Speck flies

[Jim_W]

I am very curious to know what your favorite flies for speckled trout are? I have found specks in fairly good numbers in 3 foot of gin clear water with scattered grass with a sand bottom. I have caught a few on bendbacks, decievers and clousers, but i feel i should be doing better. Sometimes the fish follow the fly and turn away. Any suggestions will help most of my flies are size 1/0 down to size 2. I have tried many different retrieves. How do surface flies work i have not tried any yet??? What tides are best for specks??
Jim

[Chris Newsome]

JIm,

Here are three flies that I use on specks for different situations.

http://www.bayflyfishing.com/fly-stuck%20up%20bunny%20orange.JPG
Stuck Up Bunny
This fly is designed for times when fish will only take a fly moving extra slow on the bottom. There is a foam strip glued to the bunny strip to give the tail bouyancy. The floatation makes the tail end of the fly float upward while the weight of the dumbbell eyes cause the nose of the fly to sink downward. The foam strip is cut from a 2mm thick foam sheet.

Stuck Up flies are designed to be bounced across the bottom with short strips followed by pauses. During the pause is when this fly excels because the floating tail of the fly rises and hovers off the bottom. The foam also makes for an exaggerated jigging action when stripped off the bottom. This is a fantastic pattern for situations where specks are finicky.


http://www.bayflyfishing.com/fly-bizurkbunker2009.JPG
Bizurk Bunker
The Bizurk Bunker is designed to imitate a fleeing menhaden (bunker) as it splashes and darts franticly on the water's surface in an effort to avoid a predator. Most conventional surface flies use bulky foam to keep the fly on top of the water, however this pattern incorporates a Fly Lipp (Welcome to FlyLipps! (http://www.flylipps.com)) in the upward facing position. The lip causes the fly to rise and splash during the strip. Unique among topwater flies is the bizurk bunker's fall below the surface on the pause between strips. This is a more natural motion than a fly that remains on top of the water at all times. The "hi-tie" method of tying allows for replication of the high profile of a bunker without excess material. Fish this fly with fast, aggressive strips and it will gurgle and pop. Slow the strip and the fly will produce a V-wake. Go even slower and the fly will remain several inches underwater. I've found that the most realistic retrieval of this fly involves a combination of all three strips. Typically, speck will only hit topwaters when they are feeding agressively, but there's no better way to catch them!

http://www.bayflyfishing.com/fly-wormhook-bunker.JPG
Snag Proof Spoof (SPS)
For areas with grass, especially floating grass, fouling is a problem. This is my favorite fly for fishing any kind of structure. The use of a long neck worm hook on the SPS prevents hang-ups while providing a superior hook up ratio as compared to tradition weedguards or bendback patterns. Lead wraps on the hook shank allow for enhanced jigging action. My favorite hook for these is the VMC 6319 which provides the long neck area behind the hook eye for tying as compared to traditional worm hooks.

For some speck-pron pics, check out Virginia Fly & Light Tackle Fishing Report - Current (http://www.bayflyfishing.com/fishingreport-current.htm)

Hope this helps!

Chris

[paxfish]

Dang Chris - those Flies are getting prettier all the time!

Jim - We don't get too many trout up this way, but one found my siliclone tempting a couple of weeks ago. This one was a slight sinker, and he took it after rejecting other offerings.

2 feet of water, strong current and a 1/0 long shank fly (that already had a hundred stripers to it's credit.)

Have Fun!

http://www.tidalfish.com/photopost/data/2/specsmaller.jpg

[Jim_W]

Chris great looking flies I am going to tie some up tonight. It's blowing 30 with gust to 40 and rain by the bucket, great tying weather. I will definetly be fishing this weekend if the weather gets better. I will let you both know how i make out. It can get frustrating when you can see the fish and can't get them to bite.I think the bite will improve with a slight drop in water temp. I will keep you posted, and thanks agian
Jim

[Jim_W]

How do you think maribou with floatant instead of bunny with foam would work for the stuck up bunny??? I'm gonna try it just because I'm out of bunny.

[McMinn]

Chris

Wow, those are some flies. Not just good to look at but creative in design. Thanks so much for sharing. Can't wait to try some of the ideas that you've put out there.

John

[Chris Newsome]

How do you think maribou with floatant instead of bunny with foam would work for the stuck up bunny??? I'm gonna try it just because I'm out of bunny.

I haven't tried that. Let us know how it works.

Here's some shots of fish that fell for the SPS this morning.

http://www.bayflyfishing.com/speck-9-12-09-1.JPG
http://www.bayflyfishing.com/speck-9-12-09-4.JPG
http://www.bayflyfishing.com/striper-9-12-09.JPG

[ko]

Chris' flies are beautiful but I am too lazy and ADD to tie complicated flies for specks. Try Clousers with olive back, middle flash of copper or root beer, and a belly of mixed chartreuse and orange bucktail. Try a few different sizes and sink rates. Video here...
Fly Fishing in Salt Waters Videos (http://www.flyfishinsalt.com/video.jsp?bclid=1271751936&bctid=1270733119)

Also had luck with red over white Clousers.

If you are getting refusals in clear water try casting farther away from the boat and/or use a lighter leader, or change your retrieve. They can be hard to catch in very very clear water. You actually might want to look for spots with less than gin clear (but not muddy) water.

[toddkfly]

Good stuff as always Chris. I copied your stuck up buny with and without the foam, great fly! I don't throw many bunker patterns in the shallows when speck fishing. Are you pitching bunker and getting the fish amped when fishing that fly?

[paxfish]

Try a few different sizes and sink rates. Video here...
Fly Fishing in Salt Waters Videos (http://www.flyfishinsalt.com/video.jsp?bclid=1271751936&bctid=1270733119)



I gotta say - that is a horrible vid on tying a Clouser. Stacking the hair makes it look like a broom....

Nonetheless, thanks for posting - I may try that color combination!

[ko]

I don't stack the hair either. But it is a good color combo. I tie all the materials on the top side (nothing over/around the eyes if that makes sense). Got some specks and blues on it today.

[Chris Newsome]

I don't throw many bunker patterns in the shallows when speck fishing.

Todd,

Specks key heavily on juvie bunker in the shallows during summer and early fall in our area. 3-5" menhaden patterns are definitely a good bet for the bigger specks.

Chris

[TLT III]

I threw juvy bunker patterns last week in the blind in the shallows and caught stripers.