So after I unloaded all of my loot from last night in the tying room I decided to give a Squimpish brush fly a shot. I should have taken images as I tied it, because it was scary looking, but in the end it came out nice. 6/0 hook, 10 inches long, but the diameter is what's sweet. I tied in a tail of regular Squimpish hair and then put some bucktail tied straight over it off the back. Then I cut 3-1/2 inches
of the brush, tied it in, and finished the head with some Squimpish boutique blends and a little 'Bunker Back" Devlin Blends along the top. Now they say don't judge a fly by how it looks in the vice or after you finished it up, for both good or bad. So, without putting anything on (like UV, Crazy Glue, Softex or Plasti-Dip) I wanted to cast and swim it. Below is a pic of the fly, in the wind, before it hit the Delaware River. Now, this, to me, is
a large fly. I have to remember Steve Farrar, again, "Half as much". I threw this fly on my Orvis Recon 9ft 10wt, which I find to be a slow rod. It would have been better on a fast 10wt or my H2 11wt. If I'm throwing my 12wt with 450 gr. line this fly will fly. It sheds water, but it has some weight to it when wet. Double hauling will take a bit of a pause so the rod can load. On the Recon is was wide loops. And then in the water, just sickness. This rivals, or beats, any other fly that I have tied and used in the 10+ inch range. This is a sick boat fly when the bass are on bunker.
The fly kept its shape after being wet. Again, I didn't put anything on it after I tied the head off. I wanted to see if it would just flop and foul, but it didn't. Below it looks like a wet cat, but just drop it in the water and it opens up and does it's thing. One thing, I think a Beast Fleye and bucktail shed
water better, don't need anything to prevent fouling if spaced right, and need less "maintenance" after landing a fish. I'm not trying to act like I know what I'm talking about, just sharing my observations and experiences while I am so enjoying fly tying, finally, after all these years.