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All right I hadn't been using my fly tying stuff lately - so I decided to try a couple of poppers and a more neutral gummy minnow. Mainly, I had some new stuff I wanted to try out.



The poppers started out as a Saltwater Perfect Popper kit and I am pretty sure the hook size is the 2/0. I added some flash foil and / or permanent marker - then epoxy glitter with 20 ton Devcon and wrapped the tails. One of them did not get rotated quite often enough and has an epoxy lump I will have to deal with. I also had to use some mono thread to get the flat foil to somewhat conform to my round surface. The mono disappears into the epoxy pretty nicely.



The gummy minnow was a completely different expeirence. I started with a bit a 1/16 foam on the hook shank. Then added the name brand belly white and green back. then covered it all with Orvis knockoff gummi material. The Orvis material is completely clear and sticky on both sides. You pull one covering off and apply to the hook. Now you removed the other covering and finally add some of the Orvis foil shiny side out. This allow the foil pattern (pearl in this case) to be removed from the backing and applied to the fly. It kinds of works like a temporary tattoo. Anyway, I need to practice a lot as this stuff bonds pretty much irretrievably once it touches.

Sorry, the two pictures are basically the same and I have not yet mastered the art of capturing shiny things in photo.

Very nice, greg. Those poppers look like they will surely catch some fish.
The gummy looks good as well.

have you found that tying the tail on before or after the body works better on the poppers?

I tried tying the tail in first - once- and I goobered the tail all to hell and back when applying the epoxy. I suppose a neat person could do it the other way but my toothpick method just isn't that precise in my hands. I really need to finish up my rotary fly drier or spend the cash for a real one. It takes way too long for that stuff to dry.

I also found that the glittered epoxy made a real prominent darkened stripe along the bottom at the hook slot. I decided to glue in a slip of white closed cell foam to minimize this effect on the other two.

Hopefully, I'll bring them along this Saturday to the tourney. I would have preferred cupped faces for the poppers but I went the easy way and bought them.

nice work..

you could always cup them out with a dremmel.
as for the drying time. i use the 5 min. devcon. the plus is that it dries quicker. and the con is that it dries quicker.

btw. 2/0 hooks? a bit stout no?

Double-checked, yes they are 2/0 humped popper hooks. As for too stout, didn't you see crunch's latest video? I picked up the 20 ton a while ago based on the suggestion that dries clearer. Harder to find devcon now that Wally world switched brands.

is that 20 ton waterproof?
i suppose the 2/0 you're using aren't too big. i tied some poppers with 2/0 saltwater hooks a while back, and they were a beast to throw with an 8wt.

Are you supposed to throw these things? I hadn't thought about that . I figured I could use my Stradic if all else fails.