Virginia has some very good musky fishing and I’m hoping to make a day out of chasing them on the upper James River here soon. Cranked out two of these bad boys lately… 2 hours apiece. Front hook is a 5/0 Gama heavy worm hook, stinger is a 4/0, connected with 45 pound Berkley wire and five beads separating them. They are 10 inches long each, which apparently is still too small. Guides up here use 17 inch long flies.
Also I’ve started cranking out some realistic colored crab flies to imitate fiddlers for the flats this summer.
I went for two guided days in January on the James. My boat mate landed one and I had one on but leader broke. Yes, it is tiring fishing, one day I used the guide’s 10 wt. XI23 and next day a Sage Peacock bass rod. The flies were huge, basically throwing a whole chicken or at least a whole cape with a heavy sink tip. First day I was doing a lot of back casting presentations and my wrist is finally getting back to not hurting. I’m definitely up for going again.
Bad news on the realistic colored fiddler imitation, although it looks perfect, never had much luck with em on the tailers, seems the fish cant see the fly, go figure. Should work well at all other times…
You are right Newman, Blane is the MAN when it comes to muskies up there. That’s who I was with. Blane’s peacock bass rod actually worked quite well. It’s probably more than a 10 wt. equivalent but the shorter length took some stress off my wrist after casting the 9 footer all day the first day.
Thanks guys. I’ve met Blane on several occasions and follow his reports. His flies are 16-17" long. Brad’s flies look great, he’s got a serious addiction. I’ll probably be using my 10 weight the first go round, I’ll let you know how casting works out of a kayak. I’m going to wear a helmet.
Newman, do you think that realistic fiddler will work in the winter with clearer water on the schools? I would imagine the reds could see that fly on the summer flats, they see the real ones which are that color!
Newman, do you think that realistic fiddler will work in the winter with clearer water on the schools?
Yes I do!! Should be perfect for anytime except when their heads are buried in grass. Great looking fly.
I would imagine the reds could see that fly on the summer flats, they see the real ones which are that color!
Think they primarily use their noses to find fiddlers buried in bottom on tailing tides. I am not saying you cant catch a tailer on that pattern, only that I have much more success with patterns that stand out enough to be noticed.
Oh yeah, Blane’s T-Bone fly is indeed an engineering marvel, big enough to scare an adult tarpon. Glad saltwater fish arent as demanding.
There is no normal life, there’s just life.
moved from sc to wisconsin, its total muskie waters up here and only a handful of people fish muskie with a fly. Every fly muskie fisherman up here uses a 9wt - 10wt and they tie anywhere from a 6’’-10’’ fly. I have a 9wt and will be trying the wisconsin river once all this friggen snow clears up… what was i thinking leaving sc!
Tested these flies in a bass pond this weekend to see what they would look like. The top one moves great in the water… the second is heavier and harder to cast and doesnt sink as well. That’s because of the top secret type of hair its tied with. I’ll probably stick to bucktail for future patterns. I was able to cast the flies on my 6 weight, but it wasn’t fun
Don’t worry about it not sinking well. I rarely throw a floating line for Musky. I’m usually throwing a 300 grain SA streamer Express to get it down about 4 feet.
