Here is something for all you fly tiers out there.\u00a0 Mary Ann and I were tying some streamer flies recently and she asked me about the impact of tying barbell eyes on the top vs. the bottom of the hook shank.\u00a0 My comment was that I thought it was Bob Clouser with his Clouser Minnow patterns\u00a0who emphasized the position of the barbell eyes:\u00a0 1) Eyes on the top of the hook shank would make the fly turn over in the water, and 2) Eyes on the bottom of the hook shank and the fly would ride upright in the water.\u00a0 So, we tried an experiment.\u00a0 Mary Ann tied up two rabbit strip streamer flies on #8 2X long, down-eye hooks.\u00a0 One fly with the blue body had the barbell eyes tied on the bottom of the hook shank…the second fly with a chartreuse body had the barbell eyes tied on the top of the hook shank.\u00a0 Our next trip out on the river we shot underwater photos of each fly in the water.\u00a0 Our findings…Bob Clouser was right.\u00a0 So, if you really want your minnow streamer patterns to look realistic, it’s important to make sure where the barbell eyes are tied on the hook.\u00a0 Check it out:<\/p>\n
![\"Barbell](\"https:\/\/bamboopursuits.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/PC250021-580x326.jpg\")
<\/a>Barbell Eyes Tied on the Bottom of the Hook Shank – Fly Rides Upright in the Water.<\/p><\/div>\n
![\"Barbell](\"https:\/\/bamboopursuits.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/PC250019-580x326.jpg\")
<\/a>Barbell Eyes Tied on the Top of the Hook Shank – Fly turns Over in the Water.<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Here is something for all you fly tiers out there.\u00a0 Mary Ann and I were tying some streamer flies recently and she asked me about the impact of tying barbell eyes on the top vs. the bottom of the hook … Continue reading