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3. Beetles

If you fish with beetles you can make the basic beetle shape using just thread and monofilament.

Then you can use permanent markers to color the fly to fit the species in your area. Coat it with flexament and it will float. Coat it with hard head cement and it will sink slowly.

GREAT technique, Fred! Thanks for showing us. I need to tie some beetles so perhaps I will give that a try. Another beautiful fly! I bet those big fat southern sunfish smack 'em hard! How fun is that?

Jonathon

Fred,

Where's a photo of the finished fly? I see the two naturals....:)

Excellent job.

Kurt

Kurt, coulda fooled me too - it almost looks like he has the correct tarsal formula incorporated! Hmmmm, family Chrysomelidae?

Jonathon

Thanks Kurt and Jonathon , mono is an excelent tying material that we often overlook.
Fred

I agree with Kurt man those beetles look real, and GREAT!!! Nice job and nice pattern!

Thanks Jesse ,kind of you to say.
Fred

Not joking I seriously was wondering where the finished flies were!!!!!!
Then I zoomed in on the first pic and spotted the hookeye.
Awsome ties.

Thanks John these are fun little ties.
Fred

These are really beautiful flies, Fred. What a great shape you've achieved with that second one.

-Shawn

Thanks Shawn . You can make a beetle any size , shape or color you want . Just add a piece of mono here and there ,wrap with thread and if you wanted one that would float high in the water ,just substitute deer hair for some of the mono. Just make sure not to compress it too much when you tie it down.
Fred

Fred,

I have a couple new ones for you to try...This morning on the window of our office is a praying mantis that is 3"+! Last night as I was turning off the porch light to head off to bed, on the glass window next to the front door, a very large katydid was hanging out.

This guy on the front window is so long I'm not sure I'd have a hook long enough to cover him properly. Can you imagine either one of these guys falling from an overhanging shrub to the water just ahead of a monster Brown?! Yahoo!

I'm not sure or not whether the cooler rainy weather we've been having hasn't drove these two from the trees for some reason. I have seen the mantis' hunting before on the warmed brick of the building, but on the building they lose the camouflage edge of the trees.

The katydid had a beautiful light olive body and the wings looked like a perfect leaf, colored dark green.

Well good luck :)! I'll need 20 dozen by Monday! :)

Spence

Spence, I tie a katydid pattern that is just an all-leaf-green grasshopper. However, I'm sure Fred will outdo me by a light-year...his will have the proper venation in the wings and the correct number of segments in the antennae!

Jonathon

Spence it looks as if I missed the Monday deadline but I've been meaning to tie up a katydid pattern . David Martin and I will be holding an online realistic tying class starting this Thursday . We will start with a pallid winged grasshopper . But we will also teach how these same techniques used to tie this pattern can be slightly altered to tie any species of hopper or cricket.You should come and join so you can tie your own it's free and open to everyone.

And here I thought you could just whip them bad boys out...;)

What time is the class? Do we follow your link there at the bottom of your posts? I'm not much of a realistic tyer but I feel we can always learn something from other folks that we may be able to use ourselves down the line somewhere. I have learned some interesting things from Oliver Edward's "Master Class" book but I still don't tie like he does...I hate to admit it, but by-and-large I'm a "guide fly" kind of tyer.

I have picked up a lot of neat ideas from hanging around shows and watching other guys tie. Everyone has developed their own ways of handling a particular problem. We aren't alone out here and I have had eureka moments watching someone else who has solved something.

Thanks for the invite!

Spence

The class is on the Fly Tyer Magazine Forum . And I agree we all learn from each other. Even if you don't want to fish realistic flies you might learn something that can be incooperated into one of your older patterns to give it a new twist.Or you may learn how to make a fly more durrable. In any case we hope that everyone who attends will learn something new and of value.Here's a link :http://forums.flytyer.com/forum/18-realistic-tying/9915-realistic-fly-tying-class

Fred...I just thought I'd post the time of your class Thursday and if folks are interested they can follow the link you provided me above.

Thanks again!

Spence

Thanks spence . Just a reminder everyone. If you would like to learn how to tie a realistic grasshopper follow the realistic coloumn on the fly tyer magazine forum starting tonight at 7 cst . David Martin and I will give first hand instruction and answer your questions and guide you through this pattern. We will showcase a pallid winged grasshopper but will also show how to use the same techniques to change the pattern to tie any grasshopper or cricket you want. 7 pm cst is when we will start uploading the pattern photos, but if you can't be online then ,not to worry.The material will stay up in sequence so that tiers can start and move at their own speed as their schedule allows.

Fred

I am constantly blown away by your pictures. Nice work

Thanks alot Aaron, I really appreciate the compliment.
Fred