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Reply With QuoteBlue back with a lighter belly has been good to me
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Slabmaster
Color Question
Hopefully one of you seasoned pros can answer my question. I am tying up some new panfish dropshot flies and was wondering if it matters if the hot spot is at the head of the fly or the back of the fly.
I have fished forever, but just in the past few years have started targeting panfish. It kinda started when I had uncooperative smallmouth bass to deal with. I started taking some UL panfish gear with me and said screw the bass! Now I am kinda addicted to panfishing. The funny part about it is, I get tons of smallmouth on small panfish baits. Throw a 4" worm and you can't get a smallmouth bite, but toss a 1.5" panfish bait fished slow and they will nail it!
So here I sit at my tying desk with my new top secret material laid out in front of me in a myriad of colors, struggling to figure out what colors to tie. This year my hot colors have been purple/chartreuse, black/chartreuse, black/hot pink, black/brown, and brown/orange. I have about every color you can imagine, so....... What colors do you like?
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Blue back with a lighter belly has been good to me
The love for fishing is one of the best gifts you can pass along
Slabmaster
Crappie.com 2K Star General
Colors , especially jighead colors are an individuals preference.
What works for one may not for another .
My buddy swears by a white jighead .
Me , any color is good as long as it’s black , with a plain head coming in second .
Body color , I let the fish tell me what they want . I’ve gone fishless for several casts until I find the color of the day and the light a switch turns on , they’re all over my jig .
In bodies , I like black, chartreuse, chartreuse/orange ( firetiger) ,and chartreuse with black back .
Black seems to work for me in all kinds of water conditions. I think it looks the most natural .
In my spider flies , a black and yellow variegated body with black and white legs has been my favorite, with solid black with black and white legs , second .
I tie a variety of color combos to try when the favorites don’t seem to work .
“ The bigger the Bend , the Wider the Grin ! “peshtigost LIKED above post
Slabmaster
Gillchaser thanks for the reply. Sounds like our color choices are similar.
Do you use a fly rod for your spider flies?
Dropshot fishing with flies has been a game changer for me!
Crappie.com 2K Star General
I’ve fished them with a flyrod , a Tenkara rod , under a float , and with a drop shot rig .Originally Posted by peshtigost
They work great on a drop shot . Depending on conditions. In the winter is drop shot time for me , except in the afternoon on a shallow flat that’s been getting sun all morning, then it’s time for the float and fly . I’ve found the sun warms up the flats , especially the surface .
Here’s a box of my spiders . Very simple fly .
“ The bigger the Bend , the Wider the Grin ! “
Slabmaster
Those look great. I haven't fished with live bait for the last 20 years! I haven't had as much luck with float and fly. Dropshot along weed edges and shore brush has been working great for me. I cast the dropshot and work it back slow.
I have my eye on a Tenkara, but that method seems to be cast and let the current carry it. How do you fish your Tenkara?
Crappie.com 2K Star General
I’ve found Tenkara to be fun but it’s very limiting . You almost need a multi length rod and a few different lengths of of leaders . It’s more a jigging pole than a casting pole .
Drop shot fishing can be addictive. The concentration needed and waiting for the thump is very relaxing and a lot of fun . I like a 5’-5’6” rod for drop shotting. They seem more sensitive to me . For weights , I cut the heads off jigheads and use a snap so I can adjust my weight to the conditions.
“ The bigger the Bend , the Wider the Grin ! “
Crappie.com Legend
Prefer my “hotspot” on the head for crappie, some trout lures have them on the other end
Not sure on sunfish is me ...
If it’s just sunfish I like brown orange and black mixes
sum kawl me tha outlaw ketchn whales
Slabmaster
Thanks for the reply. I am going to put the hotspot on the head. That is what I did this summer and it seemed to work quite well. That brown, orange, and black mixes have worked well for me also.
