With DFL and myself finding a few hungry cutt's yesterday looking to munch on a few chum fry I though I'd bring this back once more. I was asked to do a step by step last year and never got around to it, so here it is. Pretty simple pattern, it helps to flatten the stem of the grizzlies at the tie in point and keep it sparse. You can tie these on any short shank saltwater hook, I use a size 8.
I've been thinking about early spring and the chum fry hitting the salt, and we all know what will be waiting for them, don't we? Anyway I thought I'd try and come up with a little more realistic pattern than the chum baby, don't get me wrong, I use it and it's a great, super easy, pattern, just not very realistic. Any way here's one I came up with, I wanted a big head, with big eye's and something to represent the parr marks. I like floating lines so I thought I'd go with a bead head and decided to put eye's on the beads and epoxy or hard head them, works good. Probably won't last long after it hits the beach a few times, but oh well.
Put a couple of grizzly's back to back for parr marks and used white buck tail, grey buck tail, and some dark olive/brown marabou on top. I had to make some pink one's too, just cause they looked cool. Hope you like them.
Awesome pattern Mark, I am working on a very similar pattern that I just got the materials for yesterday. I'll post some picks when I finish tying it up.
Darn Mark! He never shows me his flies while fishing together on the beach! Oh well, we both hooked up with a double header when we stuck on our chum fry patterns. Nice pics Mark.
Great pattern Mark .I hadnt thought of barred hackle before but it makes good sense.Looks like those will be going into my recipe for my next chum baby.
You know, I just love the creativity fly tying folks have. I really like this pattern and since today is going to suck weather wise, I know what I'm going to attempt to tie today (need to get some bead heads first, though). Great looking fly.
I wonder if those clear cure dumbbell eyes (as advertised by the Caddis shop) might be a bit too large? I think the smallest is 4mm?? I've been using some stick on eyes (Spirit River?) which are 1.5 mm.
Thanks guys for the great comments and suggestions. Sorry Larry I thought you'd seen it before.
Jackd, I really like that thunder creek minnow, looks like it would be just as affective, and much easier to tie. I originally thought about just using a marker pen for the parr marks but thought it was kind of like cheating, but now I think it probably makes more since.
S Fontinalis, those eye's are awesome but pretty pricy, I haven't seen them before. I can think of a few patterns that they would be killer on. I use the bead heads mainly for the extra weight, I've also tied them with just epoxy heads as well.
Steve Knapp, I'm looking forward to seeing what you come up with, be sure and post a pic when you're finished.
Mark et al: The fact of the matter is that, given the opportunity, no cutthroat with even an ounce of sense would refuse any of these patterns! I do like the idea of using eyes on flies although I can remember a time, way back when,that I hesitated about using a nail and paint to make eyes on streamers thinking that is was too much like making lures and not real fly tying. Go figure. Today, just look at all the foam and plastic and rubber and epoxy etc. etc. we (and I too) use on flies.
Jackd
I tied this " li'l chummee" tonight and used a grizzly hackle tied flatwing style to simulate parr markings. I'll make a few more and give em a try.
View attachment 13552
Underwing is some grayish/white "fluff" from the base of a grizzly hackle. Next is a grizzly hackle tied flat. On top of that is some grey squirrel and some fox squirrel. The throat is just some red schlappen. I always like to have some red. THe next few I made with the "wing" a bit longer.
Mark - thank you. I'm just now getting into the SRC game and your step by step breakdown of a fry pattern will do me a lot help tying. I noticed a few in the shallows during my last outing.
Thanks, I'm glad you like the fly and the step by step.
Thats great that you've spotted some fry, I haven't yet, but have caught fish on this pattern last time out, so I'm sure there are fry around and more every day. When I fished this pattern last year it worked really well and has a nice transparent profile to it, I'm looking forward to finding some fry in numbers and cutts just going nuts after them, can't wait!!!
Mark, your initial posting and flies have inspired me for sure. I'm on a chum fry quest! Here's one I tied today. Looks good in the water. Will give it a try this weekend.
View attachment 13591
Jackd, now that fly is going to get some cutts motivated into a feeding frenzy for sure! Nice job, now I'm thinking maybe a
little flash of some kind might be good in my original pattern, thanks for the idea.
Finally got a chance to sit down at the vise after two weeks... Brutal. This fly has been in the design department in my head longer than that. Had it planned out right down to the materials... weird how you can dream up a fly during work and other obligations and watch it morph without ever being at the vise.
Finally got a chance to sit down at the vise after two weeks... Brutal. This fly has been in the design department in my head longer than that. Had it planned out right down to the materials... weird how you can dream up a fly during work and other obligations and watch it morph without ever being at the vise.
Steve - I like your fly especially the gold hook.
I tied this one up last night. It is a fry pattern we use in Alaska on dollies and rainbows and even salmon. I think it will work on Sea-Run Cutts.
According to its originator, the two most dominant features of small fry are their eyes and parr markings. Mark nailed it with his pattern. This pattern: oval gold body, blue-dun schlappen throat, grizzly hackle sides,blue-dun buck tail underwing with a bit of squirrel tail, pearl krystal flash topping. It was late when I tied this fly and I now see that I left out a bit of red for the gills. Will add it on the next one.
Holy Fry Batman!!! This is getting out of control....you guys are coming up with some "way cool" (I'm a old hippy musician) patterns. You guys are giving me too many idea's. Now I'm on overload.
Steve yours is off in a whole new direction using a steelhead hook, tag, wire rib and all, great idea!
Its cool to see all these variations on the original Chum Baby. A gentleman I fished with late last Fall was using his variation, which he called a "Chum Baby" (but looked less like the original than most of the ones posted in this thread), to fool searun cutts upstream in his local river, miles above tidewater. He said it had been working very well, although on the day we fished, he said the river was at the lowest flows he'd ever seen it for that time of year, and nothing was biting when we fished in the middle of the afternoon.
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