One more post and then I'll take a break for a while.

I've experimented with cutting the tail off molded Twister Tails and attaching them to streamer patterns. So have many others. Molded paddle tails are difficult to attach with thread and glue. They're hard to cast and you have to retrieve them vigorously to get the tail to flutter.

Would it could it somehow be possible to make a paddle tail less wind resistant and hard to cast, and more responsive to the retrieve, so the tail would waggle even at a slower retrieve rate?

I'm working on it. This paddle tail is the tip of a soft saddle hackle, coated thinly on the inside surface with fabric cement, and then attached to the cut end of a pair of similar saddles--attached with either more fabric cement or silicone caulk.

Another way to make a paddle tail streamer:

fabric cement, waxed paper or plastic, two saddles sandwiched on top of each other and a ball point pen. Wet the tip of the feathers only--with fabrice cement.



Paddle tails take some refinement. If you mold too little of the feather you don't get much back-and-forth waggling in the tail. If you mold too much of the feather they become too hard to cast with a flyrod.

There definitely is a happy happy-medium. On a late Fall Missouri River trip down near Great Falls Montana last year I had a handfull of waggle tails to experiment with. Only one or two really worked well, in the sense they waggled well while still being castable. Even the wind resistant ones attracted fish, but with those I was limited to casting with the wind only, which isn't always what you want.

Molding just enough of the tip of one or two saddles is the key. Last year I made them with the feathers oriented vertially, at right angles to the water's surface, in the traditional streamer style.

This year I've been making them with a 90 degree shift, so the flat axis of the saddle feathers are parallel to the surface, with the natural curl of the feathers pointing up.

It's been working well.

Try the silcone for this,It will rubberise the feather.Is that even a word?The fabric cement works well for many things but i make kicking legs for bass bugs and they work well tied to the sides .I squirt some silicone on waxed paper then pull the feather thru the caulk using a piece of plastic to squeegee the caulk off the feather .A very thin coat is all you need.I use strung saddles and they have a natural curve that the silicone sets.They dry very quickly.They are super tough.

I think you could hold it in place by using wax paper and formed around something to get the desired bend.Wax paper is the only thing i know of that silicone wont stick to.I use saddles because thats the way i dress bass bugs.They tend to straighten after a lot of use and lose that leg twitch.The silicone and fabric cement treated legs hold their shape and the feathers dont get soggy.

Been busy. Haven't tied in a while.
Made another prototype today.

The ugly fly at the top of this thread paddled/wiggled well but it was a bit hard to cast. I could throw it about 50' feet with an 7wt rod, but I couldn't go further. With a normal streamer I'm capable of 80 feet easily. In real life fishing situations, not counting salt water, I seldom need more than 35 feet.

But it was a bit hard to cast. Most of the flies that followed (above) cast better but wiggled less. This last one is getting there. It wiggles like crazy--albeit in the bath tub. I'll cast it tomorrow. Fish it in a day or two. Freezeup hasn't happened yet.



This one is made with clear silicone. Silicone is messy to work with, especially with bare fingers. If you spray your fingers with blue Windex glass cleaner and then shape the feathers, with gooey silicone, the stuff wipes right off with a rag. Photoflow probably works even better. I have some, left over from my black and white darkroom from 25 years ago. I haven't tried it yet. I learned about photoflo (before touching silicone) on youtube

Popsicle sticks. Yes. I can buy packs of them (tongue depressors too) at the "Chemistry Supply Store" on the MSU Campus. Good idea.

My paddle tails are all still quite ugly so far. I'm just trying to zero in on what works best, vis a vis a good balance between "paddles vigorously" and "still castable."

Once I get the global techniques landscape under control I'll work on beautiful. Graceful. Slick (as bug snot?).

I really do believe flies with action are a big deal. Fun to work with too.

Below is one of many reasons to fish with fly rod wigglers and/or paddle tails. I caught this 25" inch Channel Cat on a 6wt fly rod in chocolate brown water. On a wiggler, casting from a slowly moving drift boat.

If the boat hadn't been following this fish I never would have caught it. This fish took line off the reel on and off for a good 15 minutes. I'd pump him in and reel reel reel and then he'd run off another 30 feet of line again. Channel Cats fight forever.



Here's another photo of the same fish. A few hours later.



This was a three day float on a remote prairie river. Patrick (my fishing/hunting/camping buddy) filleted the fish and rolled it in an egg batter made with crushed potato chips. I baked the potatoes in tin foil. In a pot with a lid, on a small propane camp stove.

The rancher whose land we were camping on came by to check us out. He was the only human we saw in three days of floating the river. In trout water we'd have been playing bumper boats with fishing guides all day long. The whole way.

We promised the rancher we'd leave no sign of camping behind us. We didn't even make a fire. Propane camp stove and two tents (Patrick snores). Lots of coffee and sourdough pancakes in the morning.