I've been tying a lot of complicated smallmouth flies that use every material in the box. This looks like it'll be just as effective for a fraction of the effort. I'm going to mess around with colors and tie dozens of these over the winter. Thanks for the video Matt!
My feelings exactly. Between mixing up the colors, a few different sizes, I really feel this will be a great Smallmouth fly. Matt has given us a great one here.
You're absolutely right! Sometimes the complicated patterns can be fun just for the challenge of it, but if you're trying to fill a box for fishing, flies like this are the ticket. Thanks for the note my friend. :-)
Another winner! I fish a similar pattern for steelhead...of course, most steelhead patterns catch the biggest bass. Lol. Thanks for sharing, Matt. Make it a great day.
You know Todd, when you think about it, steelhead and bass can both be some pretty aggressive predators. It doesn't surprise me that some of the same flies will work for both!
I love the wrapped zonker strip body & profile. I’ll bet this would give lots of action & work well in salt or fresh for any bass, striper, bluefish, pickerel, or pike. It would tie nicely on a circle hook too.
Now you're adding a lot of fish to my bucket list! I've seen a lot of comments here talking about pike. Now pickerel? I've only seen those in magazines. I need to get out more. :-)
Good Morning Sir Matt, you went and did it again LOL 😆, looks like Stockard is going to get another order. I live in Bass County and I've gotta have some flies like this thank you for our young friend suggestion and you taking the time to try this fly. I do have pink zonkers from day one of my fly tying journey and wondered what the heck are these LOL 😆. So I'll experiment with thoses until I get the colors and legs I like. Great video Sir Matt.
I can see lots of variants, The dubbing in the front is genius, it gives the fly a head but probably just as importantly it keeps the thread from cutting the rubber legs. I can also see a contrasting color head. Keep the good stuff coming buddy.
Oh man, I didn't even think of making a contrasting color head! If you tied this with an olive, or brown zonker, a yellow or red head could even serve as a hotspot. Thanks for the inspiration. :-)
Good morning Matt. Had to dig out this morning. Winter storm again last night. Supposed to continue through today and me with everything packed. Unpacking starts Friday so the end of the move is in sight. We have a couple lakes with stocked bass in them but that fly just says “ bite me” for pike and I have some zonker strips. Going to be fun. Thanks Matt. Time for ☕️
Oh man, catching a pike on a fly rod is another thing to put on my bucket list. But you know what I can chase down here that you probably can't? Snakeheads. They're this big ugly invasive species that the DNR asks you to record the date and location when caught, and then promptly dispose of them. I've never caught one, but I've seen a couple of leg-length ones in some muddy backwaters down here. :-)
@@SavageFlies I had to Google those things. First picture I saw I thought it was a burbot but when I looked closer it’s dorsal fin was different and no whisker. Those things have a good set of teeth in their mouths too. Be a heck of fight on a fly rod.
Good morning Matt. Nice looking fly. Looks like I will be adding another one to the box. Thans for sharing another awesome pattern. Have a great day sir.
Good morning Matt. Thank you so much for tying this one. It is perfect for the waters I had mentioned to you. The Smallmouth on the Chippewa and Eau Claire Rivers are going to love this. The color and leg color are spot on. That is a proven and well tested combination. It will prove equally as effective for Largemouth in a couple of our local lakes as well. With its size, one thing I might recommend is using a short AFW 7x7 Surflon Micro Supreme wire leader, if your waters have Northern like we do here. I promise they are going to like this fly as well. The leader will save you a bite off. That particular wire is tie able, 6”-8” will be perfect at the end of your tippet. This to pretty to lose. Now I need to go back and make a few notes from the recipe. Make sure I get my J Stockard shopping list correct. I like the simplicity of materials. Now mainly deciding what other color patterns I might want to add to this as well. For me personally, Chartreuse/White will be another killer pattern. So I will be making my best attempt at adding a bunch of these to my box. I’m so very thankful that you were willing to take the time to tie this fly with me in mind. There will be a bunch of us warm water guys that are going to be happy with this as part of the arsenal. My friend this could not be any more perfect for me. As a new beginning fly tyer and Bass fisherman. You nailed this request buddy. You have made my day. As always, your tying skills and personal presentation along with you friendly demeanor have made another incredible Savage Flies video. Thank you Sir, you are a true friend. God bless, Jeff
Jeff, it was my pleasure to tie this one up for you. That's always been my mission for the channel-- to get new tiers excited and having fun tying! I'm glad you enjoyed it, and glad you discovered the channel. As for colors of this guy, the sky is the limit! I'd definitely get a pack of dark brown or black zonkers, maybe a natural and olive would look good for sculpin patterns. And I think a barred natural would look good. And of course get crazy with some purple, yellow, red and orange. These barred are going to look good: www.jsflyfishing.com/hareline-barred-rabbit-fur-strips-1-8 And these standard ones too: www.jsflyfishing.com/hareline-rabbit-fur-strips-1-8 Have fun my friend. :-)
@@SavageFlies Hello Matt: As for the mission of the channel? You are totally succeeding in that area. Like you, I’m very thankful that I discovered Savage Flies as well. I noticed those barred strips earlier today while on the J Stockard and The Fly Shack sites. I was thinking the same thing. They would definitely add body line appearance. Plus just the fact of a little difference if a solid pattern wasn’t working. Sometimes a subtle difference will trigger a bite. I definitely want to build a good selection of this fly. I had order several different colors and sizes of Wooly Buggers a few weeks ago from The Fly Shack out of NY. I’d like to tie the same number of the Rubber Rabbit. Santa better be firing his elves up for this stop, this Christmas. I know for a fact that Mrs. Claus 🤶 has a copy of my wish list. It’s onward and upward from here. Very thankful for the new friendship. Have a great evening Sir.
My kind of fly! It’s Big, it’s for bass, and it’s simple! Last week caught some bass up to 7lb, on top water foam slider (Huge Flyfisherman pattern). I’ll try this one in same area soon. Heading to Colorado Springs Thursday and will give out the last few Savage Fly decals I have there.👍 Have a good one Matt!
Another nice tie, always enjoy the history and backstory of the flies you tie. Request si vous plait: Could you do a demo of the Matuka? Thank you in advance, Matt.
Well thank you Donny, and welcome my friend! Here's another tied semi-matuka style, but using another zonker instead of feathers. This "slump buster" style fly can be a killer! th-cam.com/video/xRC7EVVNhNQ/w-d-xo.html
This one of those situations when you leave a presentation & then 5 minutes later, you think, “What did he say?” In this case, the “what” was “really dog it down.” I’ve heard Kelly Galloup say, “ … really reef it down,” and now you say, … dog it down.” Your meaning in the context of fly tying is clearly to tie it down very tightly. Now I’m expectantly wondering what other nautical terms can be applied to fly tying. :-)
I know! I usually watch the video one last time right before the final edit and I noticed that on this one. I said "dog it down" twice and only then realized a lot of people might not know what I'm talking about. It sounds a little like something a southerner would say, but you're right. It is indeed a nautical term; it's how we close watertight doors on ships. So closing something up really tight is "dogging it down." I guess people might figure it out from context. I also catch myself saying fore and aft as well. At least I don't talk like a pirate. :-)
I mentioned pinching off marabou in one of you recent videos, Lindsay Simpson used the technique on a winter mini lure wing yesterday if you would like to see an example. Have a great day Matt.
Cool bug Matt, right between Halloween and Thanksgiving ;o) Walleye like rubber legs too, heck all fish do. Check out the Calcasieu Pig Boat for some rubber leg over load. Thanks!
Looks like I get to dye some fur:). We have some great smallmouth reservoirs in Idaho. What other colors would you or anyone else suggest? Thanks Matt. I sure look forward to your videos. Continued blessings my friend.
Thanks Mark! Orange, red or yellows if you want to get some big aggressive strikes from the predator fish crushing it out of anger. Browns, blacks or olives if you want to weight it and fish it as a leach, and natural rabbit would make a decent looking sculpin. Now I'm no expert on streamer fishing for big predator fish, but that's what I'd do. :-)
Same here Mike. My go-to rod and line weights here are a 5-wt and 3-wt. But then I'm usually trout fishing on small to medium sized tailwaters. When I'm bass fishing, it's usually with a 7-wt rod, and probably a 3x leader. And you can usually get away with shorter leaders (7.5 ft) for bass. They don't seem to be too scared off by a thick fly line a few feet in front of something they want to eat. :-)
@@SavageFlies yea, I mostly have been using my 4wt bamboo rod that I made and playing with different leaders. I made a few furled silk leaders and they've been working out nicely with 12 & 14 nymphs and smaller bead headed flies. I've kinda put away the heavy stuff but need to get it figured out for steelhead gear. Probably not using the right tippet on my 7wt. I'll try a heavier 2 or 3x next time Thanks for the tips 👍😂
I use an 8wt with a 7ft leader when throwing streamers for bass. 3ft of 20lb mono to 4ft of 10lb mono. When the 10lb gets too short I just tie on a new 4ft length and fish on. It's simple and it works well to turn over bigger flies. Gunnar Brammer has a good video about tying bass leaders if you're interested.
I love fishing the big streamers!!
I've been tying a lot of complicated smallmouth flies that use every material in the box. This looks like it'll be just as effective for a fraction of the effort. I'm going to mess around with colors and tie dozens of these over the winter. Thanks for the video Matt!
My feelings exactly. Between mixing up the colors, a few different sizes, I really feel this will be a great Smallmouth fly. Matt has given us a great one here.
You're absolutely right! Sometimes the complicated patterns can be fun just for the challenge of it, but if you're trying to fill a box for fishing, flies like this are the ticket. Thanks for the note my friend. :-)
Nice tie Matt. You seem to really enjoy tying and it shows. This channel has been my inspiration to get into fly tying ! Don't stop!!
Wow, thanks for these encouraging words! Comments like this keep my at it my friend. :-)
Another winner! I fish a similar pattern for steelhead...of course, most steelhead patterns catch the biggest bass. Lol. Thanks for sharing, Matt. Make it a great day.
You know Todd, when you think about it, steelhead and bass can both be some pretty aggressive predators. It doesn't surprise me that some of the same flies will work for both!
@@SavageFlies I have caught my biggest smallmouth when fishing for steelhead...purple peril and green-butt shunk...oldies, but goodies. 😎
I love the wrapped zonker strip body & profile. I’ll bet this would give lots of action & work well in salt or fresh for any bass, striper, bluefish, pickerel, or pike. It would tie nicely on a circle hook too.
Now you're adding a lot of fish to my bucket list! I've seen a lot of comments here talking about pike. Now pickerel? I've only seen those in magazines. I need to get out more. :-)
@@SavageFlies Some warm water fishing time is clearly needed. Btw - don’t forget to do some casting for panfish. Very therapeutic.
Good Morning Sir Matt, you went and did it again LOL 😆, looks like Stockard is going to get another order. I live in Bass County and I've gotta have some flies like this thank you for our young friend suggestion and you taking the time to try this fly.
I do have pink zonkers from day one of my fly tying journey and wondered what the heck are these LOL 😆. So I'll experiment with thoses until I get the colors and legs I like. Great video Sir Matt.
Oh yeah Edward, this should be right up your alley! Thanks for the note my friend. :-)
I can see lots of variants, The dubbing in the front is genius, it gives the fly a head but probably just as importantly it keeps the thread from cutting the rubber legs. I can also see a contrasting color head. Keep the good stuff coming buddy.
Oh man, I didn't even think of making a contrasting color head! If you tied this with an olive, or brown zonker, a yellow or red head could even serve as a hotspot. Thanks for the inspiration. :-)
Another easy productive pattern,good pick Matt.
Thanks Michael! Always appreciate it my friend. :-)
That’s a nice meaty fly. Thanks for whipping it up.
You bet Ralph! Thanks for the note my friend. :-)
One more off your to-do list , nice ty, gonna try it with different colors just cause I can . Thanks . Tight lines Denny
Go for it Denny! Let us know how it turns out with different colors. :-)
GREAT pattern for those big bass and other warm water predators.thank you Matt.
Predator is right Mike! Anything trying to eat this thing is not a timid fish. :-)
Love tying zonkers, fast and easy
Thanks for the video Matt
Good morning Matt,☕️☕️
Here we go👍
And good morning back to you Jim! Hope you're having a great week. :-)
Great crawfish colors as well
Looks like a orange sculpin to me ha ha.We are going to e mail you a fun winter protect.Have a great weekend my friend. Ken
Thanks Ken! Looking forward to it. :-)
Good morning Matt. Had to dig out this morning. Winter storm again last night. Supposed to continue through today and me with everything packed. Unpacking starts Friday so the end of the move is in sight. We have a couple lakes with stocked bass in them but that fly just says “ bite me” for pike and I have some zonker strips. Going to be fun. Thanks Matt. Time for ☕️
Oh man, catching a pike on a fly rod is another thing to put on my bucket list. But you know what I can chase down here that you probably can't? Snakeheads. They're this big ugly invasive species that the DNR asks you to record the date and location when caught, and then promptly dispose of them. I've never caught one, but I've seen a couple of leg-length ones in some muddy backwaters down here. :-)
@@SavageFlies I had to Google those things. First picture I saw I thought it was a burbot but when I looked closer it’s dorsal fin was different and no whisker. Those things have a good set of teeth in their mouths too. Be a heck of fight on a fly rod.
Good morning Matt. Nice looking fly. Looks like I will be adding another one to the box. Thans for sharing another awesome pattern. Have a great day sir.
Appreciate it Karl; you too my friend!
Looks like time to start a new Stockard wish list. Looks like a fun one! Thanks Matt.
Ha! I've always got an index card on my bench with my "next to order" items. Uh oh... running out of yellow 70 denier? It goes on the list. :-)
Another great easy fly thanks for sharing.
Nice one, Matt! I'll have to give this one a try. All the best, Gordon
Appreciate it Gordon! Thanks for the note my friend. :-)
Nice job Matt
I now have a new fly to tie for our bass fishing! Love it 😍
Thanks Sally! I appreciate the note my friend. :-)
Pretty cool pattern, Matt. Thanks.
Appreciate it Kyle!
Thanks Matt for another fun video, looking forward to watching you finish up your List 👍
Ha! The list seems to be growing faster than I can tie them. But thanks for the note. :-)
Kudos thanks Matt for the post
You bet Mark! Thanks for the note. :-)
@@SavageFlies your welcome any time
super easy one there matt .thanks
great fly good job Matt !
Nice one Matt. Thanks for all you do for us.
You bet Chad; thanks for always watching!
Great looking fly. I'll have to put a few of these in my box. Thanks Matt for sharing
Appreciate it Layton! Have a great week my friend. :-)
Nice one, Matt!
Hey from my deer 🦌 blind Matt !!!!!
No Bucks 🦌 yet , but does and fawns are active ! Nice 👍🏻 “ Hunter’s Orange 🍊 “ pattern Brother !!!!!
Ha! It certainly does look like a blaze orange vest. Good luck hunting my friend. :-)
Good morning Matt. Thank you so much for tying this one. It is perfect for the waters I had mentioned to you. The Smallmouth on the Chippewa and Eau Claire Rivers are going to love this. The color and leg color are spot on. That is a proven and well tested combination. It will prove equally as effective for Largemouth in a couple of our local lakes as well. With its size, one thing I might recommend is using a short AFW 7x7 Surflon Micro Supreme wire leader, if your waters have Northern like we do here. I promise they are going to like this fly as well. The leader will save you a bite off. That particular wire is tie able, 6”-8” will be perfect at the end of your tippet. This to pretty to lose. Now I need to go back and make a few notes from the recipe. Make sure I get my J Stockard shopping list correct. I like the simplicity of materials. Now mainly deciding what other color patterns I might want to add to this as well. For me personally, Chartreuse/White will be another killer pattern. So I will be making my best attempt at adding a bunch of these to my box. I’m so very thankful that you were willing to take the time to tie this fly with me in mind. There will be a bunch of us warm water guys that are going to be happy with this as part of the arsenal. My friend this could not be any more perfect for me. As a new beginning fly tyer and Bass fisherman. You nailed this request buddy. You have made my day. As always, your tying skills and personal presentation along with you friendly demeanor have made another incredible Savage Flies video. Thank you Sir, you are a true friend.
God bless,
Jeff
Jeff, it was my pleasure to tie this one up for you. That's always been my mission for the channel-- to get new tiers excited and having fun tying! I'm glad you enjoyed it, and glad you discovered the channel. As for colors of this guy, the sky is the limit! I'd definitely get a pack of dark brown or black zonkers, maybe a natural and olive would look good for sculpin patterns. And I think a barred natural would look good. And of course get crazy with some purple, yellow, red and orange.
These barred are going to look good: www.jsflyfishing.com/hareline-barred-rabbit-fur-strips-1-8
And these standard ones too: www.jsflyfishing.com/hareline-rabbit-fur-strips-1-8
Have fun my friend. :-)
@@SavageFlies Hello Matt: As for the mission of the channel? You are totally succeeding in that area. Like you, I’m very thankful that I discovered Savage Flies as well. I noticed those barred strips earlier today while on the J Stockard and The Fly Shack sites. I was thinking the same thing. They would definitely add body line appearance. Plus just the fact of a little difference if a solid pattern wasn’t working. Sometimes a subtle difference will trigger a bite. I definitely want to build a good selection of this fly. I had order several different colors and sizes of Wooly Buggers a few weeks ago from The Fly Shack out of NY. I’d like to tie the same number of the Rubber Rabbit. Santa better be firing his elves up for this stop, this Christmas. I know for a fact that Mrs. Claus 🤶 has a copy of my wish list. It’s onward and upward from here. Very thankful for the new friendship. Have a great evening Sir.
Pike should like this one. I’ll need to give it a try. Most likely use a 4 and 2 hook for these bad boys up here. 😆 Thx Matt.
Oh man, this thing would be a monster fly on a #2. All the better for those monster fish Clyde! Thanks for the note. :-)
My kind of fly! It’s Big, it’s for bass, and it’s simple! Last week caught some bass up to 7lb, on top water foam slider (Huge Flyfisherman pattern). I’ll try this one in same area soon. Heading to Colorado Springs Thursday and will give out the last few Savage Fly decals I have there.👍 Have a good one Matt!
Thanks Charlie; I appreciate you spreading the word. And 7lbs on a topwater fly?? Holy cow that has to be exciting!
Another nice tie, always enjoy the history and backstory of the flies you tie. Request si vous plait: Could you do a demo of the Matuka? Thank you in advance, Matt.
Here you go, brother: th-cam.com/video/sws1tAd1MCE/w-d-xo.html
@@nchanin New to the channel, thank you
Well thank you Donny, and welcome my friend! Here's another tied semi-matuka style, but using another zonker instead of feathers. This "slump buster" style fly can be a killer! th-cam.com/video/xRC7EVVNhNQ/w-d-xo.html
Thanks for the assist Nicholas!
Great looking fly. One of your best! Thanks for sharing your time and talent! KANSAS
Appreciate that Jack! And thanks for always watching my friend. :-)
Nice, that would work for pike too...
I'd say you're right Randy. Just might need some strong leader for their teeth. :-)
Matt, I still in Basic Pattern Learning Mode... but, that was a neat tie. Thanks
Thank you Keith! I'm sure you can handle this guy. :-)
Those are pretty popular here in Nebraska as well.
Oh yeah, I can imagine you've got some big bass water out in corn country. :-)
This one of those situations when you leave a presentation & then 5 minutes later, you think, “What did he say?” In this case, the “what” was “really dog it down.” I’ve heard Kelly Galloup say, “ … really reef it down,” and now you say, … dog it down.” Your meaning in the context of fly tying is clearly to tie it down very tightly. Now I’m expectantly wondering what other nautical terms can be applied to fly tying. :-)
I know! I usually watch the video one last time right before the final edit and I noticed that on this one. I said "dog it down" twice and only then realized a lot of people might not know what I'm talking about. It sounds a little like something a southerner would say, but you're right. It is indeed a nautical term; it's how we close watertight doors on ships. So closing something up really tight is "dogging it down." I guess people might figure it out from context. I also catch myself saying fore and aft as well. At least I don't talk like a pirate. :-)
@@SavageFlies Arrggghh! Shiver me timbers.
I mentioned pinching off marabou in one of you recent videos, Lindsay Simpson used the technique on a winter mini lure wing yesterday if you would like to see an example. Have a great day Matt.
Thanks Lee. I subscribe to Lindsay but haven't watched this one yet. Will check it out now...
Cool bug Matt, right between Halloween and Thanksgiving ;o) Walleye like rubber legs too, heck all fish do. Check out the Calcasieu Pig Boat for some rubber leg over load. Thanks!
Wow, cool one Joe! It looks like something you'd see on the hook side of a jig spinner. :-)
@@SavageFlies Yup!
Looks like I get to dye some fur:). We have some great smallmouth reservoirs in Idaho. What other colors would you or anyone else suggest? Thanks Matt. I sure look forward to your videos. Continued blessings my friend.
Thanks Mark! Orange, red or yellows if you want to get some big aggressive strikes from the predator fish crushing it out of anger. Browns, blacks or olives if you want to weight it and fish it as a leach, and natural rabbit would make a decent looking sculpin. Now I'm no expert on streamer fishing for big predator fish, but that's what I'd do. :-)
Hey Matt
I always have a hard time casting conehead flies what weight line and leader is most appropriate for the heavier ones like that?
Same here Mike. My go-to rod and line weights here are a 5-wt and 3-wt. But then I'm usually trout fishing on small to medium sized tailwaters. When I'm bass fishing, it's usually with a 7-wt rod, and probably a 3x leader. And you can usually get away with shorter leaders (7.5 ft) for bass. They don't seem to be too scared off by a thick fly line a few feet in front of something they want to eat. :-)
@@SavageFlies yea, I mostly have been using my 4wt bamboo rod that I made and playing with different leaders. I made a few furled silk leaders and they've been working out nicely with 12 & 14 nymphs and smaller bead headed flies. I've kinda put away the heavy stuff but need to get it figured out for steelhead gear. Probably not using the right tippet on my 7wt. I'll try a heavier 2 or 3x next time
Thanks for the tips 👍😂
I use an 8wt with a 7ft leader when throwing streamers for bass. 3ft of 20lb mono to 4ft of 10lb mono. When the 10lb gets too short I just tie on a new 4ft length and fish on. It's simple and it works well to turn over bigger flies. Gunnar Brammer has a good video about tying bass leaders if you're interested.
# Savage flies
Looks like a Meat Whistle?