Some of My Original Fly Patterns
I am a member of the Peak Fishing Pro Fly Tying Team and a certified fly tying instructor by Texas Parks and Wildlife Department's Angler Education Instructor program and by the Adaptive Fly Fishing Institute, Inc. Peak Fishing is the manufacturer of the Peak Rotary Vise, the #1 ranked true rotary fly tying vise priced under $200. The Peak Rotary Vise is 100% made in the USA by an American owned and operated privately held company headquartered in Loveland, Colorado. www.peakfishing.com
Ken's Lucky Penny
My "lucky penny" is a #1 3X long Gamakatsu standard style saltwater hook dressed with my custom blend of materials to reproduce the results of the very effective DOA Shrimp in the color "New Penny." It is an excellent searching pattern for deep grass flats, or for spot casting into the sand holes in shallower flats or along drop-offs at the edges of flats at low tide along the Florida Gulf Coast!
Bleeding Bendback
This #1 Mustad saltwater bendback is an excellent bait fish pattern for semi and sub-tropical beach and grass flats fishing for sea trout, snook, redfish, jacks, and pompano. It will also catch fresh water bass of all sub-species. Colors can be customized to match local bait fish, as can the weight to adjust the sink rate. $5 each or $50/dozen
CCT3
This is a toad style fly that utilizes some very new synthetic material in place of the yarn body commonly used on toad flies. It is far more versatile, durable, and gives the fly far more "life" in the water. At left you see one in chartreuse. At right, you see another in black.
They are available in a variety of color combinations. $6 each or $65/dozen
Opti-Shrimp
My Opti-Shrimp incorporates Davy Wotton's SLF Dubbing (Wapsi), UV-enhanced Crystal Flash, and Edge Glo - a fiber optic material that gathers ambient light and focuses it along the cut edges of the plastic sheet. This makes for one very high-tech, highly visible shrimp pattern in low-visibility fishing scenarios. In especially turbid water, I will add a rattle to the inside of the body of these flies and they become absolutely deadly searching flies. $3.25 each or $30/dozen
The Homewrecker
This bait fish fly is tied on a long shank saltwater hook or large salmon hook and consists mostly of a magnum rabbit zonker, CCT body fur, and Matuka style grizzly marabou. It is ideal for enticing large predators into territorial strike responses even when they are not actively feeding. Thus the name: The Homewrecker! At right, you can see another one in chartreuse and black.
I have caught lunker largemouth bass and juvenile tarpon on this fly in different color combinations. So it works well in both fresh and salt water. $8 each or $75/dozen
Blue Bayou (Light)
This flats fly is designed to simulate a Blue Crab on shallow grass flats. The light variant of the fly should be used in bright conditions where there is a lot of sand or sparse grass. The fly will catch redfish, permit, snook, and sheepshead. This "tailing" style fly rides hook point up in the water with the eye of the hook angled down and the tail of the fly riding high. The hackle functions as a brake when you stop stripping, which pulses the marabou and Sili-legs. This gives the fly an amazingly life-like action. $4 each or $40/dozen
Blue Bayou (Dark)
The dark version of the Blue Bayou should be fished in low-light conditions and where the bottom is very dark or the water is heavily stained. The weed guard on the Blue Bayou can be tied either as a double loop style or as a V-style weed guard, depending on the type of vegetation the fly will be fished around. $4 each or $40/dozen.
Buster Brown (Emerger)
This "hot butt" style caddis fly emerger mimics the ovipositing (egg-laying) female caddis, which is one of the most vulnerable and highest nutritional value stages in the life cycle of the caddis fly. Buster Brown is tied Eastern-style and in brown caddis color scheme and sizes. That is how it got its name. $24/dozen.