Improving classic flies so they can do even more

Captain Andrew Derr with a client’s nice striper.

Improving classic flies does not change them. They can appear precisely the same but be different and better

Henry Clement, Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, August 2023.

By Henry Clement

Several fly patterns do better than eke out a living as fake eats for trout, bonefish, stripers, peacock bass, and other game fish.

A few named such flies are Don Gapen’s Muddler, Russell Blessing’s Woolly Bugger, Lefty Kreh’s Deceiver, Bob Clouser’s Minnow, Capt Derr’s Sand Eel variation, Lee Wulff’s series of dry flies, Kelly Galloup’s ‘dungeon flies,’ Chuck Kraft’s Kreelex, Lenny Moffo’s Permit flies, Tim Borski or Steve Kantner’s backcountry flies, and so many more flies that will never lose their appeal of being eaten.

It does not look like a baitfish to me.

Remarkably, so many classic flies do not look like anything that ever lived in an aquatic environment or fallen into it. And the secret of why is unknown. However, for decades, skilled tyers and anglers have given reasons why such and such fly appeals, such as because it looks like something known.

Contact Steve Kantner to buy a copy here. landcaptain@comcast.net

Chuckling can erupt fireside at some reaches trying to equate the Woolly Bugger, for example, to hellgrammites. The joke teller on one occasion was the fly’s inventor, Russell Blessing, who laughingly said, ‘I’m glad I failed.’

They are related, I think?

Tying any fly pattern using either a hook-tied or tube-tied system can result in Fraternal births. They look related but are different.

Tying a fly on a tube or hook has no measurable impact on initial cost but can when monetized post-tying. That relevant savings on one tying method happens post-use (more later).

The human dexterity requirements for tying—tube versus hook—tied—are the same; most have commented that they are negligible.

No need for a new vise

One tool addition would make a general service vise a tube-tying vise. At plus or minus $12, its cost is not prohibitive for most.

Using this adapter tool could eliminate the long-term need for vise grip replacements. The vise jaws will not wear out, and hook size restrictions—too big and too small—are not a factor when tying on tubes.

My hallowed fly-tying place

There has been no change in that department either—my designated tying locale at home, abroad, or in my truck or car is unaffected. All travel with the tying setup remains a pain in the arse, but well worth it.

Thom Glace, the award-winning watercolorist’s commissioned striper, is one of the best illustrations of Morone saxatilis.

Tying on the road, so to speak, is a conversation starter and friend-maker. No one seems too shy to stop by my streamside truck and ask questions.

The tools used to build tube flies are the same. However, the tube-tying method initially eliminates the need for a hook. Using the tube method, a hook is only needed or chosen after tying the fly and essentially at or on the water or boat.

The knowledge of which hook size to choose is a learned art

The logic applied to selecting the hook does not need decades of angling experience. A Don Gapen Muddler Minnow hook-tied as # 4 up-eye or down-eye 3Xlong could be replaced on a tube fly with a standard straight-eye # 10 hook on a tub fly of the same size. Most see that as an advantage.

That system only requires a hook post-tying threaded into a round, malleable, lightweight, and hollow conduit to be the fly’s hook holder in any orientation and attached to the leader. Thus, a hook shank is replaced as the tying base.

Yes, I am talking about a tube fly; grumbling about it here in the States and the Provinces of Canada by some big names in fly tying is always puzzling.

The Royal Wulff is one of the most famous and influential dry flies, which speaks of its enormous versatility and application in the fishing of many species worldwide. This Ruben Martin tube version improves the effectiveness of a fantastic fly.

The real crippling of tube fly usage is in the lack of promotion

In a tiny industry like Fly Fishing, less than a billion dollars counting related businesses, you would think some newly rediscovered [back to the future] way to better fish – catch more fish and inherently advantage better casting in a ‘biggly way’ would have filtered into the ranks.

But far from it is today’s reality

I have been maligned for promoting tube flies, which I have no investment to spur their use and pad my wealth. Stubbornness, I guess, is my driver.

The high-stakes table lads prove a tube point.

A small cadre of big game fly fishers chasing Santiago’s fish—blue marlin and other billfishes are the real champions of tube flies.

Here is why

As promised, here are the advantages of tube flies, as observed by anglers targeting both large and small fish:

1. **Weight Control**: Tube flies allow for greater control over the weight of your fly. By changing the type of tube your pattern is tied on, you can create the same fly with significantly different weights.

2. **Design Flexibility**: Tube flies allow you to craft broader and longer patterns without being limited by hook size.

3. **Durability**: Tube flies last longer because they can slide up the line when a fish is hooked. This prevents fish teeth from touching the feathers and fur, which helps preserve the fly.

4. **Versatile Hook Options**: Tube flies enable you to quickly change the hook size or orientation to suit the specific species you are targeting.

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5. **Customization**: You can combine tube flies with beads, cones, and spacers in front or behind, offering even more customization options.

6. **Portability**: Tubes are much easier to carry and can be conveniently stored in a pants pocket.

7. **Hook Storage**: Hooks can be easily transported in a pocket, original packaging, or a zip-lock bag with pre-tied leaders.

8. **Ease of Casting**: Tube flies are generally easier to cast than conventional hook-tied flies that are similarly tied.

9. **Increased Success**: Experienced fly fishers who use tube flies report catching more fish than conventional hook-tied flies. The consensus on this topic among anglers is nearly unanimous.