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warmwater fly swap entry - Boobies!

4K views 15 replies 8 participants last post by  fishheadfred 
#1 ·


I first saw this style of pattern tied by Gordon Fraser, back in the early 80s. Its a very versatile pattern - but first the recipe:

Tail: Olive Marabou
Body: Olive sealfur substitute dubbed
Hackle: Grizzle dyed chartreuse
Rib: Medium Gold
"Eyes": A pair of close-cell foam balls (I couldn't find the real thing so used cubes roughly trimmed), encased in a piece of nylon hose :)eek: yes, thats right, I said HOSE). Colored with Pantone pen.

Back when this pattern was slaughtering stocky rainbows on the English reservoirs, polystyrene balls were readilly available in fly-shops, You still see them used in packing material sometimes.

The secret is how they are attached. Encase the two balls in a piece of hose and pull firm but not too tight into a sort of mesh bag. Now lash the bag to the top of the hook-shank with the tag end pointing towards the hook-point. Trim away the excess hose material. Finally, figure-of-eight between the balls to "Lift and Separate" as they say in the trade (this will tighten everything up. And thats why they are called "Boobies" if you hadn't already guessed ;) I used a coat of softex to add durability. Test any glues or cements first on a spare piece of foam - lots of things will melt foam.

You probably wont find hose material in a flyshop. You could buy your own or ask your girlfriend or wife - be prepared for some strange looks! But its worth the embarrasement!!!

Using a single ball you can creat suspender nymphs or how about the dreaded clam worm to dimple the surface?

You can mix and match almost any materials which take your fancy.

There are a number of ways to fish the pattern.

As a floater, its not quite as noisy as a popper but still creates a nice surface disturbance. I chose damselfly nymph colors for a figure-of-eight retrieve or static drift. Last and probably deadliest is to fish it on a fast sinking line and very short leader (no more the 3 feet). Short strips with a pause will make it dive to the bottom and rise seductively - like a clouser in reverse. If you should put your rod down whilst the fly is sinking, keep your eye on it - takes on the drop come frequently and can be very agressive :D

Apologies for being a bit late - should make the post on Tuesday.
 
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#2 ·
Close call.....

Boy, when I first saw the title of this thread I thought I was actually gonna have to do some moderator editing. ;)

This is such a neat pattern....I saw something similar to this in one of the flyfishing mags a while ago under that imitated a juvie bullfrog. I think the pattern was called a Kentucky bullfrong (?).

We need to get together and use this one on the Housie this summer. I foresee a day with many, many smallies! :D

Nice pattern, and nice image.
 
#10 ·
Ahem, brupbrupbrupbrup...harrumph -

Yes, the materials I use to create flies and patterns of this nature, herein referred to as "little Balls", may be obtained from craft stores in packages of X, by size. :hehe:

Mistewr Stwibwue -

Be afwaid - be vewwy vewwy afwaid...hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha :tsk_tsk: :devil:
 
#12 ·
The Boob Tube

Howdy Adrian & Gentlemen,

Greetings from the Steelhead Boards! Ah, boobies - some of my favourite things. I first came across these a few years ago in some British Magazines - Trout Fishing and Salmon and Trout Fishing - interesting books! I found mention of this dastardly fly (lure they called them) that was reputed to be so deadly that it was banned from certain lakes and at the very, very least should never be used in polite company! Needless to say - that got my attention!

The article I read showed the boobs being made from a foam stick, layed at a 90 degree angle to the hook, tied down with figure 8's and the boobies clipped to shape with scissors. I found the foam tubes in my flyshop and the tying was easy. The best thing was that they were in fact deadly! Fished on a Hi-D line with a short leader they slayed on large lake rainbows.

The flies I have attached are an evolution of the boobie concept (maybe a devolution?). They are tied as waking flies for steelhead. The boobs and the deerhair make it unsinkable!

I further adapted the pattern to a tube, the resultant Boob Tube has a couple of advantages over shanked hooks. First, it allows a tremendous gap for the hook - often a problem for deerhair floaters. Secondly, to improve its already considerable waking capabilities, I punctured the underside of the plastic tube with a hot needle and use the hole to thread the leader through from underneath, then out rear of the tube to be tied to the short shank hook. This cocks the fly up and it will wake forever in any type of water!

This is my "go-to" waker for steelhead and tied in a mini version would make a great Elk Hair Boobie. At the very least you don't need to find "little balls' to tie reguglar boobies.
 
#15 ·
Kewl pattern!

The Boob-Tube looks like a definite winner! I had seen the cylinder approach - a definite labor saving approach ;)

One work of caution when fishing the HiD / short leader combo, fish do tend to inhale the fly very deep so circle hooks may be the way to go for C&R.

Just a thought.
 
#16 ·
just a late follow up to this thread...yes, this fly is a "Kentucky Bullfrog". it is an absolute must for the flybox from april until the first frost. it is a great imitaion of tads and fry early in the spring and a subtle frog imitation when things really heat up. i have seen them tied in sz 12 to 2. you can get elaborate with your dressing, but the simpler, the better. i used a mixture of yellow, white, and green. great warm weather fly anywhere!
 
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