May 14 2018

3 Beautiful Flies Tied by MFCC Members

3  comments

Andrew Burke

Hello My Fishing Cape Cod! I hope your spring is going well, and you’re able to get outside for some fishing this week.

It's time prepare for the return of big striped bass to Cape Cod waters. Fly fishermen of MFCC have been prepping by tying incredible flies with large profiles, as seen in the 
MFCC Forums.

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Jeff Conlon's Hollow Herring

Jeff Conlon
Member since 2015

I’m very excited about this hollow tube herring I’ve been working on. I’ve been playing with tubes lately, as I think they are a very versatile style of fly.

This fly, for example, weighs about 1 gram less than the equivalent style fly tied on a large, long-shanked hook.

The Hollow Herring casts pretty easily with both my 9-weight rod as well as my 8-weight switch rod. These are the rods I primarily use when fly fishing the inlets of of the Cape.

I’m most excited to throw this fly during low-light incoming tides around our local herring runs this spring. I’ve also tied tube versions that mimic a big bunker.

Tubes not only cut down on weight making them easier to cast, but also lower the leverage a big fish has on the fly. In addition, should there be bluefish be around, the tube will keep the fly out of their teeth. The tube can also conceal short section of wire leader.

I don’t exclusively use tubes, but in my opinion they are the way to go with these big patterns.

Brian McCarty's Vineyard Squid

Brian McCarty
Member since 2016

This fly is actually a knock-off of a pink-squid that my fishing mentor Herb Tilton used to tie.

He supplied them to the local shops here on Martha’s Vineyard. Local anglers still swear by them saying “they’re money.“

When Herb died, he left his fly catalog to his wife, which I framed under glass for her remembrance. I was reminded of this fly by a mutual fishing friend, and tied my Vineyard Squid from what I could remember.

The Vineyard Squid uses feathers to elongate the body, and bucktail to thicken the silhouette. Ostrich feathers divide the colors in the silhouette and give the appearance tentacles. This portion is secured with hot-glue and a large set of eyes to make a distinguishable eye/head area.

Near the eye of the hook, mesh tubing is secured, then rolled down the shank to produce the mantle. Bucktail is tied on top to make a fin, then topped off with an additional piece of mesh tubing. This is a go-to lure for local estuaries here on the Vineyard.

Anthony Besaw’s Surf Candy

Anthony Besaw
Member since 2017

Of all the flies I’ve tied this winter, the one I’m most looking forward to fishing has to be the Surf Candy which was originally created by Bob Popovics.

I was inspired to tie this fly after meeting Bob at a recent fly fishing expo. We discussed the Surf Candy fly pattern he wrote about in his book Pop Fleyes.

The Surf Candy can be tied in many different variations of color and size, making it a versatile fly. It excels at mimicking the baitfish found on Cape Cod, and along much of the East Coast.

At first with the name Surf Candy, my initial thought was that I’m going to cast the fly from shore. However this spring I am also going to use it by kayak, and boat as well. 

Surf Candies catch everything from schoolies to albies, so I’m going to have a reel spooled with intermediate to sinking line, and another with floating line, so I can cover the entire water column.

What do you think?

Let me know by commenting below.

  • I am not an avid fly fisher, however I really appreciate those works of art that you talented fishermen put together.

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