Fly Fishing Forum banner

Just wondering

3K views 6 replies 7 participants last post by  striperstripper 
#1 ·
Talking about Squid flies only here. In a discussion with a tier who came up with a differant Squid fly that incorporates a stinger hook, he said that after 2 yrs fishing the fly that every fish he caught came on the stinger. In using Squid with extended bodies, the eyes set well behind the bend of the hook, has anyone experienced short hits due to the fish keying in on the eyes? I haven`t enough experience with these flies to make any conclusions yet.
Slinger
 
#2 ·
For several years I have been tying extended body squid using plastic tubes to get proportions correct on big squid. The hook has been in the first 1.5 inches on a fly up to 8-9 inches long. With striper I have not had misses that I attribute to the hook position but with large blues like the oregon beach slammers in the May squid run I have had the fly shredded without a solid hookup.

I solved that by using a different fly, one that took less effort to tie and less painful to get shredded. Those blues really did not care how realistic the squid fly was and hit a large slider with abandon once the evening push to shore was on. The best plug being used by the plug guys next to me was a ranger, anything that shimmied like a fleeing squid would get inhaled.

With the Atlantis the side of the poppers and sliders I can throw has increased dramatically so I plan to revisit the early squid run this year in select spots between Woods Hole and Hyannis where the May action is epic with the big stick. The 9ft 9wt was not a very effective tool against these 15-17 pound beer keg blues anyway.

If I do use a realistic squid in this fishery it will be built for durability. Not far away the primary predators of these squid are big spring bass but most of these spots are best covered by boat. The commercial rod and reel fleet is all over this action for big spring bass, and they also tend to use rangers thrown into the squid judging from those I spoke to at the boat landings west of Lewis Bay where they put in.

Frankly I don't see a lot of big squid after May in Chatham, but I do see juveniles squirting around the channels on Monomoy and where the finicky flats bass are hard to coerce they suddenly begin busting with abandon when these little guys come through.

Short answer: bass no, blues yes
 
#3 · (Edited)
Haven't had any problems with short hits on squid flies, but maybe it's because the patterns I tie have the hook pretty close to the eyes. I tie 5" versions on a tiemco 911 and have revently developed bigger versions to about 9" on a tube, with the hook back aft by the eyes.

another thought-- most every time I've been able to see a fish hit a squid fly, it happens from behind. When bass are hot on squid in the rips you often see them chase across the rip, popping them right up out of the water (it has to be one of the coolest things you'll ever see bass do...) I like to fish squid flies parallel to a rip, so they swim across the trough in the second or third curl. Fish tend to track along behind them. having seen this so often I never felt a need to include a hook up forward.
 
#4 · (Edited)
Steve,

I see no problem where the hook is oriented in a squid fly. I'm more concerned if the hook gap is protected too much by excessive materials. This I believe effects the hook-up rate more than where the hook relationship in the fly is. Mind you, we're talking stripers here. Any time a bass will hit a soft bait like squid and eels, with no fear from spinal fins, they just gulp them fellows down.

If you have seen video footage of bass on the feed, It takes but a second.
 
#6 · (Edited)
Must have been the Pink One that is "impressionistic" of the Bubblegum Sluggo Squid :lildevl: No stinger hook though...my only experience with stingers (or trailer hooks) is with metal (buzz or spinner) baits for largemouth. When I use the trailer hooks I catch them on the trailer it "seems" when I do not use the trailer I haven't noticed the catch rate fall off. Sometimes it is just a confidence thing :biggrin: BTW spinnerbait trailer hooks make excellent hooks for streamer flies and other large saltwater flies..so now that I flyfish more than I conventional fish I use up the "trailer" or siwash hooks to make flies.
 
#7 ·
short hits

Just about every striper I've taken on a squid fly has been hooked deep or in the roof of their mouth,stripers inhale squid ,suck em right down,blues tend to chop causing short or miss hits,and I would think if the squid pattern is adult size in the 8-10 inch range they maybe missing the hook, stingers would be a help.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top