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Friday, January 22, 2010

Fish love the Big Eye Baitfish



I hate cliches, but necessity really is the mother of invention.
Ugh.
Anyway, I needed a fly that would appeal to spotted seatrout, yet hold up to the toothy destruction of bluefish and Spanish mackerel.
When it comes to seatrout, it's difficult to beat a Clouser Deep Minnow. However, they don't fare well to sharp teeth. After you catch a couple of fish, all you have is a hook with some lead eyes and maybe 2 or 3 strands of bucktail. You can go through a dozen or more bucktail Clousers with the bite is on.
So, I set out to come up with a fly that not only trout like, but also would last when you tangle with toothy fish.
After thinking about it, I came up with the Big Eye Baitfish, a fly that appeals to a variety of fish and holds up very well.
It features a wing of Super Hair stacked on top of Fish Hair, a pair of tough synthetics. The body is coated with epoxy as is the head.
The fly works very well over deep grass flats. It's obviously patterned after the Clouser, but holds up a little better.

Gibby's Big Eye Baitfish

Hook: Mustad 34006 No. 1
Thread: Fine mono
Body: 1/8-inch silver Flexi-Cord
Wing: White Fish Hair topped with chartreuse Super Hair
Eyes: Large Orvis Dumbbell Eyes

Steps:

1. Attach mono thread about 1/8 inch behind hook eye.
2. Tie in large Orvis Dumbbel Eyes.
3. Attach Flexi-Chord and coat with Devcon 2-Ton Epoxy. Allow to dry (I have an electric fly turner).
4. After body dries, reattach thread and tie in a clump of white Fish Hair and top that with chartreuse Super Hair.
5. Build up head and whip finish.
6. Epoxy head and allow to dry.

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