Fishing with bass flies bought from a shop can provide good results for the fly angler. Working with somebody like Brian Healy who can realise your specific requirements adds a dimension that’s simply not available anywhere else. Hence a degree of uniqueness and quality is added to the mix.
Tying the bucktail deceiver third in the sequence above (hollow style– from B.Popovic) in a range of densities simply allows the creation of a fly that’s easy to cast, has a superb profile (s), doesn’t foul and can be presented at different depths, representing many food items.
Tailoring that requirement to specific locations and conditions is fast becoming an obsession for me.
The size and shape of the fly is almost unlimited – movement, control and selection is of course is up to you!
Long bunches of bucktail using specific hooks can produce flies up to 10-inches in length. Other natural or synthetic fibres produce even longer flies. All remain easy to cast.
The bucktail selection also affects the bulk and silhouette of the fly. Bulky flies are best tied with crinkly bucktail. Using a finer and somewhat straighter bucktail the tier can produce slimmer, skinnier imitations. Changing the density of material of course will affect the definition of the silhouette of the the fly – more material a stronger visual presence is achieved less material a more vague and translucent effect is the result.
So you want a dense fly with a strong profile and silhouette that gets down AND pushes water – simply add tungsten beads to the mix……it goes on and on.
Any of these simple changes produce different results under different circumstances.
So many things to do, so little time!
