Zonker with a Laser Dub Head- How it Fished

Alright, I wasn't expecting the results that I got from field testing.  Truth be told, I took this fly on a fishing trip with the middle school fly fishing club that I sponsor.  I was planning on just tossing this fly in the shallows a few time and playing around with it.  To really test its sink rate, I started making longer casts to see how fast it got down in the water column.  At some point I decided to cross over from testing to actually fishing the fly with the hope of catching a fish or two.

The conditions seemed right for a largemouth to hammer this fly.  I was fishing a wind-swept bank that was rocky, the fish were in pre spawn mode, and my students had not fished this stretch of water.  It seemed like this was where the bass would be.  If this was indeed where the fish were supposed to be, I wanted to see if they would try to take my new fly down.  The results of my little experiment came quickly.

On my third cast, my fly landed between some aquatic vegetation that was growing along the bank and some cabbage that was growing in deeper water about 10 yards away.  It seemed like the perfect ambush point for a pre spawn bucketmouth.  Apparently, I made the right assumption because a 12 inch largemouth darted out of the depths and hit my fly on a pause.  I missed that fish.  It happens.  Two casts later and I was hooked up with the same (or maybe a different but nearly identical) fish.  It wasn't a big fish but it got the ball rolling in terms of determining whether my fly was effective or not.  More testing was needed.

I worked my way down the bank and my fly ended up getting hit by another bass as it sunk down into the depths of the trough I was fishing.  This fish felt more substantial than the last one and when it headed towards open water, I could feel its weight.  My line started to come to the surface and when the fish jumped, I finally got a glimpse of what I was hooked up with.  The bass definitely weighed over a pound and I really wanted to land it.  Thankfully, I got it to the bank and the confidence that I had in the fly grew.  This fly's maiden trip wasn't over there though.

After the release, I started to move towards a spot that I had been eyeballing and I was excited to fish.  I had seen many fish caught in the spot over many years.  The conditions were right for another fish to be there.  Nobody had already fished that spot yet either.  With light and cautious steps, I made my way to the last spot I wanted to throw this fly.

The wind (totally the wind's fault) caused me to make a few bad casts but I eventually put one where I wanted the fly to go.  My line came tight on a pause and a proper strip-set ensued.  Like the last fish, the fight started off slow but the heft of the fish was easy to recognize.  This fish also headed to open water and lept from the water.  This fish was bigger...noticeably bigger.  The fish was fighting hard but slowly tired as it approached the bank.  This is always a point that makes me nervous because of so many memorable fish that I have lost at the bank.  Thankfully this story had a happy ending because I was able to get my hands on it.

The hydrilla gorilla weighed in at 3 pounds exactly!  It was my biggest bass of the year and the nail in the coffin on the matter of whether this fly will catch fish.  It will and I will be cranking out some more of these in a variety of colors really soon!  The next step is to see if a smallmouth will eat this and I like the odds of that happening.

Zonker with a Laser Dub Head- How it Field Tested

Recently, I took my new (to me) fly on a fishing trip with my middle school fly fishing club.  While my students were fishing, it was my hope to see how my fly behaved in the water.  Since the fly is unweighted, I wanted to throw it on a floating line so I could see how it behaves just below the surface of the water.  I intend to fish the fly on sink tip line but with murky lake conditions, I wouldn't have been able to see it's action deeper in the water.  I was looking at its vertical motion, horizontal motion, and wiggle.  What I mean by wiggle, is that I wanted to see how the tail wiggled, how the laser dub head fluttered, and how the silicon legs when stripped.  Here is what I found.

The fly did almost exactly what I wanted it to.  While it did have a little bit of a nosedive when paused, it had a great side to side motion.  It did not have a jigging motion at all which is what I was hoping for as well.  While it had a decent wiggle, I think the magnum rabbit strip, if paired down to a normal size, will provide more motion in the water.  I'm wondering if a keel weight is in order but I want to see how the fish respond first.  With different stripping cadences and rod twitches, I could get this fly to do some extremely erratic stuff.  I can see this fly triggering some predatory responses in both largemouth and smallmouth as a result.

Overall, I'm really happy with this fly.  It's not incredibly complicated to tie, which is nice.  More steps plus more materials equals more time and money.  It holds its profile well in the water too.  Some flies seem to pulsate in and out and I tend to not like that.  I like for a fly to stay the same size in the water, or as much as possible in order to make it realistic.  So while I am happy with the fly this far, I also understand that there are flies that catch fish, flies that catch fishermen (i.e. they buy it because it looks good dry), and flies that do both.  I'm hoping this fly does both!

Zonker with a Laser Dub Head- How I Tied It

This idea started off with the intent to make a weightless version of my favorite streamer, The Brave.  While that was a simple task, it got me thinking.  I removed the cone head from this pattern to give it less of a jigging motion and hopefully give it more side to side motion when fished on sink tip line.  I also really like a streamer called "Matt Bennett's Lunch Money" but again, I wanted a version of that fly that was not weighted.  What I ended up with was a little bit of both.  

What I created was part zonker (like The Brave), part Lunch Money, and part Roamer.  I gave the fly a combination tail with one part marabou and the other part rabbit strip.  From there, I gave the fly a rabbit strip body and used the same rabbit strip from the tail as the back of the fly.  I added some silicon legs to give it a little more flutter and to break up the overall silhouette.  Finally, I used four total clumps of laser dub to make the head.  I used two clumps that matched the rabbit strip (gray in this case) that I had used for the back and two clumps that matched the rabbit strip (white) that I had used for the body.  

I have really high hopes for this fly.  I hope that it has a nice hover and maybe a side to side motion like a jerk bait when stripped aggressively.  I thought about keel weighting these flies but want to do some field testing first in order to see if a keel weight is necessary.  I tied these flies on a 1/0 Gamakatsu B10S which I think is a perfect fit for the materials that I am using.  The fly is 3 and 1/2 inches long and has a great taper to it.  The materials go from more bulk at the head to thinner in the tail which is similar to the idea that most of the mass of a fish can usually be found in the front half of its body.  Field testing is in order now and I will post about the results as soon as possible.

Kid's Fishing Day at Bennett Spring State Park

Some of my favorite memories that I have from my childhood involve fishing.  I was taught to fish by my dad, my dad's dad, and my mom's mom.  I remember digging up worms with my grandma Mason on her farm and catching channel cats in the pond behind her house.  I remember my dad helping me get beetle spin lures our of trees around farm ponds when we fished for largemouth bass.  I remember fishing for trout and catfish towards the end of his life.  Figuratively speaking, it is kind of in my blood from both sides of the family.  

Taking a kid fishing can create lifelong memories for both you and the child.  In my opinion, it is important to pass on information and skills to the next generation for a couple of reasons.  For starters, you probably gained the skills you have because someone else taught them to you.  Second, I think it is important to pass along skills to someone else because of the fact that someone took the time to share them with you.  In other words, I think it is our responsibility to pass along knowledge that we gain because it enriches the lives of others and, hopefully, makes our world a better place.

So if you want to take a kid fishing, here is a good opportunity for you.  On Saturday, May 2, Bennett Spring State Park is hosting a Kids Free Fishing Day.  Kids 15 and younger can fish for free without the purchase of a daily permit.  Special zones will be set up for kids so they can fish with other anglers of their age and ability levels.  I suspect that the Missouri Department of Conservation just might make sure that there is a healthy population of fish in those spots as well, but that's just a guess.

If you're not able to attend the event for some reason, I would encourage you to take a kid fishing at some point this year.  Heck, it doesn't even have to be your own kid.  I have the privilege to sponsor an after school fly fishing club for middle schoolers.  We have created some incredible memories this school year and we have our last fishing trip tomorrow evening.  It is a bitter sweet moment as I get to share the water with them one last time, and I hope that their interest in fly fishing doesn't end after tomorrow.  The character, Yoda, from the Star Wars movie franchise once stated, "We are what they grow beyond."  I like that quote and I hope that is true, especially when it comes to fishing.  I wish my grandparents could see the angler that I have become because they would see the fruits of their labors and how they instilled a passion for fishing in me that might not have come to pass without their efforts.

New Oars and 3D Printed Organizers for the Raft

Lately, I have been working on some upgrades to my current raft setup.  One entailed a decent price tag and one was free.  Let's start with the one that required a transaction.

I needed new oars.  From the moment I bought the raft, I knew I wasn't going to keep the oars that came with the package.  I also knew that I didn't want to go cheap on this upgrade.  Two different guys I know that have a lot of rowing experience told me, "Don't forget the oars are the motor for your boat.  Don't go cheap."  With that advice and some spare change I had from sales on my online fly shop, I went straight to the top of the mountain.  I bought a pair of Sawyer oars.  

From what I have gathered, Sawyer is the Cadillac of oar manufacturers.  I bought 8 foot 6 inch polecat oars that came wrapped with rope and had oar stops included.  I paired my oars with shoal cut blades as they were suggested to me by multiple folks and what I have seen many guides use in the past.  I also had to purchase some new oar locks to fit my new oars as my old oar locks where completely circular.  I'm not going to share the overall price tag, but if you want to find out, just go to the Sawyer website or the Backcountry website where I made my purchase.

As far as the free upgrade, this one didn't require any money but required some time.  My raft package came with a utility tray that resembles a cookie tray.  In my limited experience with the vessel, I've learned that the tray is almost worthless if you actually want objects to stay on the tray.  Wind, rapids, or simply brushing up against the contents can knock them to the floor easily.  I knew that the only solution was going to have to be made, and not purchased.  This is where my good friend, we will call him Brandon, came in.  

I'm not trying to be coy, I just didn't get his permission to include him in this post.  Anyway, Brandon is one of the smartest people I know.  He is especially adept at making things.  Before I approached him about my need, I knew I had to settle on a material.  I didn't want a heavy metal or wood that would be bulky.  I wanted plastic.  This seemed to fit right into Brandon's wheelhouse because he has a lot of experience with created computer aided drafting (CAD) designs and then 3D printing them.  

Brandon helped me gain access to a CAD program and I tried to learn how the program worked on my own.  It took me about 30 minutes to determine that I needed Brandon's help.  After asking Brandon for some assistance, we had what appeared to be a perfect design.  Two days later, I had the organizer that I wanted for my utility tray.  The high walls will keep things from moving much and the two compartments will help keep things such as flies away from items such as tools.

There are two more modifications that I need to make to the raft and frame before I say, "That's good for now."  I need to create a protective cover for the inflatable floor and I need to finalize my rod storage system.  I have a functional idea for the protective cover but I have a feeling the rod storage system is going to give me fits.  I want to combine the rod system with my old oars because I want to keep the oars on hand which has been suggested by many guides.  It is my hope that if I can have them work in concert, then I will use up less valuable space in my raft.  More to come on that later so stay tuned!

Artificial Intelligence (Specifically, Google Gemini) Knows Me?!?!

Out of curiosity, I typed "The Show Me Fly Guy" into Google Gemini the other day.  I wasn't trying to help inflate my ego or anything.  I was just curious if this particular artificial intelligence knew who I was.  Good gracious was I surprised when I found out that it not only knows who I am, but knows a (to me) surprising amount of information about me.  It also makes we wonder if it can give me a list of flies to use in certain situations on certain streams.  Or maybe it can tell me what it thinks the best streamer to throw for post spawn largemouth and smallmouth bass.  Regardless, AI continues to improve and how its ability to understand the world around us!  It's applications will only grow as its knowledge base grows as well.