...OK...they might be pike flies too...

 

 

7" - 8" long, tied on heavy (think Gamakatsu "Superline) 5/0 EWG hooks.

 

The short hook shank forces you to tie sparse flies, the EWG hook makes them crazy weedless.

 

The top one has already claimed two smallies and a pike, the bottom one had had a follow from a 40"+ muskie...and you can throw them all day on an 8 wt.

They look great! 

Love the stream of pink and chartreuse 

Nice work. Perfect clown color on the bottom one. 

I like that!  It's hard to see - did you weight them with barbell eyes?

14 hours ago, Turkey sandwich said:

I like that!  It's hard to see - did you weight them with barbell eyes?

No...I'm not wild about the way front weighted flies work...and there's not a lot of room on that short shank for extra "stuff".

 

If I need depth, I run them on a sinking line.

Some variations on a theme...some of these, obviously, are not meant for smallies...

 

This is the one that had the musky tickling it's nose with the tail fibers a week ago...

 

...the top three, and the 2nd up from the bottom, have already caught fish...thought you'se guys might like to see them.

What weight fly rod are you throwing those with?  Or are you using casting gear or float n fly?  I smallie fished with a 8wt Scott Brightwater and threw a lot of poppers, beaded nymphs and streamers but nothing a large as you show.  

2 hours ago, TOXIC said:

What weight fly rod are you throwing those with?  Or are you using casting gear or float n fly?  I smallie fished with a 8wt Scott Brightwater and threw a lot of poppers, beaded nymphs and streamers but nothing a large as you show.  

I tied all of those to be able to throw them on an 8 wt.  They are very light (hollow ties) and because of the synthetic materials, shed water well.

 

You can bump up to a 9 wt. or a 10 wt. but with the exception of blue/purple/pink one (I got a little heavy handed with material on that one) there isn't any real benefit other than possibly more distance...not something I feel like you need with fish big enough to eat 14" flies.

 

I have a Scott that I use a lot to throw the smaller ones, works fine.  I use a TFO Axiom for the bigger flies, but that has more to do with the line I have on each rod.

If you get strikes from muskies, but no fish, it may be because, like barracudas, muskies sometimes take a big object sideways, to cut it in half, returning to eat the other piece.  You may need to make it like a barracuda fly, with a hook near the tail.  

 

Your flies look very good, and I envy the thrill you get from the muskies.

Mick...we had some tail nippers up on Lake of the Woods back in July, and adding a trailer hook worked...but one of my goals for these flies was to be able to drag them through weeds...as soon as you add the trailer you turn a fly that you could drag though spinning barbed wire without getting caught into one that could be used to clear weeds around a dock...

 

What I do is keep some pre-tied trailers on hand and if I need 'em I'll use 'em...but I try like heck to avoid them.