Good Morning Sir Matt, The Optic Bucktail. It's a sweet looking streamer and another new trick for me, I love how you made the eyes, I never seen that before. Thank You Sir
Here's a tip I use for painted on eyes is the shaft end of drill bits... As will all drill bits the larger the bit, the bigger the shaft... Gives me a wide range of diameters to choose from, dip and touch the same as your Q-Tip shaft...
One of my other hobbies involves painting miniatures, and that includes painting eyes on them. I generally find applying a nice round eye is easier to do with a needle or bodkin than something fuzzy like a Q-tip. This fly takes me back. I probably have fifty or so similar flies (without the eyeball) in my old bass fly collection. Orange and black, man, orange and black will catch some bass.
That's cool to hear! I'd say you're probably right about the eyes. But I've tried painting with the tip of a toothpick and mine were still about as wonky. :-)
Thanks a lot Matt! I don't fish those types of flies, but I definitely enjoyed watching you tie this one up. Very cool. Thanks for sharing 👍.one other thing Matt, several months ago I asked you about finding a singeingtool, I finally found one, thank you so much, it has helped me tremendously. The tool is a thread zap,by beadsmith. Exactly what you suggested. 😀👍👍👍
That's the one Jim! They are pretty cool little tools. I don't use mine every day, but if I want to make a fly pretty enough for a picture, I might break it out. :-)
Outstanding to hear Howard! I love tying and fishing streamers too, but somehow the audience on TH-cam doesn't ever seem to want to watch streamer videos. Go figure!
I love streamers like this, simple, fun to tie, and good lookin'! To paint eyes I've used everything from chopped Q-tips and bamboo skewers, to finishing nails and right-sized sticks. Basically, anything with a small diameter and a flatish face. The color combinations for this span the spectrum, well mostly. That low frequency radio band is hard to tie.
Nice pattern Matt! Another suggestion for painting those eyes (not as kool as the Q-tip) is to buy a package of Microbrushes at a place like Micro Mark. Model builders use them and they are great for putting a controlled amount of paint in a small spot & not very expensive. Have a great weekend!
Very nice looking streamer Matt. Thanks buddy. Streamers are one of my favorites. Great looking, fun to fish, fairly quick and easy to tie and endless possibilities of size and color combinations. Thanks for another awesome video. Have a great weekend Sir. Better weather is slowly getting closer my friend.
Due to recent purchases I have lots of streamer materials to experiment with. Thanks for tying this great pattern! Have a good weekend. Warmest regards
Good morning Matt. Enjoying my ☕️ with your video. I really like the model paint trick, it sure makes those eyes pop. I noticed in the comments about using the shank end of drill bits to get the right size eyes. I think that would work pretty good. Nice looking streamer. Going to have to try that one when I get home as I left my jungle cock cape there. Have a great weekend Matt. I’m looking forward to tying tomorrow morning. Doing some dry flies.
Appreciate it John! It was a "meh" weekend here. I made it out to the water, cold and a bit rainy. Plus wind, and then my waders sprang a leak. And not a little leak. One whole leg was soaked in about ten minutes. I was still getting skunked after about four hours so I called it a day. Maybe next time. Hope you're having a great week my friend!
Great streamer patterns. I have caught many trout using similar patterns. Painting eyes is something I haven't done in a long time lol. Thanks Matt for sharing and have a fantastic weekend.
I have attempted to paint the eyes on some Thunder Creek Flies in the past. I thought that is what they were called. The Optic Eye sounds cool. You made it look so easy.
Thanks Darrell! You're right that Thunder Creek streamers usually do have painted eyes, so I suppose they could be called "optic" bucktails. But that style is so unique, everybody knows them as Thunder Creeks. And Keith Fulsher did come up with some great ones in that series. :-)
Cool looking streamer, Matt That was awesome how you put your thread around the buck tail to lock it in. Hope you have a great weekend, and thanks for the video
I have always used white or yellow, then black nail polish for eyes. I use a series of small dowel pieces with the tips sanded down on the ends to different diameters, and wipe them off when done so they can be re-used. When I get fancy, I do the pupils slightly off-center to the rear so it looks like a baitfish worried about whats after it! I have had good fishing in the spring with black and white bucktails with skunk tail as the dorsal color, over white bucktail tied low so its slightly around the belly for a slim silhouette, with white and black painted eyes. My second-best Maryland bucktail has been a Little Brown Trout tied slim with painted eyes.
Haaaa... I love it Pete! I tied a bunch of worried baitfish tonight. Actually I did tie a handful of experimental streamers with sparse skunk for the black dorsal stripe. I mixed it up with some white bucktail for the main wing (still sparse), then two strands of flash, and then the skunk topping. And I did several with cinnamon bear instead of the white bucktail. With a tan body and silver rib, I think the color combination is close enough to a generic dace. And I also put a red thread band at the back of the head. I'm going to try them out on the Gunpowder in the morning so we'll see if they work. :-)
So this was a very interesting pattern design Matt! Always great seeing these and learning new things! One day I will apply these some day *smiles* Great vid as usual! Congrats on 15K!
Thanks brother! I appreciate the note. I'm finally going to get out on the water tomorrow... the first time all year. Hopefully I'll get some decent footage. :-)
Nice little streamer. I say little because Gunnar Brammer has a new video about tying 8-12 inch musky flies. I do see lots of color combinations for this one, maybe a red body with a white wing, black body with a white wing, white body with a natural wing, lots of combinations. Keep the good stuff coming buddy.
I think you're right about the endless color combinations Dave. But man, I can't imagine throwing an 8-12 inch musky fly. I tied a handful of little streamers for fishing this weekend. Literally, size 10s and a few 8s, that were barely over an inch long. But they looked pretty good in the water I fish. :-)
In addition to your method & the other good suggestions here, wooden toothpicks work well for painting eyes. You can also use nail polish (& accompanying brush) to make eyes pretty effectively. I no longer paint eyes. Nowadays, I either use jungle cock eyes or apply stick-on eyes. The stick-ons now available look so good & are so fast to apply & seal with UV resin, that painting eyes seems inefficient unless you are trying to exactly replicate a classic pattern.
Great tips Bob! I tried a couple of these (for fishing, not video) with the smallest mirage eyes they sell and they were still a bit too big for a #10 streamer. I ended up having to make the head unproportionately big. They do look quite realistic though.
Great fly. As for eyes, lacking jungle cock, eyes can be painted using it off ends of various size artist brushes, Q Tips ends, small nail heads and toothpicks. Coating the heads with UV resin is neater than Sally Hansen and provides good durability. Thanks for another great video.
I think a tan or light orange body would be a good choice. And maybe a two-color hair wing, with something lighter under the black topping. I tied a handful like that tonight-- if I have any luck with them tomorrow I'll show them in a video. :-)
I love fishing streamers! Especially in the winter when the fish are deeper. I show you the ones I just finished tying for fishing tomorrow. If I have any luck with them. :-)
Nice one Matt. 👍 love the black and yellow for a bucktail. Eyes 👀 are great, I don't think I'd bother with them if I had jungle cock. Seeing that I don't and probably never will have jc, I definitely would paint eyes on bucktails, it's half the fun. Nice tips 👌 on tying in the wing. Thanks Matt, have a good one.
Thanks Joe! You should see the crazy concoctions I tied for tomorrow's fishing trip. Some bear and skunk streamers. White heads, black heads, some with googly eyes, some with no eyes. And some with a cool red racing stripe at the back of the head. Fingers crossed the weather holds out and I have a good day tomorrow. I'm about due for some new fishing footage. :-)
Ive seen catch and release promoted in PA Angler as far back as the 1930's. There was the realization that we just cant keep taking - there must be some moderation. C&R got its start long about that time in this country.a And Ive written about a study from the 1940's that compared eyes vs no-eys on flies.... In short, eyes produce more fish. YT wont let me link to these things on line, so skip the history lesson, tie up some Optics, and have a go!
Great comment Dave! And I know I've read the same thing somewhere too, that streamers with eyes do catch more fish. I think that's why so many of the old patterns have JC nails for cheeks (or eyes). They were on to something. :-)
I've been having a lot of trouble with uv resin not setting properly it ends up drying sticky and yellows I've tried all different types of curing lights any help appreciated thank you in advance sir.
Try changing the batteries in your UV light. It may LOOK like you're getting enough light out of it, when you may not be. I had this problem a couple years ago, then fresh batteries, and wow it made a difference. Now I change the batteries every 2-3 months!
Hey Ricky- sorry I just saw this. I did have a store but it wasn't making any money (actually losing money with the Shopify fees). Just send me an email and I'll let you know everything I still have (I've got T-shirts, button down shirts, some sweatshirts, plenty of hats and what-not.) matt@savageglies.com
I'll put a note on my to-do cork board Zachary. Have you got any particular ones in mind? I've never fished the Adirondacks but am definitely wanting to!
Hey Matt, maybe this is a stupid idea, but instead of using a lot of 70 denier thread at the end to create the big head. Can't you just whip finish as normal, and then switch to a 140 denier thread just to create the head? You will have to of course restart the thread just on the head but having never tied a fly I can only imagine how hard that would be.
Absolutely John! And that would have been a good call on this one, but sometimes I'm just too lazy. But honestly, there was no need for a thinner 70d thread anywhere on this one. The best choice would have been to do the whole thing with 140d. (I did tie a handful more of these tonight for fishing tomorrow and I used 140 on all of them.)
Not many at all. I'm still using the two capes I bought a couple years ago from Whitetail Fly Tying but they haven't had any more in a good while. I have heard that Theriault Flies in Maine does have some, but you'll have to call or email them to check. He used to have a website but I just looked and couldn't find it. He does have his contact info on his Facebook page so if you're really wanting to get your hands on some, you can try that. Good luck! facebook.com/TheriaultFlies/
Hey Matt I have a question why do they put two eyes on the fly isn't the jungle cock eyes why paint more on side note like the fly just confused why two sets of eyes
That is a great question Pat. I was wondering the same thing, but honestly I did it because the picture Mike Valla had in his book had them. I'd say it's probably redundant. :-)
Good Morning Sir Matt, The Optic Bucktail. It's a sweet looking streamer and another new trick for me, I love how you made the eyes, I never seen that before. Thank You Sir
You got it Edward! Hope you're having a great week my friend. :-)
Here's a tip I use for painted on eyes is the shaft end of drill bits... As will all drill bits the larger the bit, the bigger the shaft... Gives me a wide range of diameters to choose from, dip and touch the same as your Q-Tip shaft...
That is a great tip Randy, and I'm sure the paint will wipe off the steel bits quite easily.
One of my other hobbies involves painting miniatures, and that includes painting eyes on them. I generally find applying a nice round eye is easier to do with a needle or bodkin than something fuzzy like a Q-tip. This fly takes me back. I probably have fifty or so similar flies (without the eyeball) in my old bass fly collection. Orange and black, man, orange and black will catch some bass.
That's cool to hear! I'd say you're probably right about the eyes. But I've tried painting with the tip of a toothpick and mine were still about as wonky. :-)
I always learn something new. Thanks for your videos, Matt.
You're most welcome Mark! Appreciate the note my friend. :-)
Thanks a lot Matt! I don't fish those types of flies, but I definitely enjoyed watching you tie this one up. Very cool. Thanks for sharing 👍.one other thing Matt, several months ago I asked you about finding a singeingtool, I finally found one, thank you so much, it has helped me tremendously. The tool is a thread zap,by beadsmith. Exactly what you suggested. 😀👍👍👍
That's the one Jim! They are pretty cool little tools. I don't use mine every day, but if I want to make a fly pretty enough for a picture, I might break it out. :-)
I genuinely enjoy streamer patterns, and this is an excellent pattern and tie. I wanted this, and will be down tieing very quickly. Thanks,, Matt.
Outstanding to hear Howard! I love tying and fishing streamers too, but somehow the audience on TH-cam doesn't ever seem to want to watch streamer videos. Go figure!
I love Mike Valla's classic streamer fly box. I had this one tagged as a must do fly. Thanks for sharing this video.
You bet Brian! I appreciate the note my friend. And you're right- that is a great book, even if just looking at it for inspiration. :-)
That double wrap around the bucktail was a good tip to stop it from rolling. I agree on UV resin, it leaves a nicer finish in much less time. Thanks.
Thanks Mel! I don't think I've used old school head cement in several years! Appreciate the note my friend. :-)
Pretty little streamer. Like it. Have a fabulous weekend. Thx Matt
Thanks Clyde! Appreciate the note my friend. :-)
I love streamers like this, simple, fun to tie, and good lookin'! To paint eyes I've used everything from chopped Q-tips and bamboo skewers, to finishing nails and right-sized sticks. Basically, anything with a small diameter and a flatish face. The color combinations for this span the spectrum, well mostly. That low frequency radio band is hard to tie.
Thanks Tom! A finishing nail sounds just about the right size. Next time I'll head out to the garage and grab a few. :-)
Nice pattern Matt! Another suggestion for painting those eyes (not as kool as the Q-tip) is to buy a package of Microbrushes at a place like Micro Mark. Model builders use them and they are great for putting a controlled amount of paint in a small spot & not very expensive. Have a great weekend!
Thanks Garrett! I'll have to check them out. Appreciate the note my friend. :-)
@@SavageFlies Matt if you want to try them after you've looked, holler and I'll send you a few to play with.
Very nice looking streamer Matt. Thanks buddy. Streamers are one of my favorites. Great looking, fun to fish, fairly quick and easy to tie and endless possibilities of size and color combinations. Thanks for another awesome video. Have a great weekend Sir. Better weather is slowly getting closer my friend.
Thanks Jeffrey! I'm hoping you're right for better weather soon... it was pretty miserable here in Maryland this weekend. Maybe soon my friend. :-)
Great looking Streamer! I’m like you and love thin streamers. Thank you again Sir Matt!
Oh yeah Marshall. They are a ton of fun to fish too. Appreciate the note my friend. :-)
Thanks for the tip on controlling the bucktail. Nice pattern.
Thanks Steven! Appreciate the note my friend. :-)
Due to recent purchases I have lots of streamer materials to experiment with. Thanks for tying this great pattern! Have a good weekend. Warmest regards
Hahaha! I just broke out some of my exotic furs tonight and made a bunch of bear and skunk streamers for a fishing day tomorrow. :-)
Matt, that was incredible awesome what awesome cool fly awesome job My Friend!!!!!!!!!
Well thank you my friend! Appreciate the note!!
That’s a nice one Matt, thanks for sharing. Have a blessed day my friend.
You too my friend! I appreciate the note. :-)
Good morning Matt. Enjoying my ☕️ with your video. I really like the model paint trick, it sure makes those eyes pop. I noticed in the comments about using the shank end of drill bits to get the right size eyes. I think that would work pretty good. Nice looking streamer. Going to have to try that one when I get home as I left my jungle cock cape there. Have a great weekend Matt. I’m looking forward to tying tomorrow morning. Doing some dry flies.
Appreciate it John! It was a "meh" weekend here. I made it out to the water, cold and a bit rainy. Plus wind, and then my waders sprang a leak. And not a little leak. One whole leg was soaked in about ten minutes. I was still getting skunked after about four hours so I called it a day. Maybe next time. Hope you're having a great week my friend!
Nice technique but paint and I are a dangerous combination.😊 Thanks Matt. Have a great weekend.
Hahaha! Thanks Chad. Appreciate the note my friend. :-)
Great streamer patterns. I have caught many trout using similar patterns. Painting eyes is something I haven't done in a long time lol. Thanks Matt for sharing and have a fantastic weekend.
Appreciate it Layton! I'm finally getting out tomorrow. The first time all year... so hopefully the weather will hold out for me. :-)
I have attempted to paint the eyes on some Thunder Creek Flies in the past. I thought that is what they were called. The Optic Eye sounds cool. You made it look so easy.
Thanks Darrell! You're right that Thunder Creek streamers usually do have painted eyes, so I suppose they could be called "optic" bucktails. But that style is so unique, everybody knows them as Thunder Creeks. And Keith Fulsher did come up with some great ones in that series. :-)
Cool looking streamer, Matt
That was awesome how you put your thread around the buck tail to lock it in. Hope you have a great weekend, and thanks for the video
Appreciate it Dave! I did have a nice weekend- just cold and rainy. Hope yours was better than that. :-)
@@SavageFlies same here, cold and wet, hopefully next weekend will be better
Great fly Matt, I never could master painting eyes.
Thanks John! Appreciate the note my friend. :-)
I have always used white or yellow, then black nail polish for eyes. I use a series of small dowel pieces with the tips sanded down on the ends to different diameters, and wipe them off when done so they can be re-used. When I get fancy, I do the pupils slightly off-center to the rear so it looks like a baitfish worried about whats after it! I have had good fishing in the spring with black and white bucktails with skunk tail as the dorsal color, over white bucktail tied low so its slightly around the belly for a slim silhouette, with white and black painted eyes. My second-best Maryland bucktail has been a Little Brown Trout tied slim with painted eyes.
Haaaa... I love it Pete! I tied a bunch of worried baitfish tonight. Actually I did tie a handful of experimental streamers with sparse skunk for the black dorsal stripe. I mixed it up with some white bucktail for the main wing (still sparse), then two strands of flash, and then the skunk topping. And I did several with cinnamon bear instead of the white bucktail. With a tan body and silver rib, I think the color combination is close enough to a generic dace. And I also put a red thread band at the back of the head. I'm going to try them out on the Gunpowder in the morning so we'll see if they work. :-)
So this was a very interesting pattern design Matt! Always great seeing these and learning new things! One day I will apply these some day *smiles* Great vid as usual! Congrats on 15K!
Thanks brother! I appreciate the note. I'm finally going to get out on the water tomorrow... the first time all year. Hopefully I'll get some decent footage. :-)
Thank you Matt!
You bet Robert! Appreciate the note my friend. :-)
Great video as always!
Well thank you! Appreciate the note my friend. :-)
Nice little streamer. I say little because Gunnar Brammer has a new video about tying 8-12 inch musky flies. I do see lots of color combinations for this one, maybe a red body with a white wing, black body with a white wing, white body with a natural wing, lots of combinations. Keep the good stuff coming buddy.
I think you're right about the endless color combinations Dave. But man, I can't imagine throwing an 8-12 inch musky fly. I tied a handful of little streamers for fishing this weekend. Literally, size 10s and a few 8s, that were barely over an inch long. But they looked pretty good in the water I fish. :-)
thanks matt.
Nice Little Streamer. Great looking. Might even look great on Instagram. 😂 Thanks Matt for sharing.
Hahaha! You know I do have an Instagram channel but I pretty much never go there. :-)
Neat looking fly Matt
Thank you Jeff! Appreciate the note my friend. :-)
@@SavageFlies it's my pleasure bud
In addition to your method & the other good suggestions here, wooden toothpicks work well for painting eyes. You can also use nail polish (& accompanying brush) to make eyes pretty effectively.
I no longer paint eyes. Nowadays, I either use jungle cock eyes or apply stick-on eyes. The stick-ons now available look so good & are so fast to apply & seal with UV resin, that painting eyes seems inefficient unless you are trying to exactly replicate a classic pattern.
Great tips Bob! I tried a couple of these (for fishing, not video) with the smallest mirage eyes they sell and they were still a bit too big for a #10 streamer. I ended up having to make the head unproportionately big. They do look quite realistic though.
Great fly. As for eyes, lacking jungle cock, eyes can be painted using it off ends of various size artist brushes, Q Tips ends, small nail heads and toothpicks. Coating the heads with UV resin is neater than Sally Hansen and provides good durability. Thanks for another great video.
You got it Ed! And hey, I saw the picture of your bench in the latest edition of "Fly Tyer" magazine. Great setup you've got there!
@@SavageFlies Thank you. It's not a big setup but it works well for me.
For the YELLOW you might try " Loon's Hot Yellow UV Resin. It's much quicker than model paint.
Morning Matt. Like the streamer. Besides yellow and black. What color would you say to imitate brown trout streamer? Have a great weekend.
I think a tan or light orange body would be a good choice. And maybe a two-color hair wing, with something lighter under the black topping. I tied a handful like that tonight-- if I have any luck with them tomorrow I'll show them in a video. :-)
Good morning Matt,
Beautiful streamer, can’t wait to fish’em. How do you like fishing them?
I love fishing streamers! Especially in the winter when the fish are deeper. I show you the ones I just finished tying for fishing tomorrow. If I have any luck with them. :-)
Nice one Matt. 👍 love the black and yellow for a bucktail. Eyes 👀 are great, I don't think I'd bother with them if I had jungle cock. Seeing that I don't and probably never will have jc, I definitely would paint eyes on bucktails, it's half the fun. Nice tips 👌 on tying in the wing. Thanks Matt, have a good one.
Thanks Joe! You should see the crazy concoctions I tied for tomorrow's fishing trip. Some bear and skunk streamers. White heads, black heads, some with googly eyes, some with no eyes. And some with a cool red racing stripe at the back of the head. Fingers crossed the weather holds out and I have a good day tomorrow. I'm about due for some new fishing footage. :-)
Ive seen catch and release promoted in PA Angler as far back as the 1930's. There was the realization that we just cant keep taking - there must be some moderation. C&R got its start long about that time in this country.a
And Ive written about a study from the 1940's that compared eyes vs no-eys on flies.... In short, eyes produce more fish.
YT wont let me link to these things on line, so skip the history lesson, tie up some Optics, and have a go!
Great comment Dave! And I know I've read the same thing somewhere too, that streamers with eyes do catch more fish. I think that's why so many of the old patterns have JC nails for cheeks (or eyes). They were on to something. :-)
I've been having a lot of trouble with uv resin not setting properly it ends up drying sticky and yellows I've tried all different types of curing lights any help appreciated thank you in advance sir.
Try changing the batteries in your UV light. It may LOOK like you're getting enough light out of it, when you may not be. I had this problem a couple years ago, then fresh batteries, and wow it made a difference. Now I change the batteries every 2-3 months!
@@SavageFlies oh fuck I never thought of that cheers bud you have samed me a lot of money.
This is for anyone to answer. Where if at all can I get Savage Flies apparel?
Hey Ricky- sorry I just saw this. I did have a store but it wasn't making any money (actually losing money with the Shopify fees). Just send me an email and I'll let you know everything I still have (I've got T-shirts, button down shirts, some sweatshirts, plenty of hats and what-not.) matt@savageglies.com
Hey Matt, can we possibly see some Adirondack flies please. Thank you!
I'll put a note on my to-do cork board Zachary. Have you got any particular ones in mind? I've never fished the Adirondacks but am definitely wanting to!
Hey Matt, maybe this is a stupid idea, but instead of using a lot of 70 denier thread at the end to create the big head. Can't you just whip finish as normal, and then switch to a 140 denier thread just to create the head? You will have to of course restart the thread just on the head but having never tied a fly I can only imagine how hard that would be.
Absolutely John! And that would have been a good call on this one, but sometimes I'm just too lazy. But honestly, there was no need for a thinner 70d thread anywhere on this one. The best choice would have been to do the whole thing with 140d. (I did tie a handful more of these tonight for fishing tomorrow and I used 140 on all of them.)
Any good sources for junglecock in the US?
Not many at all. I'm still using the two capes I bought a couple years ago from Whitetail Fly Tying but they haven't had any more in a good while. I have heard that Theriault Flies in Maine does have some, but you'll have to call or email them to check. He used to have a website but I just looked and couldn't find it. He does have his contact info on his Facebook page so if you're really wanting to get your hands on some, you can try that. Good luck! facebook.com/TheriaultFlies/
Hey Matt I have a question why do they put two eyes on the fly isn't the jungle cock eyes why paint more on side note like the fly just confused why two sets of eyes
That is a great question Pat. I was wondering the same thing, but honestly I did it because the picture Mike Valla had in his book had them. I'd say it's probably redundant. :-)
Optics are common in steelhead patterns
Cool to hear! I've still never been steelhead fishing but man, I'm definitely wanting to get up north and give it a try!