Tied up some Eel Flies
 

I tied up some Eel flies last night. This was one of my most productive lies last year.

Nice work. How long are they?

Eel recipe
 

Flies are about 5-6" long.

Hook: TMC 600 SP #1/0 or hook of preference. Hook is wrapped with lead and covered with thread and sealed.
Thread: Olive or Black flymaster.
Head: Pearl Mylar EZ Body.
Tail: Four black saddle hackles tied deceiver style, flanked by one smaller yellow or chartreuse saddle hackle, and flanked by one olive grizzly saddle hackle.
Wing & Throat: Black buck tail. Tied on top and under rear saddle hackles extending 2-3”.
Flash: 2 strands of blue, 2 strands of red, 2 strands of silver, and 2 strands of chartreuse flash-a-boo. Tied in on both sides of the rear saddle hackles.
Eyes: Silver stick-on eyes.
*Head is colored with permanent marking pens. Then head and eyes are given a coat of expoxy.

There are many versions of this fly out there. This is the way I tie it. When fishing for big fish at night this is one of my “go to” patterns. I love flies with a large or long profile in the water. This fly also has a lot of movement. The mylar EZ body head has a great translucent shimmer in the water. I also weight the hook with lead. This gives the fly a more substantial and natural sink rate. After casting this fly I’ll just let it sink before retrieving it. Many times I’ll get a hit shortly after the fly hits the water. This is an extremely durable fly.

One of the great things about fly tying is the ability to experiment. I also tie this fly in olive and white. Don’t be afraid to vary colors or even the materials.

Very interesting. What "type" of water do you normally fish this in? Beach, breach, moving...etc.

Mostly Estuaries
 

I mostly fish estuaries, back bays, beaches but not much surf. I'm on Long Island Sound. I live on a river that holds stripers all winter long, the Housatonic. I fish the Cape alot. I like to position myself near channels, rips, and/or any fish "highways". If I'm not fishing this eel fly at night, I'm fishing a "Black Angus". I've found both to be deadly at night.

Got it. Thanks for the info. Bob H.

Very nice work and thanks for providing all the detail!

cool, you mostly fish NIGHTS with them ??
GOOD LUCK GOOD TYIN

Usual colors at usual times
 

The flies in black at night......yellow and chartreuse during the day.

Dont put your BLACK flys away, during the day, you couldent ask for a better eel pattern the BLACK in the water, I caught meny stripers on BLACK flys during the day.
GOOD LUCK GOOD TYIN