Shrimp flies

Bait O' Eggs · 03-29-2005, 09:04 PM

I purchased 100 of the 5/0 stainless hooks Mark Mc was selling in the classifieds, I wasnt sure what to do with them

so I tied up some shrimp flies. Dont know why I never thought of making them before, I have always just bought them, and have been disappointed in the fact they rust, and fall apart pretty easy.

I used some neon thread, a paint brush for tails, and tied on a rattle eye for a little noise as an attractor.

Took a couple practices tries to tie the knot for a shrimp fly rig, but I got it figured out now.

Now if I can just get out and use them.

Mr. Fisherman · 03-29-2005, 09:09 PM

Roy, don't you have a yard to mow?

WaterDog · 03-29-2005, 09:13 PM

I think his wife does all the domestic stuff which gives him time to do the important things.

Nice fly's! :grin:

Lucky one · 03-29-2005, 09:25 PM

Boy those flies look too pretty to use.

OuterLimits · 03-29-2005, 09:28 PM

Bait O' Eggs,
Nice Flies! As a newbie to this site I've got to ask the question. What will you be using them for? If for tuna, how do you present them? An ifisher does not learn unless he asks the queston. :whazzup:

Bait O' Eggs · 03-29-2005, 09:39 PM

I had my lawn paved to save on maintenance

actually it is getting pretty tall, but with all this rain whats a guy to do but let it grow.

Yes these will be used for Tuna,

I intend to use my spey rod for casting to the tuna.

Just kidding, they will be put on a line about a foot apart and sent to the bottom to catch bottom fish.

Mr. Fisherman · 03-30-2005, 12:47 AM

Gee Roy, I knew you were talented but how do you grow pavement? :whazzup:
If rain helps you are in the right place... Maybe you could harvest some of that pavement and culture my yard so I can get a little more time away from my mower?

Purdy flies by the way.

Bait O' Eggs · 03-30-2005, 05:35 AM

Thanks Ray, When I got home from work on Friday I started welding up some more crabpots, got a bigger boat, can haul more pots

I finished up the welding on Sunday (fished all day Saturday in the big river) and wrapped one pot on Monday, and did the second one last night, if my hands werent so sore from pulling on the wire I would wrap #3 tonight, thank goodness the TA meeting will give me a reason for a days rest.

I have always wrapped them in innertube because I can get it free, but I found a guy who had some scraps from pond liners. Suppose to be guaranteed for 15 years from tearing/rotting etc.. even in a salt water pond, it should hold up a lot better than innertube.

Mr. Fisherman · 03-30-2005, 05:44 AM

Shoot Roy, thats better than growing pavement.
I'll take some of those instead... :grin:

rustyl · 03-30-2005, 06:35 AM

Those are some pretty cool shrimp flies! They put my pipe cleaner + christmas tree tensil flies to shame. Bring a couple to the TA meeting.

edsr · 03-30-2005, 07:46 AM

Hey Roy - I'll trade ya some hoochie skirts for some shrmp flies. I'll bring some to the TA meeting. One other thing - How big of a reel do you need on dat tuna spey rod??
edsr

Mark Mc · 03-30-2005, 06:02 PM

"1001 uses for paint brush bristles", by BOE

Hey Roy, I've been making all kinds of nutty flies over the years. Here's a batch with the same hooks:

[image]

[/image]

FishGitter · 03-30-2005, 06:22 PM

Mark,
You and Roy sure do make some nice looking gear. :shocked:

I can hardly wait to get out and try those swimbaits. If either of you need a beta tester for gear, let me know. :grin:

Megabites · 03-30-2005, 06:40 PM

You guys crack me up. I snag so many of these things off I could not imagine spending all that time and energy making them. Yes they are cool don't get me wrong - great job and all but I have never had one long enough to get rusty. That is why they call it bottom fishing - you always catch the bottom.

SouthCoastStu · 03-30-2005, 07:51 PM

Those look WAY to purty to donate to the bottom. Puts my old rusty salmon hooks with pipe cleaners and tinsel to shame

Silver Eagle · 03-31-2005, 06:24 AM

BOE couldn't get the crab pot to come up, could you send it again on this site, would like to see how to make them, Shrimp flies look good, I made a bunch out of the plastic lace you get at a craft store, it worked good and I didn't have to cut up all my paint brushes............Ray
It came up the second time I opened this tread, great looking pots, how hard is it to tie the Stainless matting? Really like them and have been thinking about trying to make one.............Ray

Bait O' Eggs · 03-31-2005, 07:10 AM

The wire mat is easy to tie after you have done 30 or 40 :tongue: :tongue: :tongue: :tongue:

Some times the rows of holes are straighter than others

I dont get to concerned about it, but dont want them to look like they werent done by a junior high shop class.

oregonoutdoors · 03-31-2005, 09:10 AM

BOE I am interested in making some pots. Actually I have been for awhile, you just gave me the motivation with your pics. Any tips or plans before I get started? I have never used that style of trap, do you have problems with the rebar rusting with the rubber covering? What do you think about using spray on bedliner instead of rubber tubing? Your projects always amaze me.

Miss B Haven · 03-31-2005, 09:36 AM

Those won't work but I'll take them off your hands for free! :tongue:

Bait O' Eggs · 03-31-2005, 10:20 AM

Tips on building crab pots

Lots of theories on grounding the pots, adding zinc, dissimiliar materials, etc.... I dont subscribe to all of them.

I like to use 1/2 inch rebar but these were 3/8 so my kids can pull them a little easier as they are still little. Kinda light but I can always add weight for dropping them in the ocean, cant take it off once there built. :tongue:

I dont care for pots that have the tunnels tied and stretched across the pot by wires pulling the opposing doors towards each other as the pulling wires are in the way when emptying the pots. I like to weld in the frame for the tunnels so the middle of the pot is open.

You will need at least a little bit of stainless at the top of the doors for the flappers to work better as if you coat or wrap it with rubber they probably wont operate smooth unless you got a fancy coating that is slick and would hold up.

Everything I expose I make stainless, door hinges, 4 inch escape circles for little crab, entry in tunnels. From the scrap stainless pile at the local steel yard.

There is a reason Protoco coats their pots in rubber than wrapping them and I am sure it has to do with speed and effeciency. By the time I cut rubber strips a couple inches wide several feet long and wrap it nice and tight and then tie the ends down and start with a new piece of rubber it is a lot of work and is slow. I dont have a means to dip them and I am sure spraying with bedliner would cost me something, I get innertube or as in this batch pond liner, for free so that is the driving force for me

If I wanted to part with what little money I have I could just go buy them and be done

I get the wire at Englunds, they have more than one diameter I recently found out when the wire seemed heavier than wire in the past. You buy it by the pound so obviously the smaller diameter the more footage you get for the same price. This was the heavy stuff I got last time. I have never broke wire on any pots yet so I dont know at what diameter that becomes a problem.

I got $20 worth and it will do all 3 pots, I think it was 5 lbs but dont remember.

My pots are 16 sided because I made a jig to bend the rebar around. They get pretty close to being a circle :tongue: but if I ever lose one it is obvious they are mine as nobody else is making a 16 sided pot

Bending the rebar around a barrel, or tire or what ever works as long as you can repeat the size.

I have made pots with 4 doors and 2 doors and dont notice a difference in catch so have stuck with 2 doors as it is less work.

I am sure the rebar is rusting away beneath the rubber

Have not had one rust enough to fall apart yet and have some pots I have been fishing since 1997 I made.

I wrapped a pot in garden hose one time. It was easy to take my old garden hose and slit it full length with a knife and just put it on the rebar, way easier than wrapping in rubber. it is a funky looking thing, I was afraid it would rust really fast since some metal is exposed and maybe create a hot pot that repelled crabs. It is one of my top producing pots

go figure

When wrapping a pot with wire if you try to wrap the wire on a slick surface it is hard to do. One of the doors I made the frame out of a piece of stainless. The wire wants to slide left/right as you wrap the wire.

The other 2 pots I went back to my rebar door with a piece of stainless rod bent in a circle and welded to the rebar door at the ends for the hinge. I wrap the rebar with rubber and leave the bent circle exposed to hinge and not bind due to rubber binding the hinge point. The wrapped door is easier to tie as the wire sticks to the rubber and cost less than stainless. For a hinge point I weld a 3/8" stainless bolt on the frame and the bent circle is smaller than the head of the bolt so it cant come off.

I figure I have about $20 in materials per pot. Not a huge savings, but I can get 3 pots for the price of buying 1 +/- with a little labor which is free after 4pm on weekdays and weekends (in the winter). When your running 12 pots that makes a difference

A good jig goes a long ways in making the pieces all the same. My jig repeats the circle, makes the door frame, bends the hinge circle, makes the vertical and tunnel legs all the same length & makes the escape holes.

ron m · 03-31-2005, 01:24 PM

Rusty--there was nothing wrong with the shrimp flies you made and brought on our trip. As I recall, they worked too!

oregonoutdoors · 03-31-2005, 03:18 PM

Thanks for the tips BOE, probally just saved me at least a couple of hours :whazzup:. I am pretty busy for the next couple of weeks, but will definetly be building a few after that. Thanks again.