Flash Blend

[jiggerjohn]

I was talking with world famous fly tyer & angler Bob Clouser last week, where he gave me the heads up on a new jig material that he has "flipped" over. It's called SF Flash Blend as shown here - http://www.clouserflyfishing.com/hybridflies.html . Anyway, for those who have used Bob's popular "Deep Minnow" fly (really a light jig!), you know that Bob has always been a master of select bucktail & other natural ingredients. But now, he says, this new blend of artificial hairs has taken him "hook,line, and sinker"!! (I promptly told him that if this stuff caught a big fish like him, then a little guppy like me better get some!). So I ordered a few bags, tied one of my 1/24 oz Boolie jigs sparsely and went out on a hot evening to an overfished near-city pond,during murky water conditions -Bob was right, the bass & panfish couldn't lay off of it (nothing else worked!). This hair has a "glow" about it, a" wave" like fine calf tail, tons of flash within the material, and a subtle extremely realistic minnoe-like action. Mostly, as Bob relates, it flat out catches fish! Darn! More intensive experimentation for me -work,work, work!

 

[Fatman]

Looks good but at $5?? I'll have to see it to believe it.

 

[jiggerjohn]

Fatman, It's a good thing that you never tried buying real polar bear hair,which the SJ Blend resembles almost exactly in water for sheen &translucents; now, that stuff was costly when available (legally) at all! One pro tier I knew used to tie with little else than genuine polar bear & had to purchase whole hides(hundreds of dollars) to acquire it!! But,heck, the new blend material is only a buck more than standard flashabou for a similar amount and can be tied very sparsely for max effect: I can foresee a single package going a long way!

 

[Pup]

Have any pictures of jigs tied with this material?

 

[JUNGLEJIM1]

I might have to see if Feathercraft carries it. It might be worth a $10 investment for starters. What colors were you using to get bit?

 

[Hawnjigs]

How does the SF compare to rabbit fur?

 

[quivira kid]

I was actually looking at some of this stuff at the fly shop yesterday.... looks like it could be interesting.

 

[quivira kid]

Jim.....

http://www.feather-craft.com/wecs.php?store=feacraft&action=display&target=TU021

 

[jiggerjohn]

Hey Guys, Did a bit more testing this morning with the SF blend "Boolies" (1/24 oz Hawn's roundhead,with tiny fly propeller on the shaft). The colors of blend I'm playing with are "mackeral" (blue green), "redfish" (Bob Clouser recommended this as an ideal subtle orange;he's right!), and a light blue.I've found that a tie of about a 1 1/2" section of this,so thin it looks like I didn't tie anything,that's just about right to replicate a thin minnow gliding & swimming,perfectly!When I used slightly thicker patterns or tried two-tones the hits fell off. Even if I tied a few strands of flashabou within,it almost seemed like overkill& fish got picky again! I'm gonna tie up a few new ones with just one,or at most, 2 thin strands of flashabou (rather than my usual 4) to see if this helps. I compared to a jig with my standard tie of mink/rabbit fur, and came to realize that the fur is more leech-like or eel-like in motion, whereas the SF Blend is a dead-on small minnow. Of course,both have their places at various times& conditions.In doing a bit of research, I discovered that perhaps the best light tackle fishermen of all time (saltwater), one Carl Hanson,used only a single fly of his own design to catch all manner of saltie flats species- very similar to this SF Blend look with his almost fiber optic "Glass Minnow" fly(tiny bit of bucktail ,overwrapped with silver foil,and the whole thing "snelled" under clear mono to create& magnify the brightness. I'm beginning to think that the SF pattern may not have much material or intricate design, but is much more realistic& visible to FISH !

 

[JUNGLEJIM1]

I was just at Feathercraft yesterday,guess I'll make another trip next week. jigger, are you adding beads before,after the propeller or both? I wish there was a picture for reference. I've seen one before posted somewhere before but my memory is a little fuzzy. Was the 1/24 on a #6 hook ? Thanks for your input on the colors.

 

[jiggerjohn]

JungleJim, I'm sorry not to have a pic right now,or have the computer literacy to post one (maybe I will forward one to Hawn Jigs -he's always good with photo work!).But I just place the smallest fly propeller available on either a no 8 VMC short shank hook or a #8 sickle hook, and back that up with the smallest gold fly cone (as a bearing).Then just a teeny pinch of 1 1/2" (or 2" is I want to taper & trim) SF Blend (the thread wrapping keeps the cone from sliding too far backwards). I also plan to make a longer,more robust variety, like Bob Clouser does on his new 4" Wild Hybrid Fly, using the 1/14 oz tin HU head that Keith produces -I'll use this one for big bass,pike, and muskie, yet still cast em with the same 4'9" Charlie Brewer Slider rod and 5# test Power Pro !

 

[JUNGLEJIM1]

Thanks for the info, jigger. I'll defintely give them a try next week.

 

[Hawnjigs]

Where are you getting your cone heads JJ2 ? They appear to be around $.40 each at online stores.

 

[jiggerjohn]

I found the coneheads on Ebay -best value was 100 for 3.99 ! The smallest cone is preferrable,but since they come to a point,any size cone will be a superb bearing for virtually any size propeller.

 

[Fatman]

Jigger

Actually I do tie with Polar Bear - I bought 15 large bags of it from a fly shop a guy bought out in Kansas. The paperwork was a pain but it was worth it!!!!!!!!!! I screwed up and deleted all my photo's on Photobucket and have been getting them back in.

I'll post a pic tonight

 

[Fatman]

Jigger - Here ya go

Really nice to tie with, and I always comb out the underfur to use later for dubbing.

 

[jiggerjohn]

Thanks for showing the polar bear -yep, nice stuff to tie & I still have a few dozen of the jigs I tied with the real stuff (flash bend may be my substitute now!);very good in saltwater especially!

 

[Doc Crappie]

Looks good but at $5?? I'll have to see it to believe it.

Hell you spend more than that for a meal at McDonalds and just think this is less fattening..... lol

 

[Fatman]

Sorry I don't eat at McD's or Burger King - they charge too much and I can make better tasting food at home

 

[JUNGLEJIM1]

jigger, I got a few packs of the SF blend today along with some propellers,cones,beads,etc. I'm going to post a few boolie jigs tied with the SF blend and other materials and your input would be appreciated on whether I should tie them thinner,thicker or what. I tried one out in the pool and the little propellar was spinning like crazy so I left it on the rod and hopefully try some out tommorrow.