Flicking feathers

An unconventional bonefish fly here from Carl Richards. Although not many people fish imitations, sea urchin are a favourite prey species for all manner of flats species including bones, permit, triggerfish and tuskies among others. I've updated the dressing a little with UV resin making flies fairly straight forward ties and it's definitely worth having a few of them in your box. To support the channel, get access to the monthly tying meetings and enter the giveaways, head over to https://www.patreon.com/flickingfeathers and sign up or donate through https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/flickingfeathers Materials list Hook: Owner fly liner or Gammakatsu G-carp size 4 Thread: Black 140 Body: Black deer hair Weight: Non-lead splitshot Belly: Underside of fly coated in flexible UV resin and painted with nail polish  

 Another old one I wrote for www.sexyloops.com We're well into May now, spring is fully here and the mayfly will be here soon too. Whether on rivers or still waters, it's one of the main events of the season and it's the time of year I really miss being on the lochs back home. Although Ireland's loughs are probably the place that springs to mind for most people when it comes to mayfly fishing in still waters, there are some lochs in Scotland with good hatches that offer some fantastic fishing especially-but not limited to- Caithness. Oddly though, mayfly time seems to be less of and event than it is in Ireland, maybe because it comes a bit later in the highlands. Admittedly the hatches usually are not quite so prolific as on the likes of Mask and Corrib but they last longer, sometimes even until early August! I've had some amazing days on Mentieth, Hillend and others with both numbers and quality of fish, often wild, sometimes well mended overwintered rainbows depen

  This is another specific prey species imitation from Craig Mathews, inventor of Pop's bonefish bitters. Although it's designed to imitate snails and clams, I suspect it might often be eaten for a worm. Whatever they eat it for, it's best fished static near tailing fish or muds. To support the channel, join the monthly online tying meetings, access the members' only content and enter the giveaways head to https://www.patreon.com/flickingfeathers and sign up or donate at https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/flickingfeathers Materials list Hook: Gamakatsu SL11-3 H size 10-6 Thread: Tan Weight: Lead substitute fastened as a keel Body: Cream, tan or olive furry foam Siphon: Small ultra chenille, pink tan or light brown

  The fleeing crab is a great choice on flats where you can encounter a range of species as it will work for permit, bonefish, triggers and more. I usually like this fly to be on the small and light side for a crab, but you can tie bigger and heavier versions to suit where you fish. To support the channel, get access to the monthly tying meetings and enter the giveaways, head to https://www.patreon.com/flickingfeathers and sign up or donate through https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/flickingfeathers Material list Hook: Gamakatsu SL11-3H or LS11-3H size 10-4 Weight: Bead chain or dumbbells Thread: 140 denier tan, orange or pink Legs: Centipede legs or similar Collar: Hen hackle Body: Sparkle yarn Weed guard 16-20lb hard nylon

  The Bonefish Puff is a great little fly for tailing fish & shallow flats. It's full of movement and the bright head lets fish spot it even if you've had to lead them by quite a distance. Resist the urge to tie this large and heavily weighted, there are better flies for deeper flats. To support the channel, get access to the monthly online tying sessions and enter the giveaways head to https://www.patreon.com/flickingfeathers and sign up, or donate through https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/flickingfeathers Material list Hook: saltwater size 10-6 Thread: Uni 6/0 in tan, pink, olive or orange Weight: Bead chain Wing: Calf tail in white, tan, pink, olive or brown Flash: Pearl crystal flash Claws: Grizzle hackle tips Body: Ultra chenille in, blue, olive, pink, orange tan or brown DIY Bonefishing https://amzn.to/3AvD81Y Book of the Month 9: A Perfect Fish This beautifully illustrated book is quite hard to come by but you'll probably be able to find a copy by following my

The Gotcha needs no introduction as a bonefih fly, this rubber legged variant just provides a bit more movement at rest which often helps tempt more finicky fish. Materials list Hook: Gamkatsu SL11-3H Size 8-4 Thread: Fl. pink Danville's 140 Weight: Beadchain or dumbbells to suit Tail: Pearl crystal flash Body: Pearl flatbraid Wing: Sand craft fur Legs: Barred silileg (small) Weedguard: hard mono To support the channel, get access to the monthly tying classes and enter the giveaways head to https://www.patreon.com/flickingfeathers and sign up. DIY Bonefishing https://amzn.to/3AvD81Y Book of the Month 9: A Perfect Fish This beautifully illustrated book is quite hard to come by but you'll probably be able to find a copy by following my amazon links. Amazon .com https://amzn.to/3DKxadM Amazon UK https://amzn.to/31BKYul Using the link will help support my channel at no extra cost to you. Alternatively it can sometimes be found on ebay https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html_from=R

Kenny Abrames' A perfect fish is a fantastic text on fly tying and fly fishing. Its main focus is on flat wing style flies and striped bass, but the lessons can be applied anywhere. This beautifully illustrated book is quite hard to come by but you'll probably be able to find a copy by following my amazon links. Amazon .com https://amzn.to/3DKxadM Amazon UK https://amzn.to/31BKYul Alternatively it can sometimes be found on ebay https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html_from=R40&_trksid=p2380057.m570.l1313&_nkw=a+perfect+fish&_sacat=0 Wherever you can track it down, this is a great book and well worth adding to your collection. To support the channel, get access to the monthly tying classes and enter the giveaways head to https://www.patreon.com/flickingfeathers or https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/flickingfeathers and sign up. Book of the Month 8: Strip-Set is available here Amazon.com https://amzn.to/3kizn9F Amazon.co.uk https://amzn.to/3wvglSo Using the link will help suppo

  Long time supporter Joe Andrezik is the winner of November's flies. The Christmas prizes are currently a box of flies, 2 materials packs and 2 signed copies of "At The End Of The Line" by George Barron. I might add some more over the next week if I can. To enter the giveaways, get access to the monthly zoom tying classes and support the channel, head to https://www.patreon.com/flickingfeathers or https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/flickingfeathers an sign up. #flyfishing #giveaway #flytying

Another old one from www.sexyloops.com   With the spawning over I'm back on the water again and because of the current restrictions, I'm staying local so had my first float tube session of the year on Monday. The local lake has a decent population of largemouth bass although it's fairly featureless which can make them hard to find. More interestingly, it has a thriving snakehead population which keeps the bass fishermen away most of the summer. Fishing was slow after an overnight temperature drop from the mid twenties down to single digits. In fact, under normal circumstances I'd have changed my plans and went looking for a quarry more tolerant of cooler temperatures than largemouth. There was certainly no chance of any topwater action and all I managed was a half hearted pick up on a bottom dragged worm fly. So I basically used the day to explore and refamiliarise myself with parts of the local lake. I've certainly identified a few places to hit when it's warme

  The Joe-to-go works best as a skinny water fly for tailing fish, but can be weighted for deeper work. It land soft and does a good job of imitating mantis shrimp or other crustaceans. Traditionally tied as a hook-down pattern, I've adjusted it a little to fish hook-up for better snag resistance. To support the channel, get access to the monthly tying classes and enter the giveaways head to https://www.patreon.com/flickingfeathers and sign up. Material list Hook: Gamakatsu SL11-3H 2-8 Thread: Chartreuse Danville's Claws: Grizzle or cree hackle tips Feelers: Crystal flash Eyes: Burnt heavy nylon mono Body: Rootbeer estaz or similar Legs: Palmered grizzle or cree cock hackle Weedguard: 16-20lb hard nylon Book of the Month 9: A Perfect Fish This beautifully illustrated book is quite hard to come by but you'll probably be able to find a copy by following my amazon links. Amazon .com https://amzn.to/3DKxadM Amazon UK https://amzn.to/31BKYul Using the link will help suppor

 An old one I wrote for www.sexyloops.com I'm terrible at naming flies. Or at least, terrible at it most of the time, when I actually come up with a fly that's reasonably original I can come up with something. It's probably because, I don't really think most patterns warrant a new name. We're probably stuck with the old style naming where there essentially only a few different flies, but loads of names for what are essentially just colour different colour combinations. I mean, look at the Kate Mclaren for example, is it really anything other than a black & brown bumble? No it isn't. And that's by no means unusual. Almost everyone calls hedgehogs sedgehogs now,  because Stan Headley renamed it after putting a hackle on it.  I think the hackled version didn't need a new name, even if sedgehog is probably better branding.  The thing about names though, they have some kind of power. I've noticed this several times recently. Folk raving about the blac

  This nice Clouser variation appears in Dick Brown's book; Bonefish Fly Patterns. It's a simple tie but very effective tied in a range of sizes and weights to suit conditions, also it's a good each way bet for locations where other more predatory species might turn up on the flats instead of bonefish. Material list Hook: Gamakatsu SL11-3H size 8-2 Thread: Fl. pink Danville's Weight: Bead chain, brass or lead dumbbells Tail:White Craft Fur Body: Tying thread Flash: Crystal flash Wing: Sand/tan craft fur Weedguard: 16-20lb hard nylon Book of the Month 8: Strip-Set is available here Amazon.com https://amzn.to/3kizn9F Amazon.co.uk https://amzn.to/3wvglSo Using the link will help support my channel at no extra cost to you. To support the channel, get access to the monthly tying classes and enter the giveaways head to https://www.patreon.com/flickingfeathers and sign up.

  Pop's Bonefish Bitters is an absolute classic bonefish fly imitating small crabs. It was developed by Craig Mathews for Belize, but works universally and also catches permit. It's fairly snag resistant because of the deer hair wing and I find it works best over rock, coral flats and broken ground. It's well worth tying up in colours to suit your fishing location for fish that are refusing the less imitative, attractor type flies like the gotcha. Materials list Hook: Your preferred saltwater hook size 10-4 Weight: bead chain Body: Epoxy coloured with nail polish or acrylic paint Legs: Silli legs or flexifloss Underwing: Zelon or antron yarn Wing: Deer hair Book of the Month 8: Strip-Set is available here Amazon.com https://amzn.to/3kizn9F Amazon.co.uk https://amzn.to/3wvglSo Using the link will help support my channel at no extra cost to you. To support the channel, get access to the monthly tying classes and enter the giveaways head to https://www.patreon.com/flicki