Egg Patterns

[paul taylor]

well, as many of you can tell i’ve been posting a lot about fly tying.  i have cabin fever at the moment because we have less than optimal fishing conditions here in erie, pa and have been spending a lot of time behind the vise tying to fill up my fly boxes and for friends/family.  now, how many of you use egg patterns?  if you do, what is your favorite pattern?  if you don’t, what might be the reason?  fishing for steelhead in erie, pa, egg patterns are very effective and almost a necissity!  here are three of my favorite and most productive egg patterns.

Blood Dot

Nuke Egg

Micro Spawn

tight lines and may the weather change so that we can all get back to fishing!

paul

[Ian Crabtree]

If I can get across stream from the fish… beads.

[Ian Crabtree]

Otherwise, I’ll go with something like this.

[Tim Pommer]

For egg patterns in the Great Laks region, most of these work well:

http://www.questoutdoors.net/skills/ftying/patterns/eggs/

I’ve never had much for luck with beads on the Great Lakes but I also never gave them enough of a shot.

[Zach Matthews]

Ian –

Explain to me again how the bead rig works.

[paul taylor]

steelhyde,

thanks for the link!  i definitely agree with you on the need for a lot of variety.  i carry a lot of colors, here’s a pic of my nymph box for steelhead.  sorry, i’m a little neat and obsessed with my fly box.  people make fun of me!

i also carry another box of eggs in my most productive patterns and colors, just in case i have one of those great days and start to run out of flies!

tight lines,

paul

[Tim Pommer]

That box looks sweet!

How do you do with those blue eggs?

[Ian Crabtree]

Ian –

Explain to me again how the bead rig works.

[Tim Pommer]

Ian-

I am not claiming that beads are unethical.

[paul taylor]

tim (steelhyde),

i have not had success with either the dark blue micro spawn or any of the estaz eggs.

[Ian Crabtree]

Hey Tim,

I hope you don’t think I was trying to call you out, that certainly wasn’t my intention, your comment was one I hear often, and one that I can absolutely understand. For better or worse beads have become a real controversial issue in the fly fishing community.

I got a Western Michigan “care package” in the mail today with a ton of mcfly foam, egg yarn, estaz, and pencil lead. I’ll post some pictures of this package when I get back for the day, it’s pretty incredible.

[Tim Pommer]

I understand the heat about beads and I didnt take any offense at all.

[Zach Matthews]

Fly fishers have widely divergent views of ethics and ethical behavior.

[Tim Pommer]

If I can get across stream from the fish… beads.

Ian, remember when I said beads wouldnt work for GL steelhead?

[Ian Crabtree]

Fish just can’t resist beads.

My next project is going to be making hot glue beads. In my mind I’m envisioning threading a faceted tungsten bead onto a dubbing needle or something similar and then forming the hot glue egg around it. Once it’s set, pull it off – voila a bead. It should create some nice flash inside the glue and hopefully eliminate the need for split shot.

[scot]

Try putting a line of thread through the bead for a vein.

[Ian Crabtree]

One could definitely make some crazy realistic eggs in this fashion. Might as well add a touch of glitter while I’m at it.

I’m also going to try using heavy lb test cajun line (red mono) rather than toothpicks to peg the bead on the line. Might be a little less visible…

[Mike Anderson]

I really like the otter soft eggs. I tie in a small clump of white craft fur at the hook bend then slide the egg over the eye and it won’t sling off. In fact all you have to do is tie up a bunch of hooks with the fur and keep some eggs with you. You will lose some eggs but all you have to do cut your tippet, slide a new egg on the hook and retie. A new knot is probably a good idea every so often anyway…
Of course I only use this method to fish to the fish behind the Redds.

[Tim Pommer]

Fish just can’t resist beads.

My next project is going to be making hot glue beads. In my mind I’m envisioning threading a faceted tungsten bead onto a dubbing needle or something similar and then forming the hot glue egg around it. Once it’s set, pull it off – voila a bead. It should create some nice flash inside the glue and hopefully eliminate the need for split shot.

Ian-
Do you always peg them?

[Ian Crabtree]

They’re effective, no doubt. Even hard pressured fish that see a lot of glo-bugs don’t know what hit ’em.

There’s a thread somewhere where Zach was asking about how to use glass beads. In that thread I describe the method I use, it’s a little different. I use that style when I’m guiding for securing beads to the leader. When I’m feeling lazy or using really light tippet I use toothpicks.

I’ve seen the knot you’re describing, and I know a lot of alaskan bead fishermen use it, but I still like the bead to be able to slide down toward the hook when a fish hits it. I think this helps a little in preventing ugly hookups on the fish. I’ll fool around with that knot this summer on the dollies and grayling.

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