TexasKayakFisherman.com est. 2000

[Do It]

Double post

[karstopo]

Do it, your nice black drum Charlie’s have disappeared from my screen. I’ve tied a few Charlie’s, but have barely fished them. What is the wing material you use Don’t? It looks natural.

[Do It]

Most recipes call for kip (calf) tail, I used arctic fox tail on these it has a little more action in the water.

D.


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[karstopo]

I think I need some arctic fox tail.

[Piscator]

Those look great. The buffalo nickle adds some class to photo.

[karstopo]

Playing around with some color combinations on the Borski slider. I guess I’ll see if any of them work out.

[Kayak buddy]

https://youtu.be/nSjIIWkTteY

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[Smokin Joe]

( This is actually Do It, somehow my log in got switched to my sons and now I can’t get logged in. )

Colors look good to me Karstopo...

Tied up a batch of the Hurricane Harvey Crab Fly that I came up with....well you know when. First ones I’ve tied since then.


D.


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[karstopo]

The Borski Slider continues to make an impression on me. I went out to the surf yesterday in the late morning and the water was rough and muddy. I tried one little spot and got a couple of takes on a cream colored borski slider, but the rough water made line control very difficult. Based on the damage to my tippet and the slider, the takes were from something with very sharp teeth.

Moved from the surf and decided to try a place I’d seen people fish from shore. There were people there fishing mainly soaking dead shrimp and one guy was using a paddle tail. Worked myself into an opening. I could see some bait, little shad, mullet and shrimp getting influenced by something larger. I cast a beat up pink borski at the surface disturbances and ended up with 4 fish brought to hand. Two specks, one that was a chunky 17”, a sheepshead and a croaker. I lost a couple more specks and missed on a couple good takes. Water was about a foot of visibility with a hint of green tint. I saw one little croaker caught by a pair soaking shrimp. All of this in maybe 45 minutes or an hour of fishing in the midday sun.

I like a pattern that’s versatile. The borski slider definitely qualifies. I’ve caught a few whiting on them in the surf and whiting in the surf have been a tough sell in the past on anything artificial. Getting a sheepshead is another bonus. Yesterday’s adventure to the local mud hole just reinforces the value of having borski sliders in my saltwater fly box. So far, cream, pink, and olive are my favorites.

[Kayak buddy]

https://youtu.be/XlaW81KMa4g

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[NativeSon]

The Borski Slider continues to make an impression on me. I went out to the surf yesterday in the late morning and the water was rough and muddy. I tried one little spot and got a couple of takes on a cream colored borski slider, but the rough water made line control very difficult. Based on the damage to my tippet and the slider, the takes were from something with very sharp teeth.

Moved from the surf and decided to try a place I’d seen people fish from shore. There were people there fishing mainly soaking dead shrimp and one guy was using a paddle tail. Worked myself into an opening. I could see some bait, little shad, mullet and shrimp getting influenced by something larger. I cast a beat up pink borski at the surface disturbances and ended up with 4 fish brought to hand. Two specks, one that was a chunky 17”, a sheepshead and a croaker. I lost a couple more specks and missed on a couple good takes. Water was about a foot of visibility with a hint of green tint. I saw one little croaker caught by a pair soaking shrimp. All of this in maybe 45 minutes or an hour of fishing in the midday sun.

I like a pattern that’s versatile. The borski slider definitely qualifies. I’ve caught a few whiting on them in the surf and whiting in the surf have been a tough sell in the past on anything artificial. Getting a sheepshead is another bonus. Yesterday’s adventure to the local mud hole just reinforces the value of having borski sliders in my saltwater fly box. So far, cream, pink, and olive are my favorites.

They are a nice looking fly, one I am familiar with but have not tied.
I'm curious though, do you think they are more effective than a Clouser Minnow, and if so, why?

[karstopo]

The Borski Slider continues to make an impression on me. I went out to the surf yesterday in the late morning and the water was rough and muddy. I tried one little spot and got a couple of takes on a cream colored borski slider, but the rough water made line control very difficult. Based on the damage to my tippet and the slider, the takes were from something with very sharp teeth.

Moved from the surf and decided to try a place I’d seen people fish from shore. There were people there fishing mainly soaking dead shrimp and one guy was using a paddle tail. Worked myself into an opening. I could see some bait, little shad, mullet and shrimp getting influenced by something larger. I cast a beat up pink borski at the surface disturbances and ended up with 4 fish brought to hand. Two specks, one that was a chunky 17”, a sheepshead and a croaker. I lost a couple more specks and missed on a couple good takes. Water was about a foot of visibility with a hint of green tint. I saw one little croaker caught by a pair soaking shrimp. All of this in maybe 45 minutes or an hour of fishing in the midday sun.

I like a pattern that’s versatile. The borski slider definitely qualifies. I’ve caught a few whiting on them in the surf and whiting in the surf have been a tough sell in the past on anything artificial. Getting a sheepshead is another bonus. Yesterday’s adventure to the local mud hole just reinforces the value of having borski sliders in my saltwater fly box. So far, cream, pink, and olive are my favorites.

They are a nice looking fly, one I am familiar with but have not tied.
I'm curious though, do you think they are more effective than a Clouser Minnow, and if so, why?

I haven’t fished a clouser in quite a while in the saltwater. I used to fish them pretty regularly. My first slot red, first good trout, first black drum, flounder and other firsts came on a clouser. But, I don't particularly enjoy tying clousers and got to where I don’t enjoy fishing them all that much, maybe because I know I’ll have to tie more or buy them. I won’t really argue against using clousers and no doubt they work on a lot of different fish.

I had heard about borski sliders, but for some reason thought of them as just a potential mostly limited to bonefish pattern. When I started with tying and fishing them I thought they looked like they would be good on redfish. Turns out, borski sliders work on other types of fish and I enjoy tying and fishing them. That’s the exciting part for me, having another multipurpose pattern that I can use just about anywhere I fish around here. For whatever reason, I just enjoy everything about these flies much more than clousers.

[karstopo]

I did a couple on bigger size one hooks. Fun to tie, fun to fish, that’s the essence of it.

[karstopo]

The question about clousers versus the Borski Slider got me thinking about how fish see/detect flies and the decision process they go through from the point of detection to the eat or the refusal. I've certainly witnessed fish refuse one offering only to seconds later take another. It might be the only difference was color. Or the difference could be the size or buoyancy or shape.

I believe, through years of experience, fish are on some continuum from complete refusal to eat anything including live bait to an almost a complete willingness to eat anything they can fit in their mouths. If one is lock jaw and ten is garbage disposal, I believe fish are normally in the middle range. Some days, they are more like a two or three and some days more like a seven or eight.

I want the flies I use and tie to push the needle closer to one. To work on the days the fish are being more particular. I want them to work on fish with a reputation of being more selective.

I think that's why I just don't put on a clouser and let it rip.

Flies are relatively tiny with tiny details. I've seen one brand of paddle tail way out fish another just based on a very small difference in tail action with all other variables accounted for.

A Borski Slider looks different than a clouser. It must also look and move different than a clouser to a fish. Does it move the needle closer to one, the jury is still out.

One more photo of the ones I tied yesterday in the morning sun. I think the Borski Slider lets me do more with color than a clouser would although I have seen some bigger clousers with fancy feathers added in. I haven't experimented much with adding in different materials on clousers. I have done them with craft fur and Steve Farrar blend in addition to the normal deer tail hair.

I'd like to see examples of different materials added in to the basic clouser tie. I did see an article on sexing up clousers, but I seem to have misplaced it.

I like thinking about flies.

[NativeSon]

All good insights, karst.
I think about flies too, not as much as I used to, but probably still too much.
Perhaps one knock against the Clouser, although it has that great jigging action, is it probably does not move much water.
I believe that fish key in big time on vibrations in the water, as much or more so than sight, especially in our stained waters.
The Borski probably pushes more.
Another problem with the Clouser is that early on I had trouble tying off the nose of the fly, thread keep sliding off the hair.
I probably was using too much hair at the time. Easier for me to tie now.
Another fly I have tied, again thinking about things, is a "3 eyed Clouser", that is, using bead chain, two beads on one side, one bead on the other. Totally goes against the human appeal to visual symmetry. But, watching wounded or ill fish over the years, I've observed they roll off and fall to the side, then right themselves,and repeat over and over, in addition to dipping up and down along their long axis. I have not had a chance to try this fly much, so I don't know if really amounts to anything or is totally bogus. My problem is, between being a weekend warrior (man those two days go by quick), having too dog gone many hobbies, and not having the gumption I once did as a younger man, my fishing trips are far tooin between.
Anyway, I love thinking about this kind of stuff, tinkering with flies, and am glad when I hear that you and others out there are doing the same. Lots of fun, for sure!

[NativeSon]

Trying to get the same effect, I have also tied Clousers with the regular 2 bead eyes, but with the eyes tilted about 45 degrees, with one eye above the hook shank, the other below. Perhaps I could call this a cockeyed clouser. Still unpleasant to the human eye looking for symmetry.

[karstopo]

I haven’t tied a fly with bead chain in a long time. These borski sliders I tie I use small tungsten dumbbells. I want the fly to hug the bottom contours and have a chance to stay down in current. Most of the time, I’m fishing in 4-5 feet of water or less and around shell edges, channel edges, bars, along grass lines, etc..

If I’m out sight fishing, I can still use a tungsten weighted fly. But most of my trips are a mix of sight fishing and structure fishing so I often just use a tungsten weighted pattern. I do tie redfish crack with mini and extra small lead dumbbells and use small brass dumbbells. I like to weight flies with colored glass beads, too. And I have used and tied unweighted flies.

The special characteristic of tungsten is that it will cause a fly to sink more rapidly than an equal weight of lead. So a small amount of tungsten will still sink a fly faster than a heavier chunk of lead or brass. Tungsten makes for an easier to cast fly because I can get away with using less of it than I would have to if I wanted the same sink rate using lead or brass.

https://www.manictackleproject.com/flyf ... sinrivers/

I use long, thin fluorocarbon leaders if I want a little extra sink rate. I just haven’t gotten into sink tip lines. I tried one again the other day. I just don’t enjoy fishing them. I have more fun using floating lines if at all possible. Tungsten weighting, even just a little bit, extends the depth I can fish floating line.

Around here, I think most people like only sight casting up shallow in the saltwater. I like that a bunch, but I also enjoy fly fishing a little deeper and fishing bait sign and structure. Whatever floats your boat, right?

Anyhow, it’s fun to ponder on flies and ways to tie and fish them.

[Piscator]

I love it when you make up a fly and it works. Wanted a fly that floats and stays just under the surface and has swimming action. So I made one with a craft fur tail, Etaz body, small foam head with big eyes. One was brownish (in the pic) and the other was greenish. The Green had too much chartreuse color and they ignored it. It amazes me how a 29" fish will eat such a small offering. The swimming action was great and it had a very slow sink. I will be making more after this work trip. The pic of it is after it was slimmed a few times

[JW FunGuy]

Nice job!
I have been thinking of something that would do just what you wanted. And that is it!

[karstopo]

Nice tie and fish!

[NativeSon]

I haven’t tied a fly with bead chain in a long time. These borski sliders I tie I use small tungsten dumbbells. I want the fly to hug the bottom contours and have a chance to stay down in current. Most of the time, I’m fishing in 4-5 feet of water or less and around shell edges, channel edges, bars, along grass lines, etc..

If I’m out sight fishing, I can still use a tungsten weighted fly. But most of my trips are a mix of sight fishing and structure fishing so I often just use a tungsten weighted pattern. I do tie redfish crack with mini and extra small lead dumbbells and use small brass dumbbells. I like to weight flies with colored glass beads, too. And I have used and tied unweighted flies.

The special characteristic of tungsten is that it will cause a fly to sink more rapidly than an equal weight of lead. So a small amount of tungsten will still sink a fly faster than a heavier chunk of lead or brass. Tungsten makes for an easier to cast fly because I can get away with using less of it than I would have to if I wanted the same sink rate using lead or brass.

https://www.manictackleproject.com/flyf ... sinrivers/

I use long, thin fluorocarbon leaders if I want a little extra sink rate. I just haven’t gotten into sink tip lines. I tried one again the other day. I just don’t enjoy fishing them. I have more fun using floating lines if at all possible. Tungsten weighting, even just a little bit, extends the depth I can fish floating line.

Around here, I think most people like only sight casting up shallow in the saltwater. I like that a bunch, but I also enjoy fly fishing a little deeper and fishing bait sign and structure. Whatever floats your boat, right?

Anyhow, it’s fun to ponder on flies and ways to tie and fish them.

When fishing the Frio earlier this year I noticed how slowly some of my bead chain flies were sinking. Where are you purchasing your tungsten eyes?

[NativeSon]

I love it when you make up a fly and it works. Wanted a fly that floats and stays just under the surface and has swimming action. So I made one with a craft fur tail, Etaz body, small foam head with big eyes. One was brownish (in the pic) and the other was greenish. The Green had too much chartreuse color and they ignored it. It amazes me how a 29" fish will eat such a small offering. The swimming action was great and it had a very slow sink. I will be making more after this work trip. The pic of it is after it was slimmed a few times

Very nice!

[karstopo]

http://www.jsflyfishing.com/hareline-tu ... dator-eyes

They are expensive. I like the small size.

[The Angler]

spawning Borski


Rabbit Borski

[karstopo]

spawning Borski


Rabbit Borski

Very nice. I especially like the spawning one.