I don't know it the big Bluegill you guys fish for in the warm water
states are smarter than the smaller ones we have in ponds around
here, but it has been my experience that Bluegill will take just
about anything including a bare hook. When I was a boy we had a pond
down the road and I spent many a summer catching and releasing
Bluegill by the dozens. We each had a stick with a little mono
wrapped around the end (and a hook). We'd catch a grasshopper and
start fishing and I don't recall ever having a slow day. These fish
were mostly hand sized, and we each had special mark that we would
make in their tales before releasing them so that we could we could
tell if when we caught a the fish more than once. Sometimes, just
to amuse ourselves, we would put a piece of leaf or just use the bare
hook, and still catch fish.
In the spring when our rivers are blown out I still go out to a local
pond and catch blue gill with dry flies, and they have never been
picky, taking flies of every size and shape. So are those southern
Bluegill smarter, or what?
Now as far as tying the Adams goes, yes, I can remember when it was
hard, and most of the difficulty came from the picture instructions
in the book I was using. They showed two hackle feathers to be used
as wings that had the barbs stripped away till the feathers were
exactly the final size, and I had a devil of a time trying to lash
them on the hook using those two tiny naked quills. Later I learned
(through trial and error) that it is MUCH easier to get two saddle
feathers that were twice as long as the final size, leave them just
as they came off the neck. Put them together back to back and hold
by the butt section (heaviest part of the quill which will eventually
be cut away) straddle the hook over shank with the wing tips going
over the eye and tie the top (wing) end to the shaft using a pinch
loop. Check to see if wings are the right size. If the wings are
two long, just pull the feather through by the butts until the tips
are the right size, if two short, release the loop and try again.
Most of the time I tie them a little long, then pull them down till
they are the right size. Then lash it with a couple more pinch
loops, cut off the the butt end, pull the wings up, throw some loops
in front of the wings to prop them up, go back and lash down any butt
ends that were left from cutting and your done with the wings. I
also don't mess around with using a figure 8 to prop the wings apart,
the opposing curve of the wings does that anyway.
I typically do everything in this order: Wrap a thread base to the
bend, lash on the tailing material, wrap forward to where you want
the wings to be and attach them. Then go back and dub to the wings,
attach hackles, dub in front of the hackles, bring thread back to
front of wing, wrap hackles and tie them off in front of wing. Wrap
head, pull hackles and wings back with your fingers and whip finish.
Trim off any stray hackles .
And, rather than trying to wrap both hackles at once, it is
perfectly OK to wrap one, tie it off, then wrap the other. As you
gain confidence you won't have any difficulty wrapping the together
if you want.
I hope this helps, it would be much easier to show you than describe
it. If you want, maybe I could make you a little video.
Tom Davenport
On Jan 2, 2006, at 11:38 PM, [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:
Does anybody know if the Adams fly is good for Bluegills (or other
brim species) during the Spring spawn??? I say that time of the
year, because the rest of the year I usually use wet flies.. Or,
are they are good in another time of the year ???? Around here, it
just seems that the Spring, and Early Summer are about the only
times the Gills surface feed. I JUST now got to where I can tie an
Adams. I know it is one of the most tied flies in the world, but
getting the wings the right length, and in the right place on the
shank, and at the correct angle. Then, when I'd wrap the twin
hackles, I'd always get those tangled up, or run out of room on the
#12 and #14 hooks I am tying them on. But I FINALLY got to where I
can tie them to at least LOOK like an Adams...Also, was this a hard
fly to learn for anybody else??? Thanks, Chuck
