Our 4 May fly tying session at the clubhouse will feature two styles of flies that will be perfect for our upcoming Trap Pond outing.
I will demonstrate how I make these foam poppers suitable for bass, bluegills, pickerel and crappie:
I make them from foam cylinders that are 1/2 inch and 3/8 inch in diameter. I cut them to form with the aid of a wooden jig. That way each popper is unifom in size. I will bring the jig and demonstrate how it works. I will bring enough pre-cut foam for each participant to create their own poppers. The tails are either bucktail, Baitfish Emulator, or marabou or some combination thereof — whatever I have laying around. The fish don’t care.
Note that I palmer no hackle at the backend of the popper like you find on commercial poppers. Foregoing that makes the fly simpler to tie and does nothing to decrease its attractiveness to fish. I had been doing that for years on my own and then I read an article by Lefty Kreh where he said the hackle was unnecessary. Joe Bruce also recommends omitting the hackle.
Here’s photographic proof that these poppers work from Trap Pond itself:
I’m also very peased to announce that Joe Bruce will join me Saturday and continue his demonstration of the articulated Bullethead Darter, this time in panfish size.
So you will leave with two patterns that are ideal for our upcoming Trap Pond trip.
I hope to see you at the clubhouse at 10:00 a.m. this coming Saturday, 4 May.
Thank you,
Mark
Fly tying has remained a focus for the club, with regular fly tying sessions open to all members. During these sessions, we swap patterns, help novice tiers, learn new techniques, and just enjoy the fellowship of other members in a relaxed setting. Plans for what will be the fly pattern of focus at each fly tying session are announced through a club email message distributed to all members. Materials enough to make 2-3 flies are included in the session. All we ask is you join the club (see Membership). Bring your tools and vise. If you are new to tying, the club has some vises and tools you can use to get you started.