Flashy Profile Flies
by
Kate & Bill Howe
With very few exceptions, all fish eat other fish. Those
that eat and those that are eaten have been doing this thing for
thousands of years, and with practice comes perfection.
The greatest factor that brings on a feeding response from a game
fish is prey recognition. During a specie's evolution, which is
always ongoing, there are constant changes occurring. The fastest
out live the slowest, the strongest outlive the weak. The fish
with the most ability to survive is usually the one to go on and
add his traits to the gene pool. And one of the most important
survival skills that a game fish possess is the ability to
recognize prey, to differentiate between the delicious and the
dangerous. And the most important survival techniques that food
fishes have are those of group protection and camouflage.
Baitfish that depend on camouflage alone for survival are more
often solitary in nature living in or near structure that helps
to hide them. The young of many fishes also depend on their
almost colorless bodies to provide them with a kind of camouflage
until they are large enough to leave the sanctuary of their
shallow nursery waters.
But the schooling baitfish is a different story. They depend
on group protection, sheer numbers protect the mass from total
annihilation. They have no true camouflage as a group except that
the flashiness of their bodies and their movement en mass seems
to have no beginning and no end which may help to add some
confusion in the feeding malay and allow a greater survival rate
for the group. As a mass or ball of bait fish moves they give off
signals both audible and visual to feeding fish that might just
as well say EAT HERE! And one of the most recognizable signals
inherent in all schooling bait fishes is their flash.
It is an axiom that form, silhouette and color play a very
important role in fly construction. But these elements are more
important once the offering comes under close scrutiny, the most
prominent feature a baitfish has that may stimulate an initial
investigative response from a predator is it's visual presence,
and this presence is detected by the flash.
Let's put this in it's proper perspective. The fish is a
very primitive animal. The impulses to their brains from their
senses are very basic. They do not reason. They only react to
stimuli to fill very simple needs. We as anglers have a tendency
to attribute more intellect to them than they deserve, and we
often go to extremes to create flies that suggest realism to the
ninth degree. Perhaps by accentuating certain recognizable traits
in bait imitations, such as the flash, we may find it easier to
get and hold a fishes attention.
As an example, let's take a look at fishes of the
Silversides family. These include the California Grunion, Jack
Smelt, Top Smelt (which are not true smelt) as well as the
Atlantic Silversides. There are both salt and fresh water species
of silversides that inhabit the temperate to tropical zones.
The marine species can be found in large schools in many
inshore waters. This makes them an important food for game fish.
Flies imitating these types of bait fish are extremely important
to anglers.
The Silversides in it's mature form is a small, sometimes
almost transparent fish with back colors that range from Dk. gray-
black to a pale seafoam green. Their sides and belly are an
iridescent silvery color. When seen under water their most
striking feature is the flash coming from their sides, sparked by
whatever available light is penetrating the water column.
As tiers this should alert us to the fact that we are not as
concerned with actual motion or color contrast as with giving the
impression of these basic elements that attract attention. It is
this flash that brings the first response, which is
investigation, if the bait is then recognized as a food form and
nothing elicits a fear or caution response feeding takes place.
How should we imitate the flashing sides of a baitfish. How
much flash is enough where should it be placed in a pattern and
what types are most effective?
After buying every flash material on the market, and
experimenting with them all, we have drawn some unique
conclusions. For imitating the flashing sides of baitfishes,
regardless of their color, the #1 choice is stranded pearlescent
flash such as Flashabou. We use the fine for small flies up to
about 3/0 or 4/0 and the large saltwater type for bigger patterns
such as offshore and billfish flies. Pearlescent color is the
easiest choice to make as it will mimic the colors of materials
that it is mixed with. This material tied in large amounts (at
least 1/2 of total profile of your fly) in the center of the
pattern simulates the iridescent sides of most baits. For
simulating the refracted colors that bounce off of baitfish and
imply motion, holographic mylars have no rival. Unlike
transparent or single color flashes, holographic materials are
three dimensional. This effect is achieved by reflecting laser
light off of photo film without the use of a camera. Some
holographic flashes are the result of this single process, others
have an additional image such as fish scale or prismatic. This
three dimensional effect adds real animation to a fly as these
materials not only reflect but refract light and it takes very
little light and movement to activate them. Holographic materials
should be mixed throughout the entire pattern to take advantage
of all light sources and give your fly "life". It is the
combination of these two materials that best simulate the dynamic
color changes that appear to be taking place in moving bait fish.
The amount of flash you use is based on several factors, off
color water conditions usually call for extra flash to help
increase your flies visibility. Overcast skies can dull a flies
appearance, and flash, especially holographic will help you to
use all the available light to accentuate your pattern, but the
most important consideration is matching the flashiness of the
bait you are imitating. Tiers that take some time to study the
bait species that they are imitating will have a much better
success rate with their flies than those who do not. No matter
how much flash you use it is better to have a little too much
than not enough. You can always cut a little bit of flash out of
a pattern if your are getting refusals but you can't add flash
after the fact.
To effectively incorporate flashy materials into fly
patterns you must first understand their characteristics and have
a good working knowledge of how they function under water. Mylar
tubing products, used for solid bodied flies such as Zonkers and
hard bodied minnows are great for smaller patterns, especially
when the hook shank length is equivalent to fly length. But they
can be limiting due to their small diameters and the fact that in
larger flies the hook shank area most often only represents 1/4
of the total surface area of the bait fish fly. They also offer
only one stationery surface for reflection and must have quite a
bit of action imparted to them in order to take advantage of
their reflective qualities. Mylar sheeting such as eye panels are
also useful but again only add flash to a specific area. Due to
their rigid nature mylar sheeting products are terminal as they
are easily ripped out and they may also cause problems with a
patterns fishability as they have a tendency to plane in the
water and cause the fly to have an erratic action. Stranded
flashes such as Flashabou, Krystal Flash, Holo Flash and the like
are by far the best as they are simply the easiest to use.
When sitting down at the vise to design your own Flashy
Profile Flies you may use any number of different tying methods
and your choice of body materials. To overcome some of the more
obvious problems that we have encountered with stranded flash we
have adapted and developed some techniques that have now become
standard in all of our patterns that incorporate flash.
Generally we start our patterns with a base material such as
crinkle nylon, tied in along the hook shank at it's center point
and folded back over itself to form the tail of the pattern.
Folding of synthetic materials such as flash and nylons increases
their durability at the tie in point and will increase a flies
fishing life. This "tail" forms a base for the flash to be
supported by, helps to keep the flash from fouling the hook when
cast, and is the beginning of your dorsal-ventral shilouette or
profile. Whether you are using synthetic materials or natural for
your body construction you should still apply your flash with
this folding technique as it will be more secure and less likely
to pull out. Once this supporting layer has been tied in the next
step is to begin building a "flashy profile".
Using pearlescent stranded mylar, cut hanks twice the length
of the flies desired length and using the folding method tie them
in along the top side of the hook shank only, one right after the
other. This method is called the Hi-Ti and it has been around for
years. It is recognized as a standard for building flies with
deep body silhouettes. We use the Hi-Ti method to apply both
flash and body material. To avoid the clumping effect that flash
exhibits when wet you need to stagger the ends dramatically
before tying them in. This is easily accomplished by running the
material up and down between your fingers after you have cut it
from the hank. Try not be too concerned with loose ends and wild
hairs ! This is the effect that you are trying to create. A kind
of controlled chaos of flash and color, after all nothing in
nature is perfect. Don't be stingy with the amount you use
either, for small patterns of 4/0 and under use at least 40 to 50
strands of fine flash for each application. For larger flies use
the wide saltwater variety of flash and make sure each bunch has
at least 10 to 15 strands. Usually three applications of flash
tied in, in this manner are enough to create the desired effect.
Now that the flashy profile is complete you need only add the
materials to your fly that are needed to form the back. This is
also the area that you will apply your colored materials to
imitate your bait species. In studying bait fishes you will
notice that obvious coloration only occurs in this upper quadrant
of the profile. Keep your colored area sparse and emphasize each
color with the addition of colored flashes that will accent them.
As far as body materials go we prefer synthetics such as
crinkle nylon as this material allow us to construct a fly that
has a very deep profile but a thin body. This gives a pattern a
visible presence in the water without adding excess weight and
bulk. Since big fish have big teeth the synthetic materials have
become a most intelligent choice as they are more durable and
will withstand a great deal of abuse. As far as their use for
imitating bait fish they are unsurpassed. There are more colors
available than in any other single material and the small
diameter of the nylon allows a tier to mix an unlimited number of
them to truly match the bait fish hatch.
Flashy Profile Flies tie just as well with natural
materials, i.e.; bucktail, saddle hackle, peacock herl etc.
however care should be taken to limit the amount of these
materials used so that the fly's balance and form are not
compromised. As natural materials have a tendency to float until
they are completely saturated with water you must make sure that
your fly will swim properly. The addition of too much buoyant
material in one place and not enough in another will give your
pattern an unnatural swimming motion when fished and unnatural
swimming will cause a caution response in feeding fish just as
quickly as a poor imitation will. The concept of the Flashy
Profile Fly came about from a need to simulate motion through
flash and not through bulk, therefore this style of fly allows a
tier to create a fly of tremendous visual presence without the
bulk of too much material. Great care should be taken to produce
patterns, regardless of materials, that not only look like bait
fish but act like them. Remember, the most important aspect of
the F.P.F are it's flashy sides.
We tie F.P.F's from size #4 at 2 long (for small inshore and
costal baitfish imitations) up to 10/0 tandem rigs that measure a
full 16" to 18" inches long and 6" deep which are very popular in
Australia for big billfish. Having fished this style of fly both
inshore and offshore we find them to be consistently productive.
Their unique flashy nature allows them to be fished with less
imparted action, such as stripping, and this keeps them in the
strike zone much longer which after all is where a fly needs to
be. We only suggest you tie some and try them for yourself.