On the oother hand, I can't get the image of big herring and alwives off my mind either. These two are based on a very old fresh water bass bucktail called the Mississippi Bug. I'm intrigued with the profile.
More coming... Had successful cataract surgery last week on my left eye. Lots of pent up tying to burn off.... I can do close work without the eyes killing me again.
I like those toothbrush streamers. They will certainly create complex vibrations underwater. They are based on those, what were they, Tennesse flies or something like that?
They're based on a fly that was originated by a woman tyer up in Wisconsen (sp?), back around the 1900's I think it was. Originally it was intended for large and small mouthed bass. Ended up being used for pike as well. You can do a pretty good perch imitation with it. It "traveled" down the Mississippi and became known as the Ozark Bass Minnow. I tied several up last spring in chartreuse with a purple topping about 4 inches long and they did quite well. This year I'm thinking bigger.