Straggle Fritz?!?

[ladystrange]

 

 

ok, so i went down to the more specialized fly fishing supply places, walked in and went straight to the counter person and asked for "Straggle Fritz"

 

not only did i get a chuckle, all three of them looked at me as though i had 3 breasts on my forehead.

 

after attempting to explain myself, they finally got the idea. problem that i found with all of the material is, it doesnt seem sparse enough. the cactus chenielle basically looked like micro xmas tree garland, the ice/crystal flash chenielle was too dense.

 

the closest i could find was an Orvis product in tri-lobal holographic, black, copper, silver, purple, chartruse and crimson. it was still not as sparse and i could only find 3/4inch length - each side. but you could cut to length

 

from the picture i can't tell how much space is between each woven strand or how long it is.

 

AC (or anyone else) could you give me a little more info on the straggle fritz please. i would love to encorporate the material in to a beaded fly

[Flytyer]

cactus chenille is the closest I have found to it here........I believe the name straggle fritz was coined by a fellow named Dave Downie in the UK....I know the he sells the stuff

[admin]

You likely won't find the Straggle here in Canada. If you want the real thing, you would need to make a mail order. The tri-lobal hackle is pretty cool stuff, but the cactus chenille is the closest to Straggle you will find here.

[Flytyer]

You can find it here ; Dave website:

 

http://flyfishingworld.eu/

[ladystrange]

thanks for the link.

 

 

hey they have Stroogle on sale... 5 for 7.50 GPB = $16 CAD not a bad price and all 17 Straggle for 25 GBP = 54 CAD

 

OMG i could spend soooo much money on this site. damn you Flytyer.... I LOVE YOU. lol i have zero control when it comes to fly tying materials. sigh

 

 

the tinsel chenille is definately like the cactus

[albannachxcuileag]

Here is a link to that other Scottish materials supplier's Ebay shop, Artifly, here you will find Micro UV Straggle Fritz along with a few other things not available in Canada.

The 'Black Shadow' goose biots originate from a request I made to him for a special dying for buzzer construction, there should be a brown version soon as I requested this a while back.

 

Happy tyings!

[Bassarisk]

Yes as AB said - we have loads of straggle and fritz over here (cactus chenille). One that hasn't been mentioned on here and was the "tackle tarts" favourite last year.......straggle and gold & straggle and silver.

 

Here's one of my reservoir patterns using straggle and gold - we use these flies for rainbows on reservoirs using sinking lines over here - the sinking line drags the fly around down on the retrieve and causes it to flutter around (its called a booby).

I'm sure those of you that use floating lines and gold/bead head point flies appreciate the movement that is given when you retreive as the fly rises and falls - the method I mention is the complete opposite - the retreive causes a diving action - whereas the floating line causes an upwards motion.

 

It's a common technique on a lot of reservoirs - but not for the catch and release people- as the fish often take the fly deep down - so if you plan on putting them back, never use these - just incase. A lot of UK reservoirs are put and take - so its effective on these - horses for courses ! Where catch and release is used in the UK, these can be banned incase they damage returned fish - but they can be very effective.

 

 

If anybody is interested - do a search in the UK on booby/boobie fishing.

 

Here's a step by step by Dave Downie of the booby fly (top UK stillwater/reservoir fisherman) .....

 

Dave Downies White CAT Booby Fly Step by Step

 

Anyway - back to the original point........straggle and gold/silver mix is also very versatile and a bit different to some of the other varieties.

[hydropsyche]

Ahhhhhh. Boooobies......

 

I have a few occupying my box and I've even caught a few fish with them. I have an intermediate sinking line but have never tried them on that. I will now. Thanks for showing me your boobies.

 

(with a name like that, you gotta milk it for all its worth)

[Bassarisk]

Ahhhhhh. Boooobies......

 

I have a few occupying my box and I've even caught a few fish with them. I have an intermediate sinking line but have never tried them on that. I will now. Thanks for showing me your boobies.

 

(with a name like that, you gotta milk it for all its worth)

 

And you well and truely milked that one my friend !

 

They work well with intermediates and SSI's, we usually fish the booby on the point with a couple of wets behind or nymphs - sometimes the fish will look at fluttering of the booby in the top few inches of water and then follow the cast up and take the natural. Fishing the booby on the top dropper - with naturals trailing behind is used sometimes as obviously it's nearer the fly line - so fishes deeper.

 

I'm sure a lot of people play with boobies over in Canada and USA........here we go...... But when we had our international fly fair last year in the UK, I mentioned it to a famous tyer from the USA and he's never heard of them - but was intruiged - hence why I posted - just in the hope of showing a new pattern to some people who'd never seen them before.........if it's a common fly over there now I apologise for re-iterating and telling old news

[SilverDoctor]

And you well and truely milked that one my friend !

 

They work well with intermediates and SSI's, we usually fish the booby on the point with a couple of wets behind or nymphs - sometimes the fish will look at fluttering of the booby in the top few inches of water and then follow the cast up and take the natural. Fishing the booby on the top dropper - with naturals trailing behind is used sometimes as obviously it's nearer the fly line - so fishes deeper.

 

I'm sure a lot of people play with boobies over in Canada and USA........here we go...... But when we had our international fly fair last year in the UK, I mentioned it to a famous tyer from the USA and he's never heard of them - but was intruiged - hence why I posted - just in the hope of showing a new pattern to some people who'd never seen them before.........if it's a common fly over there now I apologise for re-iterating and telling old news

 

I haven't played with any boobies even though I'm over fifty years old. I have admired them from afar for their lovely shape and cute perky look. I intend to tie into some boobies and try them in the sneaky manner you mentioned. I'm sure I'll love stripping some boobies down and popping boobies back up. I could see a brown attracted to a flashing boobie. The thought of fluttering a boobie like you do seems like a great idea and somehow strangely appealing.

 

Anyone else out there use them. Show us your boobies.

[ladystrange]

is it just me... or is the gutter getting really crowded?

 

i cant stop laughing. Doc you are hilarious.

 

well, have a number of straggle and stroogle packages on the way from Dave. next time i will order his pre-packaged booby hooks and give it go.

 

damn i hating waiting. and thanks again flytyer... i... can't control... the urge to... buy more ... material. arrrgggg

[hydropsyche]

Anyone else out there use them. Show us your boobies.

 

I don't know you well enough, Silver, to give you the full monty, so I'm only going to show you one boobie.

 

 

I'm sure a lot of people play with boobies over in Canada.

 

Probably not as many as you think (well, maybe in Quebec), however, they do sell "boobie eyes" in the fly shops around here (that is what mine is tied with). So I imagine its not that obscure. But I think I can safely say not many people around here know the allure of a bouncing boobie.

 

I like the looks of the bou over the eyes in yours. Never seen it adorned like that before. And your boobie is much more full and plump then mine. I'm going to have to "enhance" my pattern some more.

 

Seriously though, more detail on how you fish them, please. My intermediate line sinks at 1.5 - 2in/second. I count down to get it to the depth I find the fish at. If I strip in fast, the line will pull up some and start rising. If I retrieve slow, it stays at that depth. Hand twist will allow it drop in the column even more. If you where fishing with that type of line, how would you fish the boobie?

[albannachxcuileag]

Seriously though, more detail on how you fish them, please. My intermediate line sinks at 1.5 - 2in/second. I count down to get it to the depth I find the fish at. If I strip in fast, the line will pull up some and start rising. If I retrieve slow, it stays at that depth. Hand twist will allow it drop in the column even more. If you where fishing with that type of line, how would you fish the boobie?

 

To give a basic use of the Boobie is simple, you need a still water that you know the depths of and a fast sinking line to get it down quickly. DI7 is used by a lot of anglers over here but I have used a DI3 in reasonably deep water (14 feet) and counted it down. When you are fishing the booby, you are fishing a relatively short leader of 2 - 4 feet in some cases. If you retrieve the line with short jerks, it causes the booby to drop down fast and on the stop, flutter upwards. Repeating this gives your average trout the idea that he will have it the next time it moves!

 

There is one drawback to fishing these flies - fish can get gut hooked easily if the retrieve is not controlled, a static line will result in gut hooked fish, timing the tug and rise is of the essence when boobying and you can see the action required if you start with a short leader and fish it in visible water depth close to you for practice.

 

A lot of takes can come on the drop but the majority are on the rise and fall sequence, especially the 'dive' that is created by the tug retrieve.

 

The other method is to use them with a floating line as a point fly with a couple of buzzer or nymph droppers, this is called the 'washing line' method. Your booby is a floating anchor, your buzzers or nymphs are in between this and the end of your floating line and their natural weight will let them slowly descend. Give a short pull and they will rise in a motion similar to that of the natural and you are hoping for a take then. Contrary to some beliefs, buzzers will rise and fall depending on conditions and fishing the 'washing line' will emulate this natural movement. Using weighted buzzers or nymphs will accelerate the motion and an added bonus that is obtained with this method is that your 'static' anchor fly will also move on the tug and become a wake attractor on the surface. Often a fish will rise to the floating booby and turn away only to take one of the suspended flies beneath it

 

Hope this explains a little bit about booby fishing.

 

Good luck and tight lines.

[hydropsyche]

That is an excellent explanation. The washing line method is something I've never heard of. Kinda like a hopper/dropper rig but in reverse. Something I'm going to have to try. Thanks for taking the time to explain it.

[Bassarisk]

Good explanation by AB - but the washing line is not always restricted to floating line only. When I described the method using an SSI or intermediate - this is also the washing line. If you use say a 12 foot leader with a booby point and two droppers 3 feet apart - with the rest to the fly line - throw it out and retreive straight away - you can see the booby moving around in the surface film as it comes back - holding the flies up behind it - but slightly deeper than using a floater like AB said. Use the same cast and now let the line sink - the booby will stay high in water and the line will sink - but retrieving will now bring the booby down to a much deeper depth and fish in a different zone - but this is still the washing line method.

 

If you think about it - using a line like a fast wetcel or di-7 will create more of a U shaped shape to the retreive because the line is deep down - but the point fly is floating - this is why you have less sensitivity and "gut" hook ups. Move up to lines like intermedaite and SSI's - the line and cast have less of a U shape now (if retreived staraight away) and are therefore straighter on the retrieve - better on sensitivity and making many more hookups in the mouth of the fish.

 

As for the dressing of the fly - i.e. shorter, bulkier and an over wing - this is driven by reservoir fishing over here. Quite a lot of flies tied comply with competition rules over here - yes we have competitive trout fishing too and flies have to be able to fit in a guage for the full dressing (think its under an inch and a bit). You therefore don't have a lot of area to work with, so try to maximise the movement in a limited space. That said I don't have to comply with competition methods myself very often - but do like the smaller boobies - they aren't so much in your face Bigger flies arent always the ones that catch the bigger fish ?

 

Can I ask you a question - you say your local fly shop sells booby eyes - we make ours out of ethafoam - using cylinder cutters. Previous to this they used to market booby eyes over here - but they were made out of poly balls and you had to wrap them in organza or womens stockings (then figure of eight them onto the hook) - what derivitive are the ones you were looking at buying ?

[Flytyer]

I found something else that is similar to straggle fritz......it's called polar chenille from Hareline Dubbin

[hydropsyche]

If you think about it - using a line like a fast wetcel or di-7 will create more of a U shaped shape to the retreive because the line is deep down - but the point fly is floating - this is why you have less sensitivity and "gut" hook ups. Move up to lines like intermedaite and SSI's - the line and cast have less of a U shape now (if retreived staraight away) and are therefore straighter on the retrieve - better on sensitivity and making many more hookups in the mouth of the fish.

 

Makes sense. I have a super heavy D line but rarely use it because it hits bottom way too quick and unless you have a long leader and a floating fly, it snags too much. I can't control the depth its at either. Its alway on the bottom. A booby should work okay with it.

 

Can I ask you a question - you say your local fly shop sells booby eyes - we make ours out of ethafoam - using cylinder cutters. Previous to this they used to market booby eyes over here - but they were made out of poly balls and you had to wrap them in organza or womens stockings (then figure of eight them onto the hook) - what derivitive are the ones you were looking at buying ?

 

I'm not sure what ethafoam is but these aren't poly balls wrapped in stocking (as you can see from my picture). They are cylindrical tubes (like you describe), I'm just not sure if its ethafoam. They also come in black (can you say damsel nymph?). If you'd like, I can send you a pack. PM me if you're interested.

[Bassarisk]

I'm not sure what ethafoam is but these aren't poly balls wrapped in stocking (as you can see from my picture). They are cylindrical tubes (like you describe), I'm just not sure if its ethafoam. They also come in black (can you say damsel nymph?). If you'd like, I can send you a pack. PM me if you're interested.

 

Sorry for confusion - the foam used is a closed cell foam block that we cut into cylinders, sounds like the same stuff - but thanks for the offer anyway. Reason I asked about the poly balls was that I couldn't really tell from the photo and they aren't as good as foam products - as you probably know - so I was going to offer to send you some - but it seems you have some already Colours of foam blocks we use are black, white, yellow, pink, red, orange, purple and lime green - more colours seem to come out each year - as with everything in fly dressing !!

[albannachxcuileag]

Bassarisk is right about the washing line method not being restricted to a floating line but it is the line that I prefer using as most of my fishing is done either on the surface or sub-surface when using boobies, not that I use them much, maybe two or three times a year! I do not like taking the risk of gut hooking a fish at depth as this is what happens in a lot of cases with anglers who do not control the retrieve correctly and has led to some fisheries introducing bans on boobies and egg flies, another gut hooking item when not fished in the proper manner.

 

No, I am not a snob when it comes to methods of fishing but I prefer my fish hooked in the mouth.

[Bassarisk]

No, I am not a snob when it comes to methods of fishing but I prefer my fish hooked in the mouth.

 

I quite agree ALB - but the main failure of the fly when this happens is the people who fish them static - as they do egg flies too. On a drifting boat if you fish out of the front of the drift, static booby fishing is hard to achieve (not that I'd want to) if retrieved straight away and fished on lines near the surface such as an SSI or Intermediate as you are always in touch with the flies. Personally I use them quite often and have had more fish hooked deep on dries this year than on boobies - that could say something though about my lightening fast reactions on dries....not

 

I 100% agree - use with caution - don't leave slack line, but if retrieved straight away with a slow sinker and you keep in contention with your line - problems are minimised and they are effective.

[cdock]

I have a couple of boobies myself. The eyes are made with silver chain like from your sink or bathtub. They sink really fast, they are also weighted, and they work great on the Highwood in the deep pools. Basically jigging it in the slow slack water. Why I haven't used them this year is another question. Thanks for the post reminding me I have these.

[albannachxcuileag]

I have a couple of boobies myself. The eyes are made with silver chain like from your sink or bathtub. They sink really fast, they are also weighted, and they work great on the Highwood in the deep pools. Basically jigging it in the slow slack water. Why I haven't used them this year is another question. Thanks for the post reminding me I have these.

 

 

Er, not boobies but chain eyed lures! Most famous of these was the Cat's Whisker, white marabou tail, chartreuse green chenille body, silver mylar rib, white marabou wing and chain eyes on the head - a deadly rainbow lure in the UK and Ireland.

[ladystrange]

i got my straggle fritz today. yippy!!! it is amazing stuff. look forward to trying this stuff out. :D