Ugly Bugs Improving a Bit

No one would accuse my Ugly Bugs of being pretty, and I know my tying techniques don't follow the book. I do think I'm gaining better form overall, and I know the jigs I'm tying now have better durability than those from even a few months ago.

The bulk of my jigs are natural sorts, either minnow patterns like those pictured above, crawfish imitations or black attractors that look a little bit like a lot of things that trout and other fish commonly eat. I also tie some extra ugly ones with a lot of flash and a good dose of pink, because the trout seem pretty fond of those.

I'm not sure how my Ugly Bugs will fit into this week's fishing plans on Norfork Lake -- or whether they will fit in at all. Still, it's a safe bet that my bug box will be in the truck when Nathaniel and I pull out tomorrow morning and within reach when I'm on the water. I might even toss in the vice and a few materials. Just in case!

Everything That Glimmers

I know that everything that glimmers is not gold, but all the shimmery stuff I've been finding on post-Christmas sale racks and even on the living room floor after presents were open has seemed like a goldmine to me.

Soon I suppose I'll be looking for brown, orange and black fur again and thinking about matching crawfish, sculpins and other dark-colored critters. For now I'm more excited about taking the shimmery stuff and creating minnow patterns and bright jigs for high water days.

Hard to beat half off $.77 for a box of tinsel. That is unless you count the free stuff off the floor!

Bugs in My Head

I've been designing some really cool hand-tied jigs lately. So far, the good ones remain in my head because I lack the materials and tying skills to create the bugs that I'm envisioning.

I have pulled out my vice and tying tools and materials (which are pretty limited) and have experimented a bit. I've also watched a few fly-tying videos that show some of the skills I'll need to acquire and have ordered a few specific kinds of materials.

So far my hand-tied bugs, which are micro jigs or custom Road Runners, not flies) have all been ugly, but I have gotten fish to at least swipe at them. When I start actually creating lures that look even kind of like what I'm picturing (or maybe if I can fools a fish with an ugly one) I'll start posting pictures. For now, they're just bugs in my head.