The Gama C14S is really small(bought them in Alaska for trout on egg patterns).
They are dramatically smaller than Gama SL12S.
The Owner Mosquito is small as well- but offset.
Questions:
I have only used non- offset hooks for fly tying. Am I foolish?!? Do offset offer an advantage I don’t know about? (I think straight is better when using a weed guard- but that is a guess).
I created one shrimp with a “jig bomb” bead instead of bead chain. Anyone else try this?
The jig bomb made an already “tippy” pattern even more so when hitting the bottom… so I added a small piece of mono to act like an outrigger to hold it hook point up. Anyone tried this?
The outrigger sits amongst the silly legs and looks normal.
My thought is to put this on a backup rod for any sheepshead I find on the flats on the next flood tide. Yes, my insanity at thinking I may actually catch one, continues.
I exclusively use those types of beads instead of eyes on my redfish flies. I have not noticed the tippiness but i dont really have the fly on the bottom much. I like the bead cause it helps the fly land softer imo and I normally trying to hit the fish in the face with the fly and get the eat on the drop after it lands or a few strips. I generally have the bead where the eyes would normally go though, not the rear.
I don’t use mono like that but a main pattern I use has a piece of EP fiber extending over the hook shank that probably is doing what you’re describing.
And yea the glo bug hooks are crazy small - i have caught reds on the #2 size with no problem though
For a lot of my fishing- we need the fly in the bottom and sitting point up so it doesn’t foul in the grass (flood tide fishing in NEFL).
I used light mono so the line isn’t snagging grass too much, but it probably still will to a degree…. but without the outrigger, it was rolling over which would snag grass way too much.
Big fan of the tungsten beads on my crustacean flies.
you’ll probably wind up finding you need to cover that bead with a bit of dubbing or a brush to keep it from landing too hard. We use the wooly critter brush a lot. Even just a couple turns will dramatically lessen the impact of the fly on the water.
I have tried a lot of sparse ties like that and they mostly spook fish in my area.
For shrimp, check out the Gama SL45 - they have size 4 and size 6. I like the 6 for smaller patterns.
I’ve never tied with offset hooks before that I can recall. But I’ve seen some baitfish patterns tied with them. Never felt like I needed them. Maybe it triggered flashbacks of my dad’s carolina worm rigs when I was a kid.
Jared, I have some offset hooks that I tie big Tarpon flies for, they work well. I want to use them up since I got a good deal on them. Haven’t noticed improved performance, those bastards spit that hook as much as the straight ones.
