Human Once Again

  Mar 30, 2018 (update Feb, 2023)

I woke up feeling human, at last.     5 days of the "stomach bug" were apparently behind me, and all I could think was, "Hooray!" (It sucks when you're afraid to pass a little gas....)

    Sipping coffee on the observation deck, I stretched and breathed deep the clean, brisk air. A Spring cold front had passed the night before, bringing rain showers and leaving the land with a delicious, scrubbed feeling. Being human again was nice on such a day.

    And that meant the pond, aka, "Fly Lab II", well, it needed me to pay a visit.

    A light breeze ruffled the pond's surface, and both water and air were cool. It was the sort of morning that held a hint of promise, but not too much.

    Because of the front that passed over night, I expected I'd mostly be practicing my casting at this early hour. "Tomorrow will stabilize and be better," I mumbled, but I wasnt going to let my good feeling get away.

    Initially, I got a big fat nothing on the popper from last week. We had a brief warming spell over the previous period, and small poppers were working. It is usually a good idea to start with what last worked - except for those times when it isn't. This was one of those times.

    But, there's always Plan B, and an entire water column to work with. So, if topwater isn't getting a rise, you go below with a slow nymph. And that was the trick.

The Teeny Nymph        A nymph pattern I've tinkered with on and off over the years (mostly off) is one called, "The Teeny Nymph."

fly courtesy of fishingopedia link in references

    The Teeny Nymph, for those who don't know, is the brainchild of famed American fly angler, Jim Teeny. The fly is one of those patterns that is so basic and simple, you just know it will be a killer. It is nothing more than some pheasant tail fibers, strategically wrapped on a hook. I add a contrasting color on the head; in this case, chartreuse.

    And the Teeny Nymph started taking strikes immediately.

    They were very subtle takes, though. Later in the year, the fish will yank the rod from my hand on this kind of fly. But cool, early-spring water slows the fish down, and the bites were just light pickups. The line just stopped coming, as I worked my slow hand retrieve. The first one made me think I had snagged a branch.

    Luckily, I sometimes catch on to what's happening, and soon had this figured out.

    Both bluegill and bass liked the Teeny Nymph, and I landed several of each on it.

    I've known about Jim Teeny's nymph pattern for years, but have never really given the Teeny Nymph much attention. It seems there are always more complex flies to tie, more gaudy and showy offerings to tinker with. But I may force myself to go TEENY more often this season.

    With some fish now caught and the skunk off my shoulder, I settled in to study the situation more closely.

A New Challenge     As the sun brightened the world around me, I noted swirls and signs of fishy activity around the pond. This action was just the kind fly anglers yearn for - right in among the shore weeds and shallows... and I mean 6" of water.     I thought it might be a bit early for serious breeding to be underway, and that is usually done further out, anyway. No, I suspected this was fish chasing small prey.     In particular, I imagined the victims were from the living necklace of tadpoles that ring the shore this time in Spring.

    So, how to get these foraging fish to bite?

    I couldnt fish the Teeny Nymph in there; it would instantly hang up on the weeds and sticks. But a floating fly could at least get in close.

    With that in mind, I put on another favorite fly of mine that I dont use as much as I should - Bart Lombardo’s triangular "Delta Bug."

Disclaimer: I named it the, 'Delta Bug,' when Bart first unveiled it. That name is my own - Bart calls it the 'Triangle Bug.'          This fly is made from an elongated diamond of 2mm craft foam, folded end-to-end legthwise, then tied at the rear of the hook shank. It has rubber legs, a rear end of kiptail, and a unique 3-sided shape somewhere between a popper and a slider. It fishes naturally, in the film, instead of atop it.

fly by Bart Lombardo, link below

Here is the Triangle Bug - on Barts site, "Panfish On the Fly":

https://www.panfishonthefly.com/.../1/9/the-triangle-bug

    Because of the hairy tail, and air-catching dangly bits, The Triangle Bug tends to cast a little like a badminton birdie. A small one, anyway. You must execute forceful, tight loop casts to lay it out, and a little haul on the forward stroke helps. But this is not severe, and it is a peach to use.

    And the logic for using it proved to be sound... The fish liked it as well as anything.

    Placed either off to the side and away from where they were feeding, or beyond and worked through, they would hit it one out of three attempts. Like with the nymphs, it was also a light, almost tentative strike..., more quick slurp, than cannon-ball attack.

    Once taken, you hang on your tip-toes and wait for the line to tighten just a bit - then set the hook.

What you don't do is holler, "Hoo-ya!" and rear back on the rod like a too-caffeinated YouTube googan. Pause for a moment when you see activity!

    This is necessary because the fish often grab just the legs, or merely swirl at the bug, leaving you excited..., but with no fish on the line. So, you must have a seconds worth of patience to make sure the fish has taken the fake before you strike.     Yes, it's better to feel human again, rather than like a bog troll on the toilet half the day. But Life throws these little challenges our way to make us appreciate the good things.

    Like catching fish on great flies. Many thanks to Bart Lombardo.

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

Would you like to add the catching pattern(s) seen here to your own fly or tackle box? Do you have questions, gripes, 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 2018, 2023
 

references 
1. https://www.fishingopedia.com/flytying_2/teeny_nymph.html

GOT BOATS?

 

"How many fishermen are boat owners, vs. fishing exclusively from shore?"

    This question was recently asked by friend Johnny Wilkins, head man behind The Chicago Fishing School. Being the former captain of the U.S. Match Angling Team, you could say that Johnny has something of a vested interest in shore fishing.
    He goes straight for the jugular on this point, too, and contends that most anglers fish from shore. He nods knowingly at the claim that most fishermen never go out in boats.

        "Most fishermen DON”T own a boat," he claims, "and they don’t own high-tech sonar." His chief complaint is with TV and YouTube on this matter, because they lead you to think that every angler is fishing from a big-money boat... or that he or -she needs to be.

    In his view, money-driven media content skews our perceptions about this, and I agree with him…

    As evidence, he also points to the “pumped-up” demand for “military grade” sonar upgrades and the constant carousel of “hot” gear, and especially lures, on the market. All this is driven by a $44 BILLION dollar recreational fishing industry that thrives on these "wants", something I've observed in articles like this one, linked here:

The Unstoppable Flatfish, Part 2

Lets Check It Out
    With this in mind, I thank Johnny for inspiring me to do dig into this.
However, my eagerness was soon tempered when I hit a wall.

    It seems that data specifically addressing the number of shore anglers vs. boat anglers is in short supply. It may exist, but if so, I did not find it in that form.
    Another thing that challenged my resolve for answers was that solely specific data about fishermen-as-boat owners was likewise scarce. 
    But all is not lost. There is a huge volume of data about boat ownership, and fishing, so I pushed on. In the end, I based my conclusions on data surrounding total number of registered boats owned, total number of licensed fishermen, etc.

For those who want to stop here...

SUMMARY: All this digging across boating and fishing data strongly suggests that about 20-25% of anglers own, or have access to, a boat of some sort, in 2023.
I will err on the conservative side and call it 1 in 5.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    But this number includes everything from float tubes* to cabin cruisers, and everything in between. There are also some undefined data sets that simply fall through the cracks by default.
* some states require that float tubes be registered as a “vessel.”

More To Know
Some of the interesting data points I encountered in my quest:

1. 13-15% of households own a boat.
The high side of this percentage is accepted in post-Covid 2023

2. There are 26M total boats owned, with 1.8 boats owned by each household.

3. There are 52M people that claim to go fishing.

4. About half the anglers said they purchase a license.

5. Co-ownership and sharing of boats has increased, particularly among millennials. A small number of the total, it is essentially undefinable.

6. Boating industry statistics estimate that 100 million people went boating in 2013-2018. In the post-Covid lockdown period, that number has increased significantly.
Among those on boats, it’s safe to assume that a great many were fishing. But how many? This is another intangible thrown into the mix.

7. Freshwater fishing boats, specifically (147,000 units average), accounted for 50% of all boat sales, years 2021-2022.
This does not take into account the transfer of used boats.

    Looking over these info-bites, the difficulty in putting absolute numbers on fishermen-as-boat owners is obvious.

    I feel fairly confident that one in five anglers (20%) either owns some form of boat with which to get offshore, or has used one for this purpose. Of course, it may be less, maybe one in seven, or even one in ten. Again it’s hard to say.

    But I do beg to differ when hearing that it is, "almost none." This is 2023, after all, the Age of The Good Living Middle Class Consumer. There are more affordable ways to float away from shore and fish than EVER. And from what I see, huge numbers of people are jumping on to the opportunity.

 

    So, what do you think? How many anglers go fishing exclusively from shore, and never go near a boat? Leave comment. 

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

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

Would you like to add the catching pattern(s) seen here to your own fly or tackle box? Do you have questions, gripes, 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 2023 Thanks for reading. I hope you liked it and maybe learned something. Maybe you have some thoughts/ Comments and a share are appreciated.

Tight Lines,

David
Palmetto Fly N Fish
© David Hutton, 2023, all and any rights reserved. 

The Unstoppable Flatfish - Part 2

 

The Unstoppable Flatfish - Part 2 
David Hutton, Palmetto Fly n Fish
January, 2023
All rights reserved

The World Famous Flatfish

In Part One (< - - click link) of this story, we introduced what is one of the greatest artificial fishing lures of all time - The Helin Flatfish.
We got to know its driven creator, Charles Helin, and the decade-long path from concept, to arguably the most successful lure in history. Introduced in 1934, it is still going strong! 
    We advanced the idea of a lure that consistently swims well at all retrieve speeds within its envelope - and especially at slow speed.
    It was pointed out why the designer favored several smaller hooks over larger ones as a way to improve hook ups.
    Moreover, we learned that the simple appearance of the Flatfish is misleading - the lure actually embodies rather precise parameters and qualities. 

Deep Diving Flatfish Details
Now, have a seat, grab a favorite beverage, and lets take a thorough look at these features to understand the Flatfish.

The Shape - Much of the writing you find on the Flatfish usually includes some nostalgic blurb about, "that ol' banana lure, a trusted part of grandpas tackle box."
    Yeah, well, I'm not going there. I believe this lure is as viable today, as it was 90 years ago, and will treat it that way.
    The shape, though, well,... it is unique. It doesn't look like a fish, or any other critter one might see in the water. I don't really know HOW Charles Helin arrived at it. I can only say that it was outside the usual thinking of the time... and outside the thinking in THIS time, if we're honest.
    But the simplistic "banana" shape belies the long process of hand carving, trial and error that went into it. There was none of the engineering we today associate with product design. However, the curves and shaping are what I would call both deliberate, and precise. 

    I have seen and used knock-offs that don't work as well, mostly because their makers saw a shape - but missed the nuance. Plainly put, the Flatfish has a... "unique shape that has been widely copied, but rarely equalled." (1) 

    The Speed - As we learned in Part One, the Flatfish was intended to be a bass lure....never mind that every game fish that swims has been caught on it over the years! But oddly, it is almost exclusively considered a trout and pike lure, today. Weird, right? 😁

    But it had a more significant purpose beyond just catching fish - it also had to work at a wide range of speeds, and especially slow speeds. This ability was something the lures of that day lacked.

    What do I mean?

    - You can literally crawl a Flatish, for example. and it still wobbles.
    - Speed it up, and it wobbles faster.
    - Really move it along, and it wobbles like a hardware store paint shaker. 
   
    This makes the lure emit a lot of vibration, which you can both feel, and even hear as it comes through the water... it is that strong. Fish can hardly miss it! Visually, it undoubtedly looks like some vulnerable critter, fleeing from danger.
     Regardless, some consider the Flatfish as only good for shallow, slow-speed fishing, but that is not entirely correct.

     I don't believe you can work the Flatfish too slow, but, you CAN retrieve one too fast. That much is true. 
    Each version has its own optimal speed range, and the larger ones are more forgiving than the small ones. Nevertheless, take any one of them above its optimal speed range and it will helicopter(spin), twisting your line and spoiling the effect.  
    What is that upper end for speed? From what I know, that is about 0.5 - 4 mph...depending mostly on size. That's faster than I will normally reel.
    And, if you think about it, that's a pretty wide range. I'm also confident that the slow end of any lures' envelope is little explored by most lure anglers.... but it is generally preferred by fish!  

    But lets give credit where it is due: most modern crankbaits won't blow out this way at high speeds. They beat the Flatfish in this regard.
    So the big question is, "How important is sheer dragster speed for most of your fishing?"
    I can't answer that for YOU, and will just say that if meteoric speed is your thing, the Flatfish should probably stay in the box.

    But, if you want one lure that works from an annoyingly slow crawl through practical freshwater trolling speeds, the Flatfish is a good choice.
    I suspect the, "only shallow and slow" crowd never really figured that out.

The Action - You must see and feel the action to understand it. 

    Most familiar crankbaits today have a sort of buzz-like, tight, tail-whipping motion. This depends mostly on the length, and the lip shape and size.
    The Flatfish, on the other hand, has no lip under the nose. So without any other name to go by, it is labeled a 'lipless crankbait'. But as with other notions about the Flatfish, this isn't really correct.
    Where the usual lipless crankbait has just the narrow head out front, the Flatfish has a long, thin rounded nose. It is wide, AND the upper surface of the nose is scooped, so it channels water up and over the top. The rounded banana shape then sheds the force of this water as it comes over. The net effect is a unique, rolling, side-to-side wobble.

    To get a sense of it, hold your hand in front if you, thumb on top, palm facing inward. Now, roll your hand around the axis of your wrist as slow or as fast as you wish. Feel that rotating, side-to-side wobble? That is the same action a Flatfish delivers. At the rod, it is a strong, pulsating sensation which tells you the lure is working. 

The Attaching Link - With most crankbait lures, you won't tie your line tightly to the eye of the lure, itself. This can deaden the action of the lure; the solution is to fit split rings to the eye for tying on. 

    In the case of the Flatfish, a twisted, heavy wire pivot link was used. Later, this became a bent wire, figure 8 link. Both are seen in the pictures below...

 Twisted wire link Formed wire loop link

    This connecting link was the forerunner of the split ring, but it allows for a wider range of movement in my view. And that is what the Flatfish is all about.   

NOTE: Charles Helin, the originator of the Flatfish, was adamant that no snap swivel be used with his Flatfish. He claimed this robbed the action, and he insisted you tie direct to the connecting link. I take him at his word.

The Hooks - By now, some of you will have spotted an elephant in the room - those HOOKS! They are, in a word, small.

    

    The Flatfish was designed to use a wide spreader bar of spring steel wire, either on the belly, at the tail - or both! You can see this in the above catalog image from 1940. The wide, dished nose is also clearly seen.
    These spreader bars held smallish, "nibbler" hooks, one to either side, in a flexible, balanced arrangement that moved with the lure. These smaller hooks were favored by Charles Helin as they solved the other problem he wanted to correct with his lure - the poor hookup rates with lures in his day.
Seriously, a fish aint getting away with all those hooks in its face!
    But THAT solution led to another problem: such a hook arrangement is very, "snaggy." People, even today, complain about that.
    You could say at least part of this problem lies with the user. One look and you can see the Flatfish is not a snag-proof, weedless lure. But if you are casting one of those spreader-bar Flatfish lures into heavy cover and weeds, well...you're pretty much asking for trouble.
    The truth is, a great many modern anglers aren't comfortable fishing any other way. Once out away from docks, rocks, weeds, and snag-choked shallows, they're in unfamiliar territory. Why is that?
    Because this shallow water, "snag-proof" fishing idea has been heavily promoted by the industry. They target the wallets of those anglers, and keep the snag-proof dream going. 

    And while that has probably kept more anglers in the game and spending money, it also means that any lure that isn't "snag proof" gets left behind.
    In response, later iterations of the Flatfish saw these hook spreaders removed and replaced with the more familiar (at least to us) inline treble hooks. This does help reduce snagging, and also eases manufacturing costs.
    It also means that areas near snags or weeds are opened up to the Flatfish user, and it is probably best to use a Flatfish with the inline hooks for that. 
    For more open water, for trolling, casting or bumping over hard bottom structure, the spreader bars are a good way to go.
    So really, the problem led to a solution that makes the Flatfish even more versatile that it already was!  
    Coming full circle, the current manufacturer of Flatfish, Yakima Baits, also offers conversion kits to switch from inline hooks to the spreader bar arrangement, if you choose. You really CAN have it both ways.
    
Fishing the Flatfish
The Flatfish has had a big following over the years among those anglers that practice the art of trolling. Unfortunately, I'm not in that group. I look to change that this year, but for now, my observations come from fishing the Flatfish as a casting lure. 

    In that regard, the Flatfish is like most any other "crankbait":

1. You cast (or troll) the lure where you want it
2. You retrieve (or troll ) the lure where fish might be  
3. You hope to catch a fish

But it is the subtleties that matter with a Flatfish. 

1. Use a swivel 2 feet in front of the lure.
    The Flatfish doesn't need it, but things can sometimes go wrong.
After reading this, maybe you don't believe me about the speed.
Or perhaps you loose your cool..., and so you "burn" the lure too fast.
Suppose you want to get it down, and put a big weight too close to it.
Or the lure may foul in some way.
    You don't mean to cause such troubles for yourself, but any of these things can cause the Flatfish to helicopter and spin, instead of swim as it should. The swivel is insurance against line twist in that event. Use the swivel.

2. The Flatfish resists retrieval - feel the lure.  
    There is a steady, vibrating resistance when the lure is running. It feels like the Flatfish fights back, and doesn't want to return. Some vibration is normal with crankbaits, except the vibration from a Flatfish is very wide and pronounced... almost loud. So if you DON'T feel that right away, you can be sure the lure is fouled somehow... and good thing you used a swivel.

3. Most Flatfish float, barely.
    When you cast your Flatish, it hits the water and bobs in the surface film, half submerged. Only a small portion of the back can be seen. You can twitch it there, much like a stick bait. But this not a "popping" or "walking" lure... the nose digs in and it wiggles and dives under at the slightest movement. It then wobbles and slowly rises back to the surface. 

Chuck Scheerschmidt describes the way he might fish one on the surface:

"Fish ultra slow, until a bass or pike takes interest - then stop. After 30 secs or so, start a fast retrieve and hold on! I wait till the lure is facing to the side, then take your rod that direction just before hitting that retrieve."

4. On a steady retrieve, they head straight down to running depth.
    Once you retrieve the Flatfish, your rod bends toward the lure, and you feel the characteristic throbbing as it wobbles back to you. This unmistakable pulsation becomes more forceful as it gets closer and the line angle changes.
If you stop the retrieve, the lure pauses, wobbles a bit in place, then slowly rises - this is almost neutral buoyancy. It is also a great technique for getting strikes.

5. Use weight to gain depth
    Some Flatfish are designed to slowly sink; they tend to go a bit deeper.
But, if you need to get the Flatfish further down in the water, the maker has always recommended a small weight, 18-24" in front of the lure.

NOTE: Don't overdo the weight, and don't put it closer than this. Doing these things can spoil the action, and may cause the lure to helicopter as previously mentioned. So give it room to wiggle out at the end of your line and don't bog it down with any but just the right amount of weight.

    Split shot are standard for weighting your Flatfish, but rubber core sinkers, or a dipsy sinker will also work. And with today's reduced stretch, ultra-thin lines, you might be pleasantly surprised at just how deep the Flatfish will run on its own. 
    When trolling, the same weighting ideas can be used, or you might switch to wire or lead-core lines, or use downriggers.

6. Fish the entire water column
    The depth at which the lure runs is important, of course. From the surface down to running depth, you don't have to do much but be creative and let the lure do its job.
    But, the instructions that used to come with each Flatfish stated clearly that the best fish are normally caught 1-2 feet above the bottom, both in rivers and in lakes.
    For certain fish, at certain times, say for lake trout or striper, this may need to be adjusted to match their feeding depth at any given moment. But in general, the Golden Zone is that area nearer the bottom.
If, "deep water is the home of the fish, "as Buck Perry used to say, then you'll need to get that Flatfish down eventually .

    One of my tactics is to put just enough weight on the line so the Flatfish follows the weight down to the bottom. I've even had bass hit them as they are wiggling on the way down!
    When at the bottom, retrieve your Flatfish so the rig just bumps along. Don't plow a trench with this technique; just keep it ticking the bottom and adjust weight until you achieve that action.
    Once that is working, I stop it from time to time, so it slowly floats back upwards. In this way, I'm sure to keep it down in the zone and it looks suspiciously like a crawfish or baitfish.
    Sometimes, I will hop it so the weight rises, then glides down - with the Flatfish wiggling along behind.
    Another neat trick involves those Flatfish that have the hook spreaders. What you do is fix split shot to the SPREADERS. Use two shot of the same weight, and pinch them evenly spaced, one to either side.
    With some experimentation, you can use this hack to make a floating Flatfish submerge like a submarine, suspend in place, and most anything in between. Just ensure the weights are the same size, and mounted as described, and you wont affect the lure's action! 
    Of course, any time you are fishing near the bottom, you risk snagging your lure. So avoid brushy, heavy weed, and snag-prone areas. My lake has a mostly hard bottom, though, so this works. As long as just the right amount of weight is used, and you pay attention to the feel as it bumps along the bottom, hang-ups are few.

Flatfish Colors

    No discussion of artificial lures is complete without getting into lure color.
Most anglers give a LOT of attention to color, and millions are spent on whatever "hot colors" are trendy, or most beloved.
    Me, well,... I think in terms of color washout as depth increases. This was covered in a recent post on color*, but it can be summarized this way:

Whatever kind of lures you use, have them in two "tones" - light tones and dark tones. Which absolute color hue you choose probably matters very little.

    The man who created the Flatfish, Charles Helin, said that, as far as he was concerned, the single best color to have is orange with black spots. But of course, that will never do for most anglers - they want a full rainbow of finishes and colors, and they insist on having them all. 

    The Flatfish came in 37 colors by 1971, and since Yakima Baits bought rights to the lure in 1988, they have brought that count to over 100! 
Given all that, there is no way I can tell you what color will work best. For simplicity's sake, I will defer to the lure's creator:
Choose orange w/ black spots, - - - or whatever you like.

But, I do want to add a general rule on the subject....

- On brighter days or in very clear water, stick to darker more natural looking Flatfish lures. These more natural colors are better seen under well-lit conditions, so try to match them to the available food.

On darker days, or when fishing deep, experiment more with brighter, flashy colors. The flashy colors tend to get reaction strikes more than natural imitations. (7)

Or, do whatever suits your mood at the moment. Sometimes "logic" goes out the window when fishing!

* - Another Look At Color (<- - click the link)

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

Would you like to add the catching pattern(s) seen here to your own fly or tackle box? Do you have questions, gripes, 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 2023 

- references

1. https://www.outdoorcanada.ca/canadas-11-all-time-top-lures-for-brookies-browns-cutthroats-lakers-and-rainbows/3/

2. https://skyaboveus.com/fishing/Top-5-Trout-Lures

3.  http://tackledelivery.com/product/wordens-lures-flatfish-lure-silver-1-3/

4. https://www.etsy.com/shop/rwiggins

5. https://www.onthewater.com/featured-lure-original-flatfish

6. Spreader Kits - https://vandamwarehouse.com/flatfish-spreader-bar-accessory-kits-by-yakima/

7. https://www.troutrods.com/flatfish-lures-for-trout/

THE FROGGIE - A Tony Spezio Classic

By David Hutton
Palmetto Fly n Fish
Feb 4, 2023

I was fortunate to know Tony Spezio, when I first got into fly tying.
    At that point in time, Tony was well into his Golden Years. But unlike many elderly folks that want nothing to do with "newfangled" things, Tony embraced the modern, including the internet.
He saw the potential in this outlet and in 2015, when I invited him to join my fledgling Facebook group, "Palmetto Fly 'N Fish," he jumped in.
From there, he took me under his wing for a while. He was a good teacher and an engaging talker, and we corresponded and chatted on the phone frequently. 

    He was getting on in years, but was still generous and welcoming to a nimrod like me. He sent me some materials to use, and it was nice to yuk it up with an old-timer like him.... he was from New Jersey, and it was like talking with my step-dad (himself from NYC).
    As a newbie, that kind of attention from an expert has a long lasting impact. 
    
    Tony was well known in fly fishing circles, as a kind and generous man. You may not know it, but Tony Spezio was kind of big deal in aviation circles, too - he designed a homebuilt aircraft, "The TuHoler," the original of which is still flying!
I knew of it from longtime pilot friend, and great fly tyer himself, Don Schmotzer.(1)

    But, of interest to us, Tony also had a couple of flies to his credit.
One is known as the, "Chili Pepper," a variation on the ubiquitous Wooly Bugger. 

The other is a pattern called, "The Froggie," our subject for today.

    A unique frog pattern, crafted from polyethylene foam, "The Froggie" has always been in the back of my mind - and it pretty much just stayed there, kind of forgotten.

A Missed Opportunity, Made Right
    I never did tie, or fish, the Froggie, and after Tony's passing in 2020, I felt ashamed about that.  Considering the kindness he showed me, I should have tied at least a few Froggies. Alas, I did not, and today I can only own up to that misstep. But, I was able to rectify that situation recently.

    My opportunity came during a discussion with Harry Glacken, on Gerry Randolph's Facebook page, "Carving Soft Wood and Balsa Bugs and Poppers." (2)
If you are even slightly interested in that topic, I recommend you check out Gerry's group.
    While searching for info on a different pattern under discussion in the group, I was reacquainted with 'The Froggie' in C. Boyd Pfeiffers book. "Tying Warm Water Flies." (3)

Highly recommended book

    Here's what Mr. Pfeiffer had to say about The Froggie:

    "There are lots of ways of working with foam to make frogs and other floating bugs. This is a sinple and effectve way of making frogs of all shapes and sizes.

Tony Spezio began developing this patern in 1993, and it became a classic soon after. This is just another easy way to turn closed cell bfoam into an effectve surface pattern. The basic idea is to tie a strip of the foam at the eye, then to pull it around the hook shank in the horizontal plane to make a flat, surface-riding bug.
    Tony has found it to be great on smallmouth and largemouth bass, as well as large bluegill. He often fishes it as the surface fly in a popper-dropper arrangement. He ties it in this original light yellow foam, as well as white, green, grey, orange, red, and, black." 

    From that same book, here's a good look at The Froggie, as tied by Tony 
Spezio himself....

tied by Tony Spezio

As Pfeiffer says, the fly is dead simple. The materials are familiar, and the tools needed are few.

THE ALL IMPORTANT FOAM

    For his Froggie, Tony Spezio used what he referred to as, "fly foam."
Today, when we mention foam for flies, we inevitably mean EVA foam (ethylene-vinyl acetate), aka, "craft foam."
    But back in the 1990's, when Tony adapted this pattern, well,... I'm sure he meant something else.
    From period pictures, it appears the original foam used was a fine-grain, closed-cell, PE foam (poly-ethylene)... one might think of it as "packing foam" in 2023. Here is an example....

Tony Spezio pic, from Fly Anglers Online (4)

The Funky Froggie - First Attempt
    When I first tried The Froggie, however, I just used a funky piece of "sponge rubber" foam from my junk stash - an open-cell, polyurethane type. 

Funky foam

   
    This stuff was quite literally, junk. It helped me get the tying process figured out, but it was old, crumbly, and it absorbed water quickly... the fly sinks after only half a dozen dunkings!
    In retrospect, this might actually be useful. These, "Funky Froggies" (as I now call  them) might be great as near-surface, swimming frog imitations. But, it is not what we are after. 
    Therefore, after some testing, I've switched to EVA foam, sourced from flip-flop sandals.
   
    Yes, I said flip-flops. The cheap, dollar store kind of flip-flops. If you have never considered flip-flops for making flies, have a look at this:   The Flip-Flop Popper

 The Flip-Flop Froggie - Second Attempt

    Which leads us to my second attempt at Froggies. I did try a couple types of PE foam from the stash, which I believe is the right idea. But I like the results I got with the flip-flop foam. I'll keep my eyes peeled for some proper PE foam, but will go with flip flop foam for now. 

MATERIALS

Hook: 3 or 4 X long hook, 4-14

Thread: Flat waxed nylon, 210 denier or stronger

Tails: hen neck or saddle hackle.

Body: Strip of foam, sized for the hook.
As you can see in the pics, the thickness of the foam is about half the hook gap.
The width of the strip should be about the same as the hook gap; the wider the foam strip, the wider will be the body.  

Eyes: Small round head pins.

Colors: Any color you like
Colored foam is great for this; I have black, yellow, white, chartruese, orange, blue and more. For decoration, use textured fabric "puffy paint," nail polish, paint, or permanent markers

Additonal Materials, for my Flip-Flop Froggie
Dubbing material

Super Glue

TOOLS

    Aside from the vise, the only tools used were a pair of scissors, some strong thread (210 denier), and a bodkin. Use strong thread - you need it to work with this foam.

Tying notes

1. Apply super glue to the thread at the tie-in points, front and rear
There is nothing to keep the foam from misbehaving, as it is only tied in fore and aft. So give it a little jot of glue at these points. 

2. Add a ball of dubbing between the hackle, "legs"
Adding a small ball of dubbing material at the hook bend helps ensure the feather "legs" will flare and give good action in the water.

3. Add a ball of material just forward of the legs, if needed.
Another small ball of material just in front of the first one helps the small false legs of the body to spread out. In theory, well-curved hackle feathers make this unneccesary. But, it may help. Dubbing works for this, as does a small tight knot of the same foam being used for the body.

4. Try textured fabric, 'puffy paint" for the eyes. 
Tony used ball-head sewing pins to make eyes for his Froggie, and they look great!
But if you don't have any, try puffy paint by itself. It is easy to apply, and doesn't require an extra fabrication step.

4. Use a wide gap hook
You must keep the hook gap in mind when tying bodied flies; if the body obstructs the hook gap, you risk missing hookups. To take care of that problem, I applied round nose pliers to slightly open up a standard #4 Aberdeen hook. 

THE FUNKY FROGGIE, First Attempt

Cute, dont you think? Kind of like a scruffy puppy. 

It also sinks before very long, because of the junk foam I used. 

It could make a decent subsurface fly, though, so that might be a good thing. 

I will test that, eventually.

THE "FLIP-FLOP FROGGIE"

A gaggle of 'Flip-Flop Froggies,' different color combinations

Flip-Flop Froggie - Up Close And Personal

Flies tied by author

After all this time, I finally tied up some Froggies. I hope Tony is somewhere, looking on, and likes them. 
Rest In Peace, Anthony "Tony" Spezio, 1930-2020 

 

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

Would you like to add the catching pattern(s) seen here to your own fly or tackle box? Do you have questions, gripes, 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 2023 

references

1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spezio_Tuholer

2. https://www.facebook.com/groups/3077577939172710  

3. "Tying WarmWater Flies," C. Boyd Pfeiffer (RIP), 2003, Krause Books

4. https://www.flyanglersonline.com/flytying/fotw2/081604fotw.php

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