In the words of my friend...CAK CAK!

[Ken]

"Fishing" report from Toronto...

I was going to fish Thursday afternoon...weatherman said chance of rain or thunderstorm...didn't go...bright and sunny with a few clouds.

I was going to fish Friday evening...weatherman said chance of rain or thunderstorm...didn't go...cloudy but dry.

I was going to fish Saturday afternoon...weatherman said chance of rain or thunderstorm...he's crying wolf...$30 bucks of gas later, 2 hours drive to Caledonia in traffic jam...got there to set up the fly rod and got drenched...the line got wet because I couldn't put it back into the car fast enough...and 2 hour drive in $h!tty, P!$$ing rain back to North York damp and not happy

Story of my life...should have trusted on my own interpretation of the radar/satellite images...I was right that Thursday was NOT going to rain, I was right that Friday was NOT going to rain...and I was right that Saturday WAS going to rain.

Well, at the end of the day...stayed home and tied flies...could have tied a few more had I not spent 5 hours enjoying sitting in the car

Meet Mr. Deer Hair Crab



Meet Mr. Sparkle Shrimp



Stan, PM me your address...I'm going to put them to the ultimate test...Mr. O'io will be the judge of these

[FishinFrenzy]

Nice job Ken. Did they take you a while to tie?

[Ca_Bass]

Mr. Deer Hair Crab looks like he's gonna get gobbled up by a bonefish! I'm gonna try to replicate it and give it a whirl. I'll tie a few different colors and let you know how they work.

Nice flies Ken.


Recently I started a saltwater fish tank...I caught a bunch of little crabs/shrimp/gobbies on the hickam flats. It's really interesting watching how those little crustaceans and fish move around, I think being able to watch them in my living room is really going to help my bonefish fly tying. Now I know why my "Secret" bonefish fly works so well(It's a orange wooley bugger). It looks just like a mantis shrimp that I see all over the flats, which I made the mistake of putting 2 in my tank BTW, but I got one out cut his head off and and now the regular shrimp have feasted on that "Devil Shrimp". Hopefully my snowflake eel can take care of the other one...I can hear him now cracking away on the hermit crabs, busting their little shells open. When I was doing research on salt tanks I kept hearing about how horrible mantis shrimp were for them, but I never bothered to look at a picture of one. I had a gut feeling telling me I should probably find out what this little shrimpy thing is before I throw it in here, but I didn't listen to it. Ah....the cracking noises...Has anyone ever tried some sort of rattle on a bonefish fly? From what I hear bonefish have quite the appetite for mantis shrimp(which are always making cracking/rattling noises). Just makes sense to me that it might work. I guess I'll have to give it a try.

[Ken]

Nice job Ken. Did they take you a while to tie?

They take 20-30min to tie since working with those rubber legs and getting them to stick out the right way is a bit tricky.

[Ken]

Mr. Deer Hair Crab looks like he's gonna get gobbled up by a bonefish! I'm gonna try to replicate it and give it a whirl. I'll tie a few different colors and let you know how they work.

Nice flies Ken.


Recently I started a saltwater fish tank...I caught a bunch of little crabs/shrimp/gobbies on the hickam flats. It's really interesting watching how those little crustaceans and fish move around, I think being able to watch them in my living room is really going to help my bonefish fly tying. Now I know why my "Secret" bonefish fly works so well(It's a orange wooley bugger). It looks just like a mantis shrimp that I see all over the flats, which I made the mistake of putting 2 in my tank BTW, but I got one out cut his head off and and now the regular shrimp have feasted on that "Devil Shrimp". Hopefully my snowflake eel can take care of the other one...I can hear him now cracking away on the hermit crabs, busting their little shells open. When I was doing research on salt tanks I kept hearing about how horrible mantis shrimp were for them, but I never bothered to look at a picture of one. I had a gut feeling telling me I should probably find out what this little shrimpy thing is before I throw it in here, but I didn't listen to it. Ah....the cracking noises...Has anyone ever tried some sort of rattle on a bonefish fly? From what I hear bonefish have quite the appetite for mantis shrimp(which are always making cracking/rattling noises). Just makes sense to me that it might work. I guess I'll have to give it a try.

Hey, that would be awesome. For the green crab here, I actually needed yellow deer hair to get the right shade of "green". I'm going to tie a couple in a light natural deer colour. If only I can find a burnt orange deer hair

Orange Wooley Bugger eh? Do you tie with fl orange marabou and hackle or do you prefer a lighter orange or even a burnt orange? Got a pic to share (even over PM is cool)?

Yeah...I saw quite a few videos on YouTube of those mantis shrimp. They looks like shrimp from hell I don't know if your eel will take care of the mantis for you...they are quite capable of defending themselves. I'd take the safe route and remove it by yourself.

Rattles sounds like an awesome idea! Try and see if you can fit a rattle into Mr. Deer Hair Crab as well...but the way I tied it, I can't see where the rattle can it unless it is a really small rattle.

[Ken]

Here's a material list for the two patterns. I don't mind sharing it...but if they work, let the world recognize my creations

Mr. Deer Hair Crab

Hook: #4 Mustad Saltwater
Eyes: Medium mono eyes
Antennas: Pearl Krystal Flash
Mouth: Large Pearl Crystal Chenille
Gills: Large Fl Orange Crystal Chenille
Legs: Pumpkinseed Rubber Legs
Body: Yellow Deer Body Hair
Weight: Small lead dumbell (tied this just in front of the hook eye!)

*Tied properly, this crab should sink with the body toward bottom and the legs pointing to the surface...in a classic crab defensive posture. When you retrieve it, the line lifts the body up so the legs are either pointed to the bottom or horizontally...much like a swimming crab would do. Use LOTS of deer hair for the body. The more hair, the slower it sink and the better it imitates the natural crab.

Mr. Sparkle Shrimp

Hook: #4 Mustad Saltwater
Eyes: Medium mono eyes
Antennas: Pearl Krystal Flash
Mouth: Large Pearl Crystal Chenille
Gills: Large Fl Orange Crystal Chenille
Carapace: White Calf Tail (fold over the pearl and fl orange chenille)
Legs: Pearl Rubber Legs
Body: Large Pearl Crystal Chenille
Weight: Small Silver Chain Bead (tied one just in front of the hook eye, the other in between the hook eye and the mono eyes!)

[Ca_Bass]

I use the fluorescent orange marabou and I use craft fur for the body. Most of the time I don't use any hackle, but some times I'll put some silly legs on them, though I have found it makes the fly too buoyant so I add extra lead wire around the shank which in turn makes the fly splash a little more than I'd like. The main thing is just making sure I have the sink rate correct for the fly...seems to be most important aspect when I'm catching bones.

This ones a little used, haven't tied any fresh ones in awhile.

(not the best pic, took it with my phone, didn't feel like loading it from my digi cam)

It's probably the easiest fly to tie know to man, and IMO it's the most effective fly I fish. I works great on tucs too, I just use a different body and tie it in white.

[Ken]

Thanks Ca_bass! I'm going to tie a few if I have fl orange marabou at home. Instead of craft fur (which I don't have), I may dub on some marabou instead.

Do you dub on the craft fur with a dubbing loop?

Thanks for the pattern!

[Ca_Bass]

Np Ken and no, I just wax up the thread and twist it on, if I had the right tool I would use the loop, it's much easier. Marabou dub should work just as well if not better.

[Boatless]

Hey CaBass
Make sure you've got a good cover for the tank or you many find your snowflake eel dried up on the ground somewhere. They're notorious for that.

[Ca_Bass]

I do and it's on tight!

[Stan Wright]

Nice flys Ken

About why mantas shrimp are not good for aquairums... that little "hammer" thing it uses to crack the crabs open was tested and has the same power as a 22 shell. The mantas sees his reflection in the glass and attacks..... Busted glass.

[Ahnkochee]

Next time you're at a sushi bar order the "Shako" sushi- Mantis Shrimp at their best.

[Stan Wright]

In China there are seafood resturants where you choose the "fish" you want and they cook it for you. The mantas shrimp (huge ones) are about $20.

On Christmas Island we caught our own. I'm smiling, because I know how good they taste.... way better than lobster.

[Ca_Bass]

I head they so have some of the big "spearing" mantis shrimp here, but all I ever see are the 2-4 inch crushers....off to try to better replicate a mantis shrimp fly!