So what's a trout fly doing here, you ask? Well, this 1/8" wide strip of rabbit was designed by Dan Byford in the mid-'70s for trout but I say a version 3 1/2" - 4" long just might be of interest to smallies rigged up via dropshot.

 

Here's the recipe:

 

Hook:   TMC 9395, size 4

Body:   Hareline Dubbin Flat Diamond Braid

Wing:   "Zonker" rabbit strip

Beard (optional): calf tail

Thread:   UTC 140 denier

 

Note:  The head is finished with Solarez thin UV resin which cured hard but had a film on it which dulled when touched. A coat of Hard As Nails made it glossy again.   

 

58 minutes ago, Will Wetline said:

So what's a trout fly doing here, you ask? Well, this 1/8" wide strip of rabbit was designed by Dan Byford in the mid-'70s for trout but I say a version 3 1/2" - 4" long just might be of interest to smallies rigged up via dropshot.

 

Here's the recipe:

 

Hook:   TMC 9395, size 4

Body:   Hareline Dubbin Flat Diamond Braid

Wing:   "Zonker" rabbit strip

Beard (optional): calf tail

Thread:   UTC 140 denier

 

Note:  The head is finished with Solarez thin UV resin which cured hard but had a film on it which dulled when touched. A coat of Hard As Nails made it glossy again.   

 

Very Nice Work ~

So are these beauties rigged hook up or hook down on your drop shot ? 

A-Jay 

 

1 hour ago, A-Jay said:

Very Nice Work ~

So are these beauties rigged hook up or hook down on your drop shot ? 

A-Jay 

 

Thank you.

 

Hook down.

Nice.  Unweighted?  I've always thought of them as bass flies rather than trout flies.  I tied up a few for an anticipated trip to Northern Ontario this year to try on the smallmouth up there.  That went down the tubes with the virus.  Mine measure about 3 inches long.  I scrapped the beard after the first few.  I tied them both weighted and unweighted.  Mine are a bit scruffy looking compared to yours.  Different style of tying.  I do occasionally fish spinning gear and the guys I fish with are into drop shotting.  It would be fun to out fish them using a Zonker with a drop shot rig.

  The Solarez UV resin dries tacky sometimes.  I wipe mine down with alcohol pads and that gets ride of the tackiness.

 

I remember back in the day when I was fishing BFLs and I took several trips to southern Missouri every year to fish Table Rock, and farther south to fish Bull Shoals, I heard about guys making flies for drop shot fishing.  One  shop in a little town close to BullShoals had a small section of "drop shot flies">. I bought a couple.  They looked similar to the ones posted, except they were feathers rather than rabbit hair and they had a relatively thick mono weed guard.  On my way back home I stopped at Bass Pro and in the fly fishing shop they had an assortment of "clear water drop shot flies" and I bought a few more.  I was never able to make them work and I tried several times, in pretty clear water.  I didn't lose any of them, they are still in a box in my fishing shed somewhere.  Based on my experiences, I'm pretty skeptical of the whole concept, but your experiences might b e different.

I've been seeing more articles about using the drop shot rig for fly fishing.  It's an interesting idea. I can see the set-up working from a boat or dock.  Not sure how well it would work if I were fishing from the shore or wading.  It's something to think about over the winter.  Not all flies work.  I have a couple of boxes filled with "brilliant" ideas that didn't work.  Flies do have to be worked differently than a soft plastic.  It may be you aren't getting enough action to trigger a strike.  I certainly wouldn't tie a drop shot fly with feathers or a weed guard.  Feathers have their place in tying streamers for bass but for something that's more or less bounced off the bottom, rabbit/zonker strips or marabou, even spinner bait skirts, would give you more action.  Not sure why the weed guard.  Maybe the logic is "It's a bass fly, got to have a weed guard."  Now all I have to do is figure out how to tie a "Ned" fly.  

18 hours ago, Fallser said:

Nice.  Unweighted?  I've always thought of them as bass flies rather than trout flies.  I tied up a few for an anticipated trip to Northern Ontario this year to try on the smallmouth up there.  That went down the tubes with the virus.  Mine measure about 3 inches long.  I scrapped the beard after the first few.  I tied them both weighted and unweighted.  Mine are a bit scruffy looking compared to yours.  Different style of tying.  I do occasionally fish spinning gear and the guys I fish with are into drop shotting.  It would be fun to out fish them using a Zonker with a drop shot rig.

  The Solarez UV resin dries tacky sometimes.  I wipe mine down with alcohol pads and that gets ride of the tackiness.

 

Fallser, I did not weight them. 

 

I wiped the heads with both alcohol and lacquer thinner but it was the nail polish - which sure smells likes it's lacquer based - that brought back the glossiness I wanted.

4 hours ago, Fishes in trees said:

I remember back in the day when I was fishing BFLs and I took several trips to southern Missouri every year to fish Table Rock, and farther south to fish Bull Shoals, I heard about guys making flies for drop shot fishing.  One  shop in a little town close to BullShoals had a small section of "drop shot flies">. I bought a couple.  They looked similar to the ones posted, except they were feathers rather than rabbit hair and they had a relatively thick mono weed guard.  On my way back home I stopped at Bass Pro and in the fly fishing shop they had an assortment of "clear water drop shot flies" and I bought a few more.  I was never able to make them work and I tried several times, in pretty clear water.  I didn't lose any of them, they are still in a box in my fishing shed somewhere.  Based on my experiences, I'm pretty skeptical of the whole concept, but your experiences might b e different.

I'm not at all surprised to hear that others have tried a number of streamer fly patterns rigged on a dropshot.  I don't expect to be able to get out on my home water, a clear water reservoir in Massachusetts, for a while, but I've given a couple my ties to experienced fishing buddies to try out. I'll report back if they're successful.