Rainys's Evazote

[paulr]

Aye it's very similar to the simplified foam tarantulas I tied and they've done very well for me.
cheers
Paul

[Traditionalist]

By the way, I have had a lot of success using polypropylene cord for various floating patterns. It is more or less indestructible and works pretty well. Doesn't float as high as foam but that doesn't seem to matter. Indeed, the fact that it is less buoyant, ( although still pretty buoyant), seems to be an advantage with the patterns I have developed. Dirt cheap and easy to work with.  A few patterns;



TL
MC

[Traditionalist]

I have now used a number of these cord flies very successfully. This fly is 12 cm long in the finished state. (Start with 15 cm of cord, to allow for tail folding etc.). The "waggle tail" is formed by melting, folding, and flattening the soft braided polypropylene cord, and settng it at the required angle. This time a nice green coloured cord which approximates very well to the colour of a sand eel. The colours are intrinsic. You can use marker on them but it will wear off in time because the polypropylene is chemically inert. It wont take dye either.  If you want a sinking version use polyester cord, which will also take marker much better

These photos show detail of the "waggle tail" shovel which gives the fly the movement.






Use a piece of metal or similar, I use a flat steel plate, to flatten the softened cord against, and a knife or whatever to flatten and shape the shovel tail, as you will otherwise burn your fingers! The lighter should be held some way away from the cord and the cord should be rotated while heating. The cord will be seen to clear and soften. Once flattened in this manner it is welded together into a solid but still flexible piece of plastic.

Here is the head detail with the pectoral fins;



The bead chain eyes make the fly fish "head down" just like the natural and as a result you can get a lot of takes when the fly is stationary. Use a sinking line and long slow pulls. The fly will be drawn down wriggling, and will float up again.

From below;



The dark back has been made with a black magic marker.

One could use white cord, and copy the colour scheme of the natural even more accurately, white/silver belly, greenish olive flanks, dark back. But a lot of imitation lures in metal only use green and dark stripes, and they are very successful, so I have actually copied a colour scheme I know to be successful here, instead of adhering strictly to the natural colours. The braid actually simulates the fish scales etc very well indeed, as the shiny criss-cross fibres reflect the light in various ways. One may also use various other colour schemes as desired but I would normally stick to "natural" colours on such flies.

Bright pink or yellow, or various combinations may however also be successful under various circumstances.

Here is a "fire tiger" variation, based on yellow cord. Using orange and black marker. If you want to colour the braid like this, lay it down flat and stroke it flat on a piece of paper, and apply the marker to the flattened braid before you start. This is much more difficult to do once the fly is finished, as the braid flops around etc.








The waggling motion which this fly has is not of course exactly like the motion of a sand eel. Also the "waggle" is dependent on the "shovel" and the speed of retrieve.

Sand eels fin in a stationary position with their strong pectorals in a rather peculiar "tail up head  down" position, And have the habit of diving rapidly for the bottom when disturbed. This is the reason for the weighted ( bead chain) head.

Even at slow speeds, the "wriggling" motion which is common to sand eels and many fish when injured, or trying to escape rapidly, etc is very pronounced.

The well frayed out pectorals also simulate the natural very well. (These will fray out even more in use, and move even more attractively).

This is how to put the pectorals in;



Pull through as desired and just before you reach the half-way point put a dab of superglue on the yarn and then pull it in. Just cut the stuff at the needle then and trim as required.


The hook of a suitable size and type is merely threaded up through the centre of the braid and the cord bound down at the head.

Or mounted in suitable position;



Variations;






The flies only take a couple of minutes to make, and due to the nature of the material are virtually indestructible. I have done some real damage with these flies, on cod, pollack, whiting, and seatrout.

They will also take pike and perch.   Indeed, I think they will take anything that will take "wiggling" lures of this type, but they have more and better movement than metal lures, and they are at least as good as the soft plastic lures in common use, but basically indestructible. Easy to cast as well.

TL
MC

[Guddler]

No I'm really looking forward to some SWFF'ing 

Do you set in a strand for the fins and ragworm legs or is it just picked out of the body?

[Wildfisher]

These look great Mike. Very innovative!   

[Inchlaggan]

It has taken a while, I am slow on the uptake, and a few posts (false fingernails?), but the penny has dropped that the monicker "Traditionalist" was, in fact, sarcastic.
Nice ideas, keep 'em coming!

[Traditionalist]

It has taken a while, I am slow on the uptake, and a few posts (false fingernails?), but the penny has dropped that the monicker "Traditionalist" was, in fact, sarcastic.
Nice ideas, keep 'em coming!

It wasn't really, some people have referred to me on the internet as a "dyed in the wool traditionalist", so it must be true!  

TL
MC

[Traditionalist]

Some people asked about names.  I am not an advocate of trying to give flies evocative or "catchy" names. I know what they are and how to use them and that does for me.

However, if you insist on a name, you can call the above pattern "Cordeelia".  Or even "Mary" if you like!

The brownish one with the palmered body was dubbed a "Woolly Waggler" by a friend of mine.

TL
MC

[Traditionalist]

No I'm really looking forward to some SWFF'ing  

Do you set in a strand for the fins and ragworm legs or is it just picked out of the body?

Sorry, I somehow managed to overlook this post.  I showed how to set the pectorals on the eel imitations, this is how I do it on the ragworm;

For this I have used a 15 cm piece of soft red braided polypropylene cord as shown, melted and shaped ( in this case tapered), at one end using a gas lighter;



This also prevents the braid from unravelling. Of course this will only work with thermoplastic braids like polypropylene, polyester, or nylon etc.

Choose your hook. In this case I have used a Gamakatsu LS-5013F size 1/0 but this is not really critical. This is however a smooth hook, and it is easier to mount the cord on this hook. If you expect really large fish, then I would use a heavier hook here.

Push the EYE! of the hook into, and up the centre of the braid as shown;



Place your hook in the vice, ( if desired) start your thread, bind down your dumbbells or chain eyes, I have used smaller chain eyes here, the polypropylene is positively buoyant, and we only want the chain eyes to counteract the buoyancy, no more! This allows the worm to swim very naturally. Bind the eyes in and varnish ore glue well, ( A drop of epoxy later makes all fast), Fray the ends of the cord slightly, pull them around the eyes, tie down, trim off, form a neat head and whip finish. Varnish to seal the thread, and allow to dry;

Now take a needle and thread it with a suitable material. I have used the frayed ends from a piece of similar brown cord here, ( waste not want not!  ), but you can also use wool or similar if you must. The polypropylene is better though, as it is tougher, and also helps buoyancy and movement.. This fly has more or less neutral buoyancy if you use the right size eyes.




Now sew the thread along the body of the worm like this, staying on the same plane through the middle of the braid and keeping an even spacing. It is easier to do this if you use one longish piece of wool/thread/whatever, in the needle. ( I have used bits here, because I had some frayed brown cord lying around) You can vary the spacing as you wish. I have made the spacing a little wider here so you can see what I am doing, as otherwise it looks like a tangled mess at this stage! You can also easily add more "legs" or replace missing ones if desired. You may also of course use alternate colours if desired. Some of these worms have green and brown "legs".

Put a tiny drop of UHU or similar glue at each point of entry, ( NOT superglue, it wont hold well in saltwater, especially not on a flexible fly like this), and then pull the braid in past the glue point and allow to dry. Then trim the loops as shown. I have stopped about a third of the way down the body here;



This is a large fly, but very easy to cast. It holds no water, and is extremely robust. The fish hammer it very hard indeed! This fly passed my fifty fish criterion in two sessions! ( all cod, and all on the same fly! ) This colour scheme seems very good indeed, ( it´s what I caught all the fish on) and I also made some green ones and some yellow ones, but I have not really tried them much as the red one has always been pretty successful.

This fly also improves with use, the legs fray out more and give really good movement, and the body twists and coils like the real thing;

Cod simply engulf this fly, and I only had a couple of missed takes now and then, but for fish like bass,( and maybe sometimes for sea trout as I have missed a few of them on the single front hook) it may be desirable to mount a rear hook. This is easily done. Just mount a hook to nylon as normal, and pull this into the braid with a needle. This may then be bound securely to the front hook when the eyes and braid are tied down. You may also mount the hook directly to the braid. This braid has a breaking strain of over 500 lbs! So you wont lose any fish as a result of that.

If you want a "shovel tail" for more action, just heat the cord and flatten it, shaping a "waggle tail disc" as you go. Do this before you start any other operations of course, and leave yourself plenty of cord to play with. I just made one in a piece of the same cord as a demo;









This will give the worm a lot more action.

To increase the size of the "paddle", simply heat and bend the cord back on itself a couple of times, before flattening it. The larger the paddle, and depending on the angle you set it at, the more the fly "waggles".  As long as you don't actually burn the cord, you can reheat, fold, flatten, and shape, as long as you like. You can weld the stuff into loads of shapes in fact. If you want to make a number of these then a hot air gun is better than a lighter for heating the cord.

Incidentally, while fishing with this it has never fouled once! Often a big problem with long lures. It may foul occasionally if you use a rear hook of course.

One or two people asked about adding other "features" to these flies.  There is nothing to stop you doing it, you can thread tinsel through and along the sides of the braid with a needle for more "flash" and lots of other things like that if you wish. Plenty of room for experiment there. I have not bothered doing things like that because the basic fly works well, some things might "improve" it, but they might just as well not!

TL
MC

[haresear]

I like your thinking Mike and can see a few applications in my own fishing for both freshwater and their salty cousins.. Thanks for sharing and you have certainly got me thinking.

Alex