new post so You can see all the pictures.
Thanks
Chris

[crobarr]

when using 20 or 30lb. dacron backing to attach the rear hook, there is no need for glue if you start with a good thread base and run the line through the eye.

lash the backing down.
run it through the eye.
lash down tags 1/2 way back down the shank.

with this method, i've never had the line slip even when fighting chinook up to 40# (and i don't baby them either).

[Ringlee]

Never can find a cheap hook with a large enough eye to run the backing through. What kind of hooks do you use?
Chris

[crobarr]

mustad 3366 in larger sizes work well. i picked up SEVERAL mustad 36890's for under $3 per 100, so i use those quite a bit too. mustad 3407's are another choice. you can find them as cheap as the mustad 9174's (which i think are too short for most patterns if a bead or cone is involved).

[Ringlee]

Thanks for the hook numbers. I will go look for some.
Chris

[crobarr]

another thing is to use 12lb. backing instead of 20lb. that's more than heavy enough for trout and steelhead.

if you just have loads of time on your hands and still need room in the eye of the front hook, then blind splice a loop into the backing and then just a single strand will be all that passes through the eye of the hook.

as for the front hook....... 2 pairs of pliars works well. i dont cut the hook, i just break it off. if your worried about a sharp edge, then use some hot glue (i don't worry about it).

[Wayne Jordan]

Never can find a cheap hook with a large enough eye to run the backing through. What kind of hooks do you use?
Chris


I use Gamakatsu B10S stinger hooks and 50 lb. spiderwire to form the loop to attach the stinger hook. The loop is nice because I can change the length that I want for a particular pattern, and if the stinger hook gets dull I can change that as well.