Step by step: Mike's Voodoo Squatch

Thread: UTC140 denier, tan
Hook1: Gamagatsu B10S size 2/0
Hook2: Daiichi 2141 size 1
Tail: Matabou, tan
Body1: Marabou, tan and yellow
Body2: Bucktail, tan and yellow
Flash: Magnum Holographic Flashabou, yellow
Head: Senyo Laser Dub, rusty bronze and dark tan
Eyes: 3D Epoxy, Super Pearl 1/2"
Connection: Beadalon, 19 strand .018"

Alternative color combinations: All black, olive over tan, green over orange, red over white


STEP 1: With your Daiichi 2141 size 1 in the vise get your thread started and wrapped to the back of the hook shank. Once at the rear tie in point, located above the midpoint of the hook spear, tie a single marabou feather hanging approximately one hook length off the back of the hook. Tightly wrap the material forward about two thirds of the hook shank then return your thread to the mid-point of the shank.

STEP 2: Tie in three strands of Holographic Flashabou in the middle of the strands then fold them back over and tie them securely down, resulting in six strands hanging off the back of the hook. Tying the Flashabou in by the middle prevents the material from slipping out. The Holographic flashabou should be trimmed to be approximately the length of the marabou tail.

STEP 3: Advance your thread forward towards the eye. About one eye width back on the shank tie in a single tan marabou feather on top of the hook shank and one yellow below. The feathers should be tied in so that the tips taper down towards the tail. Once tied in go ahead and cut off the butt ends of the marabou and create a smooth thread head.

STEP 4: Place the Gamagatsu B10S size 2/0 in the vise and attach the rear hook using Beadalon. For this fly it will be approximately three inches of 19 strand .018" Beadalon threaded through the eye of the rear hook and use three size E glass beads to keep the loop closed. Tie under maximum pressure from the rear to the front and back, then tie the fly. If done under maximum pressure with good coverage no further action is needed to secure the hooks.

STEP 5: About half way forward on the front hook shank tie in a single tan marabou feather on top of the hook shank and one yellow below. The feathers should be tied in so that the tips taper down about mid way through the marabou on the back hook. Tying the feathers in like this give the fly a nice tapered profile.

STEP 6: Again tie in three strands of Holographic Flashabou in the middle of the strands then fold them back over and tie them securely down, resulting in six strands hanging off the back of the hook. The Holographic flashabou on the front hook should be trimmed to taper out at about the same point as the marabou on the front hook.

STEP 7: This step involves reverse tying bucktail. Tie in a clump of tan bucktail on top of the hook shank and a clump of yellow below the hook shank, both with the tips out past the hook eye. Add a few extra tight binding wraps then reverse the hair backwards, easily done with an empty pen tube slid over the eye, and wrap down with eight to ten tight wraps.

STEP 8: Directly on top of the bucktail wraps tie in a clump of Rusty Bronze by the mid point and reverse it back over itself and brush out. Tying in the clumps here gives a nice gill effect but more importantly it serves to add some structure for the rest of the head. This stepp builds up the 'under head' so that there is a nice transition from the Laser Dub head back in to the body...maintaining a profile without gaps.

STEP 9: The head will consist of two clumps of senter tied Tan Senyo Laser Dub. Pull out a clump and work it with your fingers so that the fibers go generally the same direction. Push the clump directly over the eye of the hook then use a pair of tight wraps in the middle of the material to hold it in place. Then fold the material back over itself and secure with a few more wraps in front of it.

STEP 10: Tie in a second clump of the tan Senyo Laser Dub just behind the eye in the same manner as step9 then whip finish. These clumps should be fairly bulky as they are meant to push around enough water to really get the back of the fly doing a jig!

STEP 11: Use Loctite Gel, or similar gel glue, to apply a 1/2" 3D Epoxy eye to each side of the fly about an eye width back. Make sure to hold the eyes in place until you can feel them heating up, indicating that the chemical reaction that bonds the back of the eye to the material has taken place.

At about five and a half inches this is a fairly meaty fly. I generally fish this fly on a 6WT throwing 200gr SA Streamer Express Long. Hard jerk strips make this fly practically dance through a retrieve.

Maintaining a wet width of three quarters of an inch gives this fly a great profile from any angle.

If you have any questions that were not addressed please leave a comment and I will try to give you a more detailed explanation of the step. To purchase this pattern head over to http://www.anglerschoiceflies.com/.

-mike schmidt

http://www.anglerschoiceflies.com/

New streamer: Mike's Voodoo Squatch

I had kept it quiet for a bit but since my New Years Day trip to the Mad River to chase fish I had let slip to a few people that there was a new streamer that had passed the fishing test, and the Voodoo Squatch is that fly. Through the fall I alternated between the Voodoo Squatch and the Red Rocket and had a blast hammering on fish with both! The Voodoo Squatch is tied on a Gamagatsu B10S 2/0 to a Daiichi 2141 size1, which tapes it out at a bit over 5 inches. Utilizing layers of marabou and bucktail, this fly maintains a bulky profile topped off by a generous Senyo Laser Dub head complete with 1/2" 3D Epoxy eyes.

As you can see from the above shot the fly it is a nice wide fly, which holds at about an inch in width when wet. The bulk of the head and the bucktail collar cause heavy cavitation which moves the back of the fly around as if it were alive. This thick profile is maintained when quickly jerk stripped or a slower retrieve can be employed, either way the fly seems to 'breathe' everytime it stops between strips. Hope you all like this one, there will be a step by step posted at some point.

-mike schmidt

www.anglerschoiceflies.com

Carp...yes please!

Living in Dublin Ohio allows me to partake of many things very close to home...trout fishing is not one of them. To chase trout requires that, at a minimum, I jump in the car and drive nearly an hour north or an hour west. Doing so certainly is not a problem when time allows but for those quick trips I stick to warmwater fisheries which is something cetral Ohio has a LOT of. It is not an uncommon site to see me out chasing fish around the Darby, Little Darby, Scioto, Olentangy, or any one of another few dozen watersheds around town. When I head out on these trips I am generally targetting smallies, white bass, or saugeye. Even on those trips though, if truth be told, I am always looking out of the corner of my eye for that big cruising shadow, flip of a tail or fresh mud plume. Yup...Carp! There's not much like getting out on a small local creek after a long day at work and having a few 1lb'ish smallies come to hand on the 5WT , then tie in to a six pound freight train!

For a while I lived on a lake west of town that had a few square acres of mud flats that lended itself to some supreme carp fishing from a kayak. While there I honed my technique and worked on fly patterns to target these fish that can vary from lazy to super skittish and nearly impossible to approach. Once I moved I found that most of what I learned there translated very well to the slow pools and eddys on rivers around Columbus where the carp tend to hang. Working with some materials that were relatively new to the market back in the spring I tied up some new prototype flies and threw them in the boxes. After a few times out, and a few tweaks, they were performing exactly as designed and were put to good use as a 'craw-ish' imitation fooling fish. Neither fly is what I would call a realistic imitation, but rather is more of an impressionistic fly that simply looks like food.

Mike's Gorgon Craw makes good use of Senyo Shaggy Dub and barred rubber legs as antennae and claws. The grizzly marabou both provides a mottled look and 'movement without movement', in other words even in between strips the fly appears to have a little shimmy. The bead chain eyes are enough weight to get the fly down where it needs to be, but not so heavy as to make a commotion when entering the water.

Even more impressionistic is Mike's Hairy Nibblet. It more or less looks like a soft craw in a defensive position...but not exactly... Again with the bead chain eyes for the same reason as above.

Both flies were designed to be effective but also quick ties since you will lose some as they generally need to be fished on the bottom. I keep them in my box in Tan, Olive, Black and Rust. As far as size I have found that 6, 8, and 10 pretty much cover it, and in my experience a size 8 carp fly is generally my go to size.

Happy carp hunting!

-mike schmidt

http://www.anglerschoiceflies.com/