The Golden Nugget Is a Modern Medium-Size Baitfish Imitation
The Golden Nugget is easy to tie and highly effective on the water! Using the Fish-Skull Baitfish Head to help with swimming action, profile, and depth, this versatile streamer fly pattern can be fished for most freshwater and saltwater applications.
The Flymen Sili-Leg Intruder is a completely synthetic Steelhead Intruder tied on the Fish-Skull Senyo's Articulated Shank for Steelhead and Salmon Flies.
Intruder-style flies are designed to trigger aggressive strikes from steelhead by "intruding" on their territory and provoking an attack.
The movement of the bulletproof sili-leg skirt coupled with the the Kona Big Game Hunter stinger hook gives you an incredibly durable and deadly Intruder pattern.
Vote on Your Favorite Fly for a Chance to Win Prizes From Some of Your Favorite Brands
12 Prizes = 12 Chances For You To Win!
Over the last 4 weeks, fly tyers around the world submitted flies to the #MicroSpineFlyTyingContest which we put on with some of your favorite brands to challenge fly tyers to push the limits of fly tying.
The Flymen team chose a winner each week, and now it's up to YOU to decide the final grand prize winners and have the chance to win the same 12 prizes that the finalists will win, PLUS a Redington Fly Rod! If you vote, you will be entered into a drawing to win the following prizes.
The Flymen Fish-Skull Craw is a realistic, yet easy to tie crawfish pattern. The Fish-Skull Shrimp & Cray tail sends this fly straight to the bottom with an enticing swimming motion. The Flymen Fish-Skull Craw dominates warm and coldwater species!
The Mohawk Sculpin, Created by Cheech Pierce of Fly Fish Food, Is a Super Fun and Easy Sculpin Pattern To Tie
With its wide profile and short stature, the silhouette of the Mohawk Sculpin is a perfect match to the real thing and is sure to trigger predatory attacks.
The extra-heavy Fish-Skull Sculpin Helmet helps the Mohawk Sculpin drop like a rock to the bottom and this sculpin fly pattern even has a little extra "bling" from the new Hareline Magnum Bling Rabbit Strips.
The Micro Feather Game Changer is a snack-size articulated fly pattern that lands softly to avoid spooking fish, but still pushes enough water to get a predator's attention.
Imagine a fly that perfectly imitates a baitfish in your local waters, not only in profile but by swimming like a real fish and provoking the predatory instinct within your target fish... but you can still cast it with a 4wt to 6wt fly rod.
The Micro Feather Game Changer is fly a pattern developed by Blane Chocklett. This version is scaled down to about 3", and is a fantastic pattern for smaller water or picky fish.
The new Fish-Skull Chocklett's Articulated Micro-Spines open up a whole new world of possibilities for tying scaled-down Game Changer style flies.
The Flymen Big Game Needlefish Puts a Next-Generation Spin on a Staple Barracuda Fly
This fly will move Barracuda in Belize, Pike in Canada, and sizing it up or down it will catch musky, smallmouth, and trout in your local fishery as well.
Fish-Skull Body Tubing creates the elongated body of a Needlefish, and a Big Game Articulated Shank adds extra swimming action to attract your target species. Super fun tie!
The Perdigon Has Taken the Euro-Style Fishing World by Storm.
This simple yet very fishy fly has everything that fast-water fly anglers are looking for... An endless choice of colors, instant sinkability, and 1000% bulletproof.
Fish the Heavy Metal Perdigon on its own, under a dry fly, or with a team of other nymphs – just fish it!
Paul Brown's Disco Deceiver is a big flashy streamer with TONS of swimming action.
For targeting everything from pike to brown trout in endless color combinations, the Disco Deceiver is a ton of fun to fish and tie. Combining Fish-Skull Articulated Fish-Spines in the middle of the fly's body gives it two extra break points for movement and a Fish-Skull Baitfish Head helps get this fly to the strike zone quickly.
Taking the Iconic Woolly Bugger Fly to the Next Level
While the original Woolly Bugger gets its movement in the water from the undulation of its marabou and hackle body materials, the Bugger Changer combines this body material undulation with lifelike articulation, made possible at this micro scale with the new Fish-Skull Chocklett's Articulated Micro-Spine system.
In this Bugger Changer fly tying tutorial, Blane Chocklett walks you through how to tie this fly in detail, including tips and tricks on tying with the new Articulated Micro-Spine system.
Head: H20 Streamer Brush + Hackle, Indian Hen Saddle
About the NEW Articulated Micro-Spine
Tie realistic micro flies with true-to-life movement and take your trout and small fly fishing to the next level with Chocklett’s Articulated Micro-Spine.
Created in partnership with renowned fly tyer and fishing guide Blane Chocklett, the new Chocklett's Articulated Micro-Spine allows fly tyers to take the Game Changer style of fly tying to completely new territory.
The sky is the limit for realistically imitating insects, small baitfish, crustaceans, and other aquatic critters with never-before-possible lifelike movement. The new triangular back-loop design reduces the gap between segments and makes it easier to fit in your fly tying vise jaws.
The system is comprised of 3 different shanks (8mm, 6mm and a 6mm long Tail Shank) which can be connected ("daisy chained") in a limitless number of different combinations to create virtually any highly articulated, small fly you desire.
How We Can All Contribute to the Next Generation of Fly Anglers
When we take our kids on their first fly fishing trip, we generally think about things like which areas to fish, what gear we need, and what weather conditions are best, but there are other important things we should be considering as well.
Here are 3 important things to teach your kids when bringing them out fly fishing for their first time...
This Often Overlooked Species Just Might Be the Challenge You've Been Seeking
Fly fishing in saltwater flats usually conjures up images of tarpon, bonefish, snook and permit; the "big four" so to speak in this realm of mangroves, grasses and sand. Then there are redfish and black drum. These two species are much more widespread and available, making them a viable target from Texas to the Carolinas. Again, these two fish are very popular among fly anglers and considered high on the list of angling achievements.
However, there is yet another species of the drum family that I consider even higher on the list than redfish and black: the spotted seatrout (cynoscion nebulosus). The spotted seatrout is perhaps one of the first fish that novice saltwater fly anglers target. The smaller versions of these fish are voracious feeders, attacking anything that gets near them, making them perfect for novice anglers.
Spotted seatrout are readily found from Maryland to Texas, in large groups, and it is not unusual once a single small trout is caught, to catch a dozen or more in the same area. Perhaps this is why many people forget about seatrout and don’t give them the respect they deserve, especially the large ones we call gator seatrout.
The original Copper John is a staple in most fly boxes — the Heavy Metal Rubber Leg Copper John is a next-generation take on this classic fly pattern.
Using the Nymph-Head Heavy Metal tungsten beads that are 15% heavier than standard tungsten beads of the same size and come in a wide array of colors, the possibilities for this pattern are endless. You can fish it in a variety of ways, from fishing it as an anchor fly in a Euro setup to a regular attractor under an indicator, fish this fly DEEP — trust me, it will get there.
This Nymph Is a Great Little Caddis Pupa – With Some Added Flair
Hot spots on nymphs are a great way to not only get the attention of the fish you're targeting, but in certain fishing circumstances they can help you track your fly easier by sight. Most hot spots are made with dubbing that is a different color than the body of the fly, but this fly sets itself apart by using brightly colored deer hair tied on top of the hook as the hot spot.
This technique helps the fly stay upright in the water while the fly gets deep in the water column from the weight of the Nymph-Head Evolution tungsten beadhead.
The other day I was watching an episode of "The Office" and in it Michael Scott said, "What is better: a medium amount of good pizza or all you can eat of pretty good pizza?"
As weird as it sounds, that got me thinking about fly fishing and the reason why I fish and tie big streamers. With big streamers, you may not always catch fish, but the fish you do catch and the memories will be epic.
Growing up in Southern California I was always fishing for largemouth bass. Before I stated fly fishing, I was throwing big lures, plugs, swimbaits, etc. for bass with my baitcasting rod. Throwing an 8-inch lure was a common thing for me as well as at time throwing a big 12-inch plus rainbow trout plastic swimbait. So when I started tying flies I always thought why not tie big flies like the lures I was used to throwing. To me this made sense, but at that time a lot of people looked at me strangely.
If you enjoy tying and fishing big streamers, the following are some things I'd recommend you keep in mind.
It is first light. You are sitting quietly and motionless in an aluminum canoe in the middle of a 10-acre pond full of lily pads trying not to make a sound.
You have spent the last 30 minutes of darkness listening to the insects and frogs begin to quiet down as the sun begins to rise. Thick fog permeates the still air and the water is still as glass.
Every 15 seconds you can hear a bass blow up on an unsuspecting victim. It is summertime now and frogs and tadpoles are one of the most readily available food sources in the lake... Too bad all you have in your box are Clousers, chenille worms, and crawdads. OOPS!
Blane Chocklett recently sat down with Marvin Cash ofThe Articulate Fly Podcastfor an interesting conversation about all things fly fishing and fly design.
Whether you listen to the episodes on your way to/from work, or as you head to the water to go fishing, we think you'll enjoy their conversation and the insight Blane shares.
This frog imitation fishes super well... and looks like it will hop out of your fly box on its own.
Ken Capsey's Japeto Frog is easily one of the most fun flies I have ever tied!
The target species for the Japeto Frog is bass (smallmouth, largemouth, spotted), but pike, musky, and even snakeheads are targetable with this fly as well.
When fishing the Japeto Frog, cast to lily pads, moss, grass, weeds, or any structure close to the bank. Typically, fishing a frog pattern is noticeably faster than other topwater patterns, but observe and let the fish tell you the speed you should be moving with.
What makes fly fishing the Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota area special is this is the wild native range of warm water species.
When most people think about fly fishing Montana, Wyoming, Idaho, they think of trout. When you think of Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, you think of warm water species.
We have some of the best smallmouth bass and muskie fishing in the world. It's all right here, as well as arguably the best carp fishing when it comes to pursuing them in the Great Lakes.
The upper Midwest is such a rad area for fly fishing and there's a very small group of outfitters that are providing guided trips at an elite level. We offer single day and multi-day trips, and if you've never done a multi-day guided fly fishing trip, I'd definitely recommend one to the Midwest. It allows you as an angler to get into a groove, especially if you're a busy person that generally doesn't have a lot of time to fish.
The Faux Bucktail Flatwing updates an old-school pattern with new-school materials.
Replacing bucktail with Fish-Skull Faux Bucktail, adding a mixture of synthetic flash in different textures and colors, and topping it all off with a Fish-Mask brings the Flatwing into the 21st century.
Learn to tie this next-generation fly pattern today!
Bass like to party, which is what makes them the most chased game fish in the United States.
Aggressive eats, jumps, and willingness to eat on the surface make bass a fun fish to chase, especially on the fly. Personally, I think the topwater takes are where it’s at in bass fly fishing. Part of the fun is getting the fish to eat what you want it to eat.
If you’re set on getting bass to eat on the surface and it’s not working, before you give up and switch over to fishing a streamer, try dialing it back first. That’s where the topwater finesse comes into play.
Vote on Your Favorite Fly for a Chance to Win Prizes From Some of Your Favorite Brands
6 Prizes = 6 Chances For You To Win!
Over the last 6 weeks, fly tyers around the world submitted flies to the #FlymenFlyTyingFreeForAll2019 which we put on with Howler Brothers, Loon Outdoors, Rep Your Water, Taylor Fly Fishing, Cortland Line, Kona Fishing Products, and Hareline Dubbin to challenge fly tyers to push the limits of fly tying.
The Flymen team chose a winner each week, and now it's up to YOU to decide the final grand prize winners and have the chance to win the same 6 prizes that the finalists will win!
Taylor Fly Fishing Revolution Z Fly Reel ($479 value) + Cortland Line $100 credit for products of your choice and 1 spool of Top Secret Tippet ($20 value). $599 total prize value!
Flymen Fishing Co. $100 credit for products of your choice + Kona hook assortment ($50 value)
Howler Bros. $100 credit for apparel of your choice
Loon Outdoors $100 credit for products of your choice
Hareline $100 credit for materials of your choice
Rep Your Water $50 credit for apparel of your choice
Everyone Can Use a Few Good Crawfish Patterns in Their Fly Box
The thing with crawfish fly patterns is you tend to lose them in the rocks faster than you can tie some of the intricate flies that imitate these bottom-dwellers. The Fish-Skull CrawBody on the Sparkle Craw makes tying a crawfish imitation foolproof and fast.
But what is a Crawfish pattern if it doesn't get to the bottom? The Fish-Skull Shrimp & Cray Tail gets the Sparkle Craw to the bottom in no time.
Learn To Tie Chase Howard’s Extended Body Drake, a Nymph With Movement That Is Out of This World
Dead drifting this fly into a swing works flawlessly as the Nymph-Head Evolution tungsten beadhead will get the fly deep quick, and as the fly swings, the Wiggle-Tail Shank offers tons of extra movement.
The weight of the bead isn't a compromise for realism as the Evolution Mayfly Swimmer & Burrower tungsten beadhead is molded after the common mayfly swimmer and burrower head profile – oval, elongated, and gracefully curved at the front but flattened at the back near the thorax with prominent, egg-shaped eyes.
