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Sand Lance patterns

Pattern 
10K views 36 replies 10 participants last post by  Jack Devlin 
#1 ·
Been playing around with some sand lance ideas and fishing them for cutthroat. All have performed well. Thoughts and comments appreciated.
Jack View attachment 17094
 
#2 ·
Jack, nice work buddy. I really like the top 3. I think the peacock herl imparts more action and improves performance.

I observing schools of sand lance in the water, they take on a golden cast at times. I usually carry a selection that includes some gold, copper and root beer colored forms as well. I am excited to start tying soon and plan on building a strong Coho selection of ProTubes that will include many sand lance in various sizes and clousers. I also tie a flat wing sand lance that works well.

Thanks for sharing your great work buddy. I hope to see you on a beach soon.

Steve
 
#3 ·
Jack, nice work buddy. I really like the top 3. I think the peacock herl imparts more action and improves performance.

I observing schools of sand lance in the water, they take on a golden cast at times. I usually carry a selection that includes some gold, copper and root beer colored forms as well. I am excited to start tying soon and plan on building a strong Coho selection of ProTubes that will include many sand lance in various sizes and clousers. I also tie a flat wing sand lance that works well.

Thanks for sharing your great work buddy. I hope to see you on a beach soon.

Steve
Thanks for your comments Steve.
Like I said, I've been playing around with some sand lance patterns. Other than seeing some small (one to two inches) sand lance I really don't have an idea what they look like in Puget Sound. The small ones I saw had a bluish, almost transparent look to them. I am familiar with sand lance (sand eels) back east having been an ardent striper fisherman. We used fairly large flies ( 2/0, 3/0) and I either fished them with a fly rod or as a teaser on a dropper in front of a large plug like a Redfin. The standard color of the sand eel was olive green and white with some flash.
I do like to tie flatwings and am in the process now. Will take into consideratin your input on the colors. I'm thinking a khaki color might do??
Best,
Jack
 
#10 ·
Jack, thanks for the details buddy. I am up to my ears with training a new puppy but hope to hit the vise soon. This pattern will be at the top of my tying list.
 
#15 ·
Thanks for the inspiration Jack, great sandlance, here's a 5 feather flatwing sandlance I'm hoping to try tomorrow morning.

View attachment 17228
Steve, I like those flatwings. They will definitely do the job. Bet they look good in the water and will have lots of movement. Nice.
I'm going to work on a similar pattern over the next few days.
Here is one I just tied. It is a pattern I used back east for Stripers. I think it is from an Orvis pattern back in the 70's.
When I fished bait for Stripers a long, long time ago , I would often buy a "rigged" eel. These were frozen eels 8-12 inches long and came with hooks and a lead lip. Deadly at night on Bass. When I changed over to fly fishing for Stripers I started to tie this pattern. Its length was limited to the length of hackles we could find. This one is 4 inches long. Thought it might be fun to try. Definitely fun to tie. Of course, I'll have to clip a hook.
View attachment 17229
 
#25 ·
Mike T,
If you want the really best flatwing hackles get Whiting Flatwing hackle necks. $30-$40. That's the ticket for big flatwings. Beautiful stuff. For the smaller flies, I'm just using packages of strung saddles. Plenty of color varieties available and there are usually some good long ones mixed in with the shorter wide hackles. Spirit River is a good brand.
Jack
 
#26 ·
Mike T,
If you want the really best flatwing hackles get Whiting Flatwing hackle necks. $30-$40. That's the ticket for big flatwings. Beautiful stuff. For the smaller flies, I'm just using packages of strung saddles. Plenty of color varieties available and there are usually some good long ones mixed in with the shorter wide hackles. Spirit River is a good brand.
Jack
Thank you Jack!
 
#31 ·
Jack, my favorite yet. The coloration is perfect. I would expect lots of fish on this fly. I would greatly appreciate it if you would post the materials list for this beauty. I have not hit the vise since adopting Fisher, my Mini Australian Shepherd. Got him out for a few hours of mooching for Chinook with Steve Knapp yesterday. This flat wing has me itching to get back to the vise. Thanks buddy.
Dog breed Dog Dog supply Carnivore Mammal
 
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