Fishing Forum

Due to family commitments, I didn't have time to head to Strawberry like the rest of the state, but I did have time to float a more local high country lake that I frequently fish for a few hours. It was raining lightly the entire time I was up there, but conditions were still pleasant in the tube with suitable raingear. The troutlings however, were not as interested in the usual offerings as they typically are. I had only caught a few in a couple hours. I then tied on a wooly bugger with a tiny spinner blade on the front and tossed that around for a bit. Holy cow!, the fish went nuts for that fly! It didn't seem to matter whether it was kick trolled or stripped, they were pounding it. In the final hour I was there, I had constant action, and some surprisingly nice fish were caught too.

This is the first time I have used I have used this type of fly. (Pistol Pete type wooly buggers) With the help of the illustrious (or infamous[]) TD, I have played around, with impressive success, with spinner enhanced jigs in my warmwater fishing. It appears that this enhancement style also makes certain flies deadly. I can't wait to try these things at Strawberry. Do any of you have experience with these flies and/or have suggestions in their use?
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[cool][#0000ff]I think the Petes were pioneered in Colorado but they have since become local "secrets" on many waters. I have been tying and using them for some time. Here is a pic of how they are made and some of the patterns I tie.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]I am including a [url "http://www.pistolpeteflies.com/"]LINK TO A WEBSITE[/url] that tells just about everything there is to know about the Petes...patterns, how to fish them, etc.[/#0000ff]
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Thanks for the link. Some more great stuff to experiment with. There go some more swipes on the credit card. I bet the buggers of certain sizes and colors will hammer the smallies as well as trout, and I imagine those smaller white/silver ones are deadly for white bass and panfish. I am looking forward to ice season, but stuff like this will give me an excuse to hit the water for some hands-on testing in the tube (test-tube?) a couple more times.
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DGF,

Somebody gave me some of those spinnerbuggers recently. I have tried them a couple of times but have not had the same results as you described yet. I'll be testing them on my favorite trout ponds in about a month.

zonker
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Those would appear to have essentially the same characteristics as a Rooster Tail. I have great success with the RTs on streams, but not much when bank fishing on lakes. I'll have to try some.

Red Dwarf
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[cool][#0000ff]When fishing them on running water, the flow of the water activates the spinner blades so you really don't have to do much except let them swing downstream and then strip them back up along the bank or through deeper holes.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]When fishing on stillwater, they usually work best by letting them sink and then giving them a good hard jerk to activate the blades for short strips. They are more of a "reaction" lure than "match the hatch", but they can wake up sleepy fish.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]I'm thinking that making up some of your black leeches with the hot orange head, with a gold blade, would make a pretty effective pattern for some occasions.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]You can buy the little propeller blades at Jann's Netcraft in several sizes. All you need then are cheap plastic beads, from the craft store, to slip on the hook behind the propeller, to serve as a "bearing", and then tie your pattern as you usually would. [/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]These flies can be tied on just about any size hook...regular, 2X, 3X or longer shank. The main thing is to balance the size of the hook and bearing bead to match the overall size of the fly.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Also, even though the propeller blades are designed to spin, they can be effective in calling in fish if you just jig them and get the blade to flash and wobble a little. As with many things, less is sometimes more.[/#0000ff]
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[font "Comic Sans MS"][black][size 3]TD, although I have never tried the blades, I can truely see how they could work. The stripe down the fishes side (lateral lines) are like the little hairs in your ears, they sense movement and the fish key on that, even the movement of the water around that blade. Like a wounded fish.[/size][/black][/font]
[font "Comic Sans MS"][black][size 3]Might try to experiment with them.[/size][/black][/font]
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[cool][#0000ff]One thing you will have to be prepared for, and get used to: When you cast those puppies they buzz as they fly through the air. Scares the heck out of ya the first couple of times, and you have to put up with the midge crowd teasin' ya about your "buzz bugs".[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Also have to adjust your timing for the extra air resistance from the propellers. Once you get used to it, it's all good.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Like you say, fish respond to many "triggers"...spots, dots, lines, colors, etc. I have always done well by adding blades to my flies and jigs, to create flash and vibration. In addition to murky water conditions, they also help in low light...dawn and dusk, or after dark. The strikes on those babies can be awesome.[/#0000ff]
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They also put up a little more resistance than just a fly alone, making them a little harder to pick up for the next cast. If you fish them nearly all the way in you will be able to work around this.

z~
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How would a spinner like that work through the ice? Could that be made into a glo something for perch? They look great and I may have to try a few. Thanks for the report and comments!
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[cool][#0000ff]You COULD rig those flies "dropshot" style. But, you would be better off using the roadrunner type spinner jigs. I have been making and using them for years and they DO whack the perch. Here are some pics.[/#0000ff]
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I can attest to the effectiveness of both the Pistol Petes and the road runners.

The perch at Starvation wouldn't leave the roadrunners alone. I caught a few on the Green with some of TD's roadrunners as well. []
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[cool][#0000ff]I plan to wave the fairy wand more this next year. One of my game plans is to make up some petes in big white patterns and rip 'em for some wipers. I know a guy who really got into the wipers a couple of times this past year on white zonkers and crystal buggers. Add some buzz, flash and vibration to one of those and you might have something.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Wanna help with the R&D?[/#0000ff]
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I could do that... It's about that time of the year to bust out the fly tying gear anyway... []
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[cool][#0000ff]I tied up a bunch for the Berry but never got up there yet.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]I have also been pouring and painting jigs like you can't believe. Still got some fall pattern fishing to do...and then there's ice fishing...soon. I have a bunch of new ideas I want to try this year through the ice.[/#0000ff]
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In an addendum to TubeDude's earlier post, I was in Sportsman's Warehouse yesterday and found the propellers in their fly-tying section. Don't know how they compare in price to Jann's, but they may be an alternative to mail order. SW had a variety of sizes in nickle and gold.

Red Dwarf
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There are a bunch of your ideas I want to try through the ice as well.. LOL. [] The pics of the ice flies looked deadly.
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[cool][#0000ff]I paint the bodies on some of them with super glow powder. I fish them either on droppers or under an attractor/weight.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Just for the record, it is really tough to place those flies in the hole from fifty feet with a 3 weight.[/#0000ff]
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I'll bet you could do it though.. lol [cool]
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I was wondering where you find the road runner in bulk and not dressed up yet so you can tie your own?
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