Eagle Claw Saves The Day

by David Hutton
Palmetto Fly n Fish
January 22, 2022

    I listlessly push the shopping cart up, and down, the aisles... 
"We're just here for a few things," says my wife.

The cart has a bum wheel that knocks with each turn. 
I hang on the shopping cart like a deflated beach toy, and the wheel knocks some more.
The store intercom crackles to life and shrieks, "Lori to customer service. LOOORRRIII TO SERVICE!"

    I heave a sigh. The cart holds me up, as if it has a choice.

    "There's always something else we just gotta have," I mutter.
"It never ends - it's always something else."
But then I remember... "Hey, there's a fishing section at this store, so there might actually BE something I should get!"

    "Babe, can you take the cart?"
    The hopeful tone in my voice is obvious; the wife recognizes it instantly.
    "Yeah," I say, trying to sound nonchalant..."I'm just gonna swing by the sporting goods - I'll meet you in the dairy section."
Hey, milk and eggs are as good a place as any to meet back up, and there is no point lying to the woman... she already knows.

    Passing hardware, and paint, and all that "guy stuff" that really means W-O-R-K, I finally arrive at the tackle section.
Here I am in my element. I breathe deeply and relax.
This is more like it...none of those paper towels, no carrots or silly produce stuff.

    I look around and…

"Hey, wait a minute WHAT is THAT?"

    Its round, and blue, and it is in the familiar Eagle Claw packaging. Just down from me, a guy and his little daughter are looking at the, "Frozen," fishing rods.
"Will you look at that?!" I say to him, a little too excitedly.
"You don't see these things much, nowadays."
He looks at me, and pushes the kid behind him.  

    There, on the shelf hanger in front of me, is an old-style plastic rotary dispenser. It has a blue bottom, and a sparkling clear top that spins and clicks as it goes around.
And the package says, "Bronze Aberdeen Hook Assortment"... and... dear God..., there are 144 of them in there!

    Then the price hits me - $3.00

    I keep talking, aloud.

    “Check that out, will ya? $3.00? 
That's only...wait...lemme think..."
Whipping out my cellphone, I work up a quick calculation. 
"Dang, that's only 2.08 cents per hook!" I could have said, "2 cents each," but I'm impressed that I could figure out 2.08 cents per hook.....

    'Frozen' guy leaves with his child - they go the other way.

The Package

    Back in the day, hooks, swivels, sinkers and plenty of other things came in these handy, rotating dispenser boxes.
That was before everything but the kitchen sink was put into carded blister packs. 

    I can make out three compartments in the dispenser, with a different size hook in each. From outside, it's hard to be sure just which sizes are in there. About all that is certain is they aren't those oversized, gold-plated hooks most people use, usually when they shouldn't.

    A good guess says these are sizes 4, 6, and 8, and at this price, they're a bargain.

"A lot of good flies can be tied with these, and they're only 2.08 cents per hook. These are coming with ME!"
I'm almost shouting now. 
I am the King of Math. And they said I'd never use algebra... 

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 

    When next I see her, the wife is in the paper towel section, of all danged places. 

Not a jug of milk in sight.
She greets me with that, "Uh-huh" look, and I casually toss the package of hooks into the cart.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

    Back at the house, I pocket the precious hooks before grabbing the bags from the rear of the car. No sense leaving them where she can find them.

    The package itself is the usual challenge to open.
I grab a steak knife from the drawer, and manage to get the hook dispenser out without slicing my hand open.
These things are always glued together tighter than an otters pocket, aren't they?

But it's done, the dispenser is out. So far, so good.

The Dispenser

    Now for the burning question: What size hooks are in the thing?

    Lined up edge to edge, next to a dime, they look like this:

    Still unsure, even after taking the picture, they are held up to a hook gauge, and it turns out they ARE 4, 6, and 8 size hooks.

    I shout aloud, "This is gonna work out!" 
Perhaps only a fly tyer could get this excited about hooks. 
The wife hears the commotion.
She pops her head around the corner and asks, "Your hooks are what you wanted?" 

"Yes, indeed!” I try to sound knowledgeable, and explain…

    "They're only TWO-POINT-ZERO-EIGHT cents per hook, there are 144 of them in a very cool and useful dispenser, and they're in three great panfish and bass sizes.
Oh yes, they're excellent."

    "Thats nice, dear," she replies. “By the way... when we were in the produce section today, did you grab the carrots like I asked you to. I didn't see them when we got home...."

    Carrots for cryin' out loud.
    "It never ends," I mumble to myself. "It's always something else."

Store: Walmart
Date: January 22, 2022
Price: $3.00, plus tax
Quantity: 144 hooks, in a cool dispenser

------------<~~>------------

Writers should always strive for a job well done... even half-baked ones like me. So if you found value in this article, please like, comment, and share it. 

Do you have questions, compliments, or suggestions?
If so, email me at...dahutist@gmail.com

If you appreciate a no-drama, no-hype Facebook group, follow this link and come join us at: 

Palmetto Fly n Fish

Thanks so much for reading, and...

Tight Lines,

Dave Hutton

© All rights reserved, David Hutton/Palmetto Fly N Fish 2022/2023 

THE GRUBBY GERT

David Hutton
Palmetto Fly n Fish
Jan 21, 2022

Matt O'neal at Savage Flies* unearthed a neat, but obscure fly the other day - the "Grubby Gert."
I had never heard of it, and felt a little disappointed at that, because it is one of those two-material flies that should be more popular than it is.
It also has a cool name.
But, as Matt points out, there is very little info on the Grubbie Gert, so there's even less awareness among fly tyers.

Matt does tip us off to one bit of Grubby Gert lore, however, explaining that the fly is featured in the book, "Flies for Bass and Panfish," by Dick Stewart and Farrow Allen.*

Here's how it appears in that work:

I have the 1992 first edition of this book, purchased several years ago. It is wholly out of print, now, with the last reprinting date being 2004.
So, if you wanted to refer to THIS instructional, before now, the only place to get a copy was on the used market. 
To make matters worse, these are the only written tying instructions for the Grubby Gert that I know of.
(Yes, I said, "tying instructions" - the word, "recipe" makes me cringe)

The Gaines Company

Its current anonymity aside, the Grubby Gert had a pretty good commercial run, back in its day.
But more on that in a minute. First, lets look at where the fly comes from.

Grubby Gert is an original pattern of the Gaines Tackle Company, of Gaines, PA. 
You'll notice I said that in the present tense... that's because Gaines is still in business, quietly plugging along in the background of the angling world.

Gaines was founded in 1947, and they..."remain a fully Made in USA domestic manufacturing business, not an importer."
They offer several lines of lures and flies, and some of you real old-timers may remember George Phillips' "crippled" hard baits - Gaines still makes and sells them. 

They also have this to say: "Our products are available to you through any dealer who chooses to stock them. If your favorite store does not have what you need, or tells you that they cannot get our products, we suggest you have them call us… Or you may call or write us and we will be happy to send you a catalog and ordering information."

See the link in the resources section for getting your own catalog.*

When it comes to flies, the current Gaines Company has its stock in trade with poppers - they offer a dozen or so different ones.
Chief among them is a popular pattern you probably HAVE heard of, "The Sneaky Pete."

SNEAKY PETE
Photo courtesy of Fly Fishers Paradise Online*

The Grubby Gert
But, while poppers may be their gig nowadays, back in the 1970's, Gaines featured a quartet of subsurface flies called the, "Grubby Bug" series.

Ward Bean, founder of Warm Water Fly Tyer, alludes to this when he features one of the 'Grubby Bug' patterns on his site...

"The Hum Bug... developed by the Gaines Company years ago, is one of four panfish patterns in their "Grubby Bug" series.
The other three patterns are the Grubby Gert, the Marabou Miss, and
the Nifty Nat." *

Fast forward to 2022, and the Grubby Gert is nowhere to be found.
In fact, the Humbug appears to be the only one of the "Grubby Bug" series that is still kicking.
It can be seen and purchased along with several of the Gaines poppers at Roxanne and Terry Wilson's excellent site, Breambugs.com.*

But, that appears to be the end of the Grubby Bug flies in mainstream offerings. Gaines says they'll make their flies available to any shop that wants to sell them... and it seems few do.

Therefore, if you want a Grubby Gert - and you should want a Grubby Gert - you're probably gonna have to tie your own.

Enter Matt O'Neal
Fortunately for us, Matt O'neal tied up the Grubby Gert over on Savage Flies, just this week. So, we have an excellent fly tyer who really breaks it down for us.
Click on the video link below to watch Matt whip one out... 

By the way, if you don't know Matt O'neal's, "Savage Flies" you need to.
According to Matt - "It is a project with the mission of encouraging and teaching fly tying to as many people as possible. The channel is named after one of my western Maryland homewaters, the Savage River."

It is one of my favorite channels on Youtube.
Matt teaches, he demonstrates, he gives away lots of freebies... all funded by the little bit of money he makes off Amazon, Youtube, etc.
Check him out, support him, and tell him I sent you.

My Own Grubby Gert
Inspired by Matt, as I usually am, I tied up a half-dozen Grubby Gert flies, to get the feel of the thing.
It's not a difficult fly to tie, although positioning the slippery kiptail wings can be a little fiddly.

I did make a few minor modifications to the original:

Variation 1:
Tail and Wing - Chartreuse kiptail 
Body - Craft store, "pipe cleaner" chenille fuzzy stick 
Dubbing - Hareline Ice Dub, "UV Peacock Eye UV"

Variation 2:
Tail and Wing - Bright red kiptail
Body - maroon chenille
Dubbing - Fly Tyers Dungeon "Black Leech"

PS I'm using the older, colloquial term, "kiptail," but I mean calf tail.
Same stuff, different name.
 

Variation 1

                                        Variation 1 and 2

Angling Tips

I haven't had a chance to fish the Grubby Gert yet, so I am including excerpted and edited fishing tips from Ward Bean. These are actually for the Humbug, Grubby Gert's stablemate in the old Grubby Bug series.
They are undoubtedly quite similar in their approach, so I present them here...

---

"Fish the Hum Bug/Grubby Gert parallel to weed lines, fallen trees, and other structure.

But remember, these are slow sinking flies.
Cast them out and let them settle in the water slowly, before stripping it back in, subsurface. Often times panfish will hit it on the fall."


So there you have it - a Grubby Gert compilation....possibly the only one of its kind, now... or ever.

I hope you like it, I hope that you learned something, and that you'll share it with your friends. 

Thanks for reading and Tight Lines,

David, Palmetto Fly n Fish

Feedback? Opinions? Let em rip in the comments!
And  don't forget to visit us on Facebook at: 

Palmetto Fly n Fish

= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = 

* Resources - credited, in general order of appearance:

https://scandicangler.com/author/savage-flies/

"Flies for Bass and Panfish," Dick Stewart and Farrow Allen, 1992, © Mountain Pond Publishing, ISBN: 0-936644-11-7

https://gainesflyfishing.com/catalogrequest.html

http://warmwaterflytyer.com/patterns4.asp?page=16

https://breambugs.com/

https://www.flyfishersparadiseonline.com/product_p/gp17.htm

©All rights reserved, David Hutton and Palmetto Fly n Fish

Frankenworms!

The Worm Reborn
David Hutton
Palmetto Fly n Fish
Jan 15, 2022

Most of you probably know the story of Dr. Frankenstein and his horrific humanoid creation. The familiar story comes from the 1818 gothic horror novel by Mary Shelley, "Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus."

It is about a slightly crazy, and obsessed scientist named Victor Frankenstein, who discovers the secret of reviving dead tissue and giving it life. 

He uses this knowledge to stitch together a hideous, yet sapient, “monster” from human body parts. This re-animated monster ultimately becomes the source of both his misery, and his ultimate demise.

Frankenstein's, "Monster"



Doctor Victor Frankenstein, the original "mad scientist"

The Worm Gets The Nod
So with that tale ringing through our heads, lets turn our attention to fishing topics. 

Most of you will think of Palmetto Fly n Fish as being about fly fishing - and it is.
But we also like to think of ourselves as well-rounded in the angling sports, and not stuck in only one routine. 
Along these lines, I spent the last season dabbling in soft plastic baits, and in particular, that most ubiquitous of lures, the soft plastic worm.

The "soft plastic worm" is possibly the most popular bass lure of all time. It is cheap, available everywhere, comes in an infinite variety of colors, and is simply a lot of fun to use.

But being as they are soft, these baits can get pretty torn up in use. 

- Sometimes fish destroy them... we hope.
- At other times, they merely succumb to hours of casting, being dragged through every watery obstacle possible, and to plain old careless handling.

Either way, they end up "dead" - hopefully placed into proper waste disposal containers, but often enough, carelessly tossed to the ground when they get beaten up too badly.
It's quite common to see their "carcasses" lying around boat ramps, picnic areas, bankside spots, etc.
Think of them as forgotten worm corpses, shattered and dead...

Enter The Mad Scientist
When I see these dead worms laying around, I collect them.

I bring them home.

I examine them closely.

I study them... because, I am going to bring them back to life!

                        BWAHAHAHAHAHA!

Okay,....ooops. I got a little carried away, there.
Were was I?

Oh, yes,... once back at the "lab," I check them over carefully to assess their damage.
Most of the time, the injuries are centered around the nose, and the worm's body.
These worms are usually hooked through the nose, with the hook brought back to the body and pushed back through the worm - the familiar Texas rigged worm:

Sometimes the center is all mangled, because they have been Wacky rigged, like this:

Either way, the worms end up damaged at these points.
Sometimes, they are just mutilated as seen below:

These worms were found lying on a boat ramp.

The one on the left probably started life as a Zoom pumpkinseed, "Trick Worm."

I'm calling it "the funky brown worm."

It has been badly beaten up around the nose-and-body.

Next to it are some random pieces of a Zoom Junebug worm, lined up… These were torn into "body parts" for some unknown reason.

This is what the nose of the funky brown worm looked like. This is pretty extreme, but is indicative of what happens to a worm that gets chewed up in that area.

Resurrection
After closely examining the worms, the first step is to cut away the really shredded bits. Next comes the end trimming - all the ends are trimmed square using a razor or other sharp blade.
Now you have cleaned up pieces you can work with, and the "mad scientist" stuff begins.

These plastic worms are made from a material called, "Plastisol." 
It is a suspension of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) or other polymer particles in a liquid plasticizer,
It flows as a liquid gel when heated to around 350 degrees F, at which time it can be poured or injected into a heated mold. 
On cooling back down, below 140 degrees F, a flexible, permanently plasticized solid product results.

So guess what happens when you reheat it? Yep - it goes back to a molten gel state. 

And that's what you want - because we are going to weld those worm sections back together.

To get them there, however, they must be re-heated to 350 degrees.
A perfect source of the needed heat is a candle flame. It's small, its easily controlled, and the candle burns at around 800 degrees!
So, it is just a matter of bringing the worm pieces close enough to the flame to melt their ends back into a hot, gooey gel.

To accomplish this, bring the ends of the pieces to be joined to around 1/4” from the flame.
At that point. the ends of the plastic worm pieces melt and ooze back to that molten gel state. At that moment, you move away from the flame and quickly push the two ends together to form a welded bond.
Hold it in position for 5 or 10 seconds to cool, and you are in business.

CAREFUL! Too close and the worm pieces catch fire and burn,... so watch it!

It takes a little practice to get just the right amount of heat, without setting the whole thing ablaze . Sometimes you DO get too close, and it bursts into a small inferno, anyway.
That's actually not as bad as it sounds, once you get used to it.
When quickly blown out, the fiery worm-ends will be nicely converted to that magical gel state we are after.
Then you just push them together and hold them while they cool.
Try to avoid flaming them up, but if it happens, hey..., don't panic.

It’s best to do the joining part of this on a firm flat surface, so you can line them up. And, when they are pushed together for bonding, a bit of the hot Plastisol will be squeezed out of the joint. 

Once fully cooled, it's a simple matter to trim this excess off with clippers, and small scissors.

In this way, you can create new "life" from dead worms, and worm pieces.
Dr. Frankenstein would surely be  pleased.

Here you can see the brown funky worm now has a new head; one of the random June Bug pieces was welded on.
After trimming and cleaning up, the other Junebug worm sections were joined together to form one long worm. It's now a 6" senko-style stick worm. 
They are both a little ragged from being driven over on the boat ramp for God knows how long. But they will both fish just fine. 

At the end of Doctor Frankenstein's story, as he lies dying, he admonishes us to seek "happiness in tranquility, and avoid ambition, because playing God and meddling in the affairs of heaven can only lead to ruin."

I hope that doesn't apply to plastic fishing worms.

===== <> =====

Writers should always strive for a job well done... even half-baked ones like me. So if you found value in this article, please like, comment, and share it. 

Do you have questions, compliments, or suggestions?
If so, email me at...dahutist@gmail.com

If you appreciate a no-drama, no-hype Facebook group, follow this link and come join us at: 

Palmetto Fly n Fish

Thanks so much for reading, and...

Tight Lines,

Dave Hutton

© All rights reserved, David Hutton/Palmetto Fly N Fish 2022/2024 

  

Bill Byrd Archive

A Great Man Passed - RIP Bill Byrd

William Franklin Byrd Jr., 

May 25 1949 February 24 2021

    I've mentioned Bill Byrd often as one of my fly-fishing guru's - his notions for systematically fishing the entire water column, especially, are legendary.

    Bill hailed from NW Atlanta, long before that city exploded into the urban mega-center it is today. He was a lifelong angler who specialized in ultralight spin and fly fishing tackle, and I am right to call him a guru.     He held multiple world records for ultralight fish catches. He wrote articles in numerous national periodicals. He was a specialist in his chosen field.     However, I always felt he was passed over by the mainstream sporting media.     He had no books published, no DVD's were available.     He never hosted a YouTube channel... the video world got going after he had peaked.     Rather than seeking fame, he focused his efforts on guiding around his native region of Georgia. Seeing others enjoy their angling pastime more, while becoming better, and more intuitive in the process was important to him. Everything he wrote and left as legacy was unselfishly promulgated and maintained privately by him, and him alone.     That's the kind of man he was, that's the kind of generation he came from.

    Sadly, William "Bill," Franklin Byrd Jr. passed away in 2021, and its with fondness and good memories that I ask you all to keep him kindly in your thoughts.

    Lucky for us, his voluminous body of work at ByrdUltrafly has been archived on the internet for retrieval. I cannot emphasize this enough - YOU SHOULD CHECK IT OUT.

    While still alive, Bill gave me direct permission to copy, use, and share his information as I saw fit. I've retained much of the fishing sections for my personal files. I refer to them often.

    I'm certain Bill would be pleased to know that my friends, fellow Palmetto Fly N Fish group members, and the angling world at large might do the same. To this end, find the link to his archive below.

    I corresponded with Bill, on and off, over several years, and it was an honor to know the man. I pray that his soul rests in peaceful repose. He was something of an Everyday Renaissance Man; not just a one-trick pony. His obituary details what I mean, and it can be viewed here:

https://usobit.com/.../william-franklin-byrd-jr-may-25.../

    The Bill Byrd "Ultrafly" archive is here: https://web.archive.org/web/20210210233327/http://www.byrdultrafly.com/ Thanks for Reading and Tight Lines. David Palmetto Fly n Fish

© 2021, 2023 all rights reserved

Shimmy Cricket

Here's a fly I've had interest in for some time. It's been lurking in my mind since I first saw it, and this morning I tried tying one.

It's called, "The Shimmy Cricket," and it is essentially a diver-floater. It's reminiscent of the classic "Flatfish" line of baits, in that it is supposed to wiggle when retrieved.

Others do the same; "The Wiggle Minnow" comes to mind, for example.

If you've never tried anything like this, it's a treat. I've fished Flatfish in the past, and there is no other lure quite like them. As long as you get the retrieve speed right, they wobble and wiggle and stir up a huge vibration as they pass through the water.

The Shimmy Cricket is intended to do the same. Cast it out and let it settle. Twitch it, bump it and take up slack. Then .... give it a good long pull. It should dive under the surface and wobble forward, then slowly rise back to the surface when you stop. All the while the legs are waving seductively around. Just figure out the proper speed and you're good to go.

Any fish in the vicinity is bound to take notice.... well, that's the idea, anyway.

I had some foam scraps, and a bunch of #6 Aberdeen hooks handy, so here it is.

Pattern: Shimmy Cricket

Materials Used:

- #6 Aberdeen hook (2x long light wire)

- Red thread

- Red Mr. Peacock dubbing

- Black craft foam body

- Patterned sili-legs; these are, "fish-scale glitter.'

The construction starts at the rear and works forward in the basic manner.

This body is tapered head to tail, but a simple rounded tail is the original style.

The pictures should help you see how it goes together.

Here and there, tiny applications of Super Glue bind things

In this size, it should span the Bass-Bluegill lap pretty well. If you don't know that THAT is, well, check this out from friend Skip Morris: Bass - Bluegill Lap The Shimmy Cricket is a very unique surface fly that is worth trying if you like that kinda thing. And who doesn't like that kinda thing? Thanks for reading, and Tight Lines, David Palemtto Fly N Fish Feedback? Opinions? Observations? Feel free to leave a comment, and don't forget to visit us at: Palmetto Fly n Fish © All Rights Reserved

Automatic Fly Reel Neatness

I found an automatic fly reel in the stash, today. I was looking for a spincast reel for one of the rods my grandkids use, and while rooting through the box, the fly reel popped up.

I've always loved these things, and they bring back memories of my dad. The thing is, I honestly cannot recall where I got it.

I suspect eBay. But when you can’t remember - well, it’s a blur.

If you're unfamiliar with this type reel, it'll actually feel pretty normal to you once you have the mental picture of operation.
The reel has a spool like any other, but with a large clock spring affixed to one side. As you pull out line for casting, the spring is put under tension - "wound up," you might say.
Then, when you want to retrieve line, either with a fish on or just to reload the spool, you pull the attached lever.

This releases the ratchet lock, the spool turns as the spring unwinds - and the line is thus pulled back in.

These automatic reels originated in the 1880's and became popular right away. Herman W. Martin, a jeweler from Ilion, NY, was really the one that put them on the map, around 1890. 

In time, they were made by most of the tackle makers of the day. This one says, “Kmart 55” on it, but it could just as easily carry a marquee from Shakespeare, Pflueger, South Bend, Martin, or others.

With so many outfits making them, this reel style was literally the standard for years and everyone sold them. My dad had several, so it reminds me of him. 

The truth is, most people who could afford such a thing had at least one, back in the day. This example, well, my guess is it comes from the 1970’s, and happily, it still works.

When I got it out and looked closely at it, I saw there's a plastic leader connecting thingie on it.
I've seen some of the other connector types, but never one like this. It's not the sort of gadget I normally go for; I use a loop link, like a Cliffs Loop (1), a Nail Knot(2), or the  Russell Peak Loop (3). 

But it is of some interest, so I’m gonna at least check it out and maybe try it. First I have to get it apart, which isn't all that easy.
Maybe some kind of tool is needed, maybe they are not intended but for a one time use.
Sometimes, you just have to figure things out.

The one thing that is missing from this reel is the button on the end of the retrieve lever. For the time being, I’ve put a zip tie on it just for a tactile, “finger target." 
The reel sits under the rod, so your finger needs something to get hold of when you want to retrieve line.

But, I’m thinking that a pearl button of some kind could be fitted... that would be nice. Think of the pearl buttons on a cowboy shirt -- that kinda thing. Like I said, sometimes you just gotta figure it out.

So, that's my Kmart auto reel, the one and only that I have.
I'm not even sure I will use the thing; I probably won't.
But, if nothing else, it's interesting.

For the knots mentioned, check out these links:

(1) Cliff's Loop

(2) Nail Knot

(3) Russell Peak Loop

Thanks for reading, 

Tight Lines

David

Feedback? Opinions? Feell free to comment, and come visit us at: Palmetto Fly n Fish

© all rights reserved