New to Smallies with an Empty Fly Box...

[flyred06]

Another benefit to tying your own is that you can add additional weight to the bugger. Added toward the head or the whole length of the body. Also you could vary the length of the tail or even the color. I like olive body with brown hackle and tail. Or white with black hackle. Just my ideas nothing more nothing less.

[Appalachian Outdoors]

Another benefit to tying your own is that you can add additional weight to the bugger. Added toward the head or the whole length of the body. Also you could vary the length of the tail or even the color. I like olive body with brown hackle and tail. Or white with black hackle. Just my ideas nothing more nothing less.

Hey Flyred06,

That's funny that you would say that, because my brother ties his own flies and over the weekend he taught me to tie wooly buggers and so I added a few to my box that were olive body with brown hackle, but I didn't put on brown tails, but it's definitely something I will try.

You were talking about adding weight to the fly, which is what I did, but I was wondering, do you prefer to weight your fly or weight your line, or does it just depend on the situation?

Thanks

[flyred06]

I weight the fly. I have some that are not weighted and some that are weighted. I find it easier to just tie on a weighted fly that adding weight and the casting several time just to find out I had lost the weight I add to my line. But that is just my way, doesn't mean it is right. But to answer your question, I just tie up several weighted and several non weighted. But I am a woolly bugger fan. I also like rubber legs on mine.

[Bran]

Search Tim Holshlag or smallmouth angler. Get his book, Mr. Murray is good and an excellent source but I think you'll like this book better. He covers A to Z on Smallies with the long rod, Winter, Summer, and all in between. He will give you the flybox layout for each season and type of water and then he goes into a lot of detail about presentation and Smallie habits and habitats. Great source of info, it was recommended to me and I, in turn, will highly recommend it.