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3. Walt's Worm

For those who have so heartily denigrated the venerable Walt's Worm, I offer the following post taken from another forum:

"My favorite/most used anchor is tied on a #2 #9672 which I bend. To the "hump" I add about 12-15 wraps of .o3 lead. That puppy gets deep--largely due to its construction. The material is a pink condom."

Louis on other board he also stated that the condom fly , as it bounced along and hit the rocks the bounce in the rubber material kept it from snagging.

John

For those of a more traditional bent who might have some qualms about the above pattern, I'd suggest that sheep's intestine is a natural material that can be substituted. However, the performance of this traditional dressing may not be quite as durable or reliable, so I wouldn't advise its use in extremely rigorous fishing conditions. As always, the choice of material used to wrap your worm is up to you.

Hey Gonzo, I thought your affinity to synthetics and bent hooks would make this one a favorite!

I've heard that these are all the rage out West, where they're quite paranoid about the rampant spread of whirling disease. Don't leave your hook unprotected in questionable waters.

I have a latex allergy (a painful initial discovery), so I'm waiting for the polyurethane version to come out before I start fishing these flies.

As for Gonzo, I was wondering if this technological advancement means he will no longer be emasculating hooks to make his jointed flies, instead providing them with adequate protection and letting them actualize their full potential.

-Shawn

wow those flies look pretty realistic, whatever they are supposed to represent, definetely looks like they could catch fish!

Gonzo- It sounds as if you speak with experience. But I see no mention of boots.

Ya no theirs just no tellin where this thread is going( or should I say coming):)

One of the Johns :)

Ya no I was just thinking,we have a Green weenie would this be a Pink Weenie?

you know who

I cannot be responsible for the (mis)interpretation of my post. And yes, Louis, I do like some synthetics for their durability. In this regard, however, I'd remind you that Gary LaFontaine claimed that latex had a distinctly unnatural feel. But, as Shawn wisely points out, if you are fishing where there is a high probability of spreading disease, you might want to opt for the synthetic dressing.

PS-- If Falsifly is heir to Pat McManus, then I nominate Smallstream as heir to Yogi Berra. ;)

This must be one of those secret patterns for those "educated" PA trout.

Gonzo, so you were serious about substituting Trojan Natural Lamb? Do those come in pink?

Well, Louis...I will say that I did accurately convey LaFontaine's misgivings about latex. (Though I'm beginning to wonder if he may have been guilty of anthropomorphism.) However, I would also have to say that if this is the best use we can find for the materials in question, perhaps it's time we reexamine our priorities. (And, please, no comments about the virtues of recycling!)

I've heard from many quarters, and repeatedly, that fishing has many advantages over that other sport to which you allude. For those new to the forum, I'll only list the first 18:

18 - You don't have to hide your Fishing magazines..

17 - It is perfectly acceptable to pay a professional to Fish with you once in a while.

16 - The Ten Commandments don't say anything about Fishing.

15 - If your partner takes pictures or videotapes of you Fishing,you don't have to worry about them showing up on the Internet if you become famous.

14 - Your Fishing partner doesn't get upset about people you fished with long ago.

13 - It's perfectly respectable to Fish with a total stranger.

12 - When you see a really good Fisherperson, you don't have feel guilty about imagining the two of you Fishing together.

11 - If your regular Fishing partner isn't available, he/she won't object if you Fish with someone else.

10 - Nobody will ever tell you that you will go blind if you Fish by yourself.

9 - When dealing with a Fishing pro, you never have to wonder if they are really an undercover cop.

8 - You don't have to go to a sleazy shop in a seedy neighborhood to buy Fishing stuff. (Though, Gonzo, I know of a great fishing spot just behind one of those sleazy shops. :)

7 - You can have a Fishing calendar on your wall at the office, tell Fishing jokes, and invite coworkers to Fish with you without getting sued for harassment.

6 - There are no Fishing-transmitted diseases.

5 - If you want to watch Fishing on television, you don't have to subscribe to the Playboy channel.

4 - Nobody expects you to Fish with the same partner for the rest of your life.

3 - Nobody expects you to give up Fishing if your partner loses interest in it.

2 - You don't have to be a newlywed to plan a vacation primarily to enjoy your favorite activity. (Though I understand that some of us have combined honeymoons and destination fishing trips.)

1 - Your Fishing partner will never say, "Not again? We just Fished last week! Is Fishing all you ever think about?"

:) :) :) You've clearly thought a lot about this, Louis. But my intention was less to contrast the advantages of one "sport" over the other than to suggest that the use of laytex is probably more appropriate to the older of the two. Just to be serious for a moment (forgive me), I dislike laytex as a fly-tying material. Aside from LaFontaine's questionable complaint about "feel," it deteriorates into a gummy mess over time. I assume that's one reason condoms are sealed in foil packages. (They still are, aren't they? It's been so long....)

I think the idea with these flies is to tie some up early in the season for high water, then use them up. The fly is designed to be an anchor fly, right on the bottom,(no pun intended)in a no shot rig. As such they are lost more often than other flies. Hence the inexpensive Mustad hook and the quick and dirty materials. I do suppose one could store them in foil if necessary, though. :)

Granted, but the "disposable" aspect of laytex and lead in these flies doesn't appeal to me. If I keep it, it rots; if I lose it, I'm leaving lead.

Excellent points. I've heard arguments back and forth about the danger (or the lack of it) concerning lead in flies . One theory is that in flies, it is not in great danger of being ingested by waterfowl or other creatures the way lead shot was. I'm not a great fan of lead myself, and I haven't bought lead shot in years. I even wrapped my lead drift-boat style anchor in aluminum sheeting to keep it from being scraped off on rocks, and I'm currently searching for a lead wire substitute that is heavy enough for tying. Lead-free wire is only about half as heavy as lead, so I've double wrapped it on some flies, but that is a lot of wraps and bulk!! It appears that tungsten wire is made in at least one usable size, .025, but I don't know how flexible it is or how expensive. More research is needed here as well. Also, one might use a few tungsten beads and some lead-free wire in conjunction to weight the Vladi worm, as I have learned it is called. It was developed in Poland, and the lack of water resistance is one thing that gets it to the bottom fast.

http://www.flyguysoutfitting.com/vladiworm.html

The same principle is no doubt at work in Mark's rubber band worm.