When I tied this fly for the time, I thought it had potential. I can't say that for all of my creations. Sometimes I will come up with an idea that just doesn't pan out. This one however had some promise. One one hand, I wasn't sure if it was a fly that just looked good in the vise or if it would actually produce. On the other hand, I needed to see this fly in the water. You can never tell what a fly will look like in the water. It's profile and action will be completely different when it is wet.
The fly spent some time in the testing tank and looked good. It was then time for some field testing. A friend of mine caught some smallmouth bass on it in the Ozarks. I managed to catch a few small bass at a lake near my house last May. A couple of weeks ago, I caught 4 bass on it in some farm ponds. It wasn't until last Sunday though that this fly gained my full vote of confidence. It ended up landing 7 largemouth for Corey and I and it looked amazing in the water. It has a tapered, baitfish profile and has a little wiggle to it when stripped.
I tie this fly on the same platform as The Brave, another great streamer that always has a spot in my fly box. I tie this fly on a B10S Gamakatsu, size 1 hook. It includes a brass conehead with some lead wire behind the cone. The tail is marabou and has a schlappen collar. What makes this fly beautiful and brings it to life is the main body. It is a complex twist of white chenille, long-fibered UV polar chenille, and schlappen. These materials are twisted together to give it a messy blend with all of the properties being present but muted. It is essentially a bulked up version of a wooly bugger in a lot of senses.
By nature, I am skeptical person. Maybe it is because I was born and raised in the Show Me State and I have to see things to believe them. After almost 6 months of development and testing, the Chartreuse Caboose has earned a permanent place in my fly box. I have a few available in the Etsy store right now and I will be tying more as soon as I can. I'm also playing with some other color combinations like shad colors. It's also nice to say that this fly no longer has potential...it is proven!
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