Smb fly fishermen, I have a question

[fishinwrench]

1 minute ago, snagged in outlet 3 said:

I have over 200 real corks from years of saving them when the cork scare first started.  Will wine corks work for your flies?

What about the the fake wine corks?  Have you tried those?

Yeah I have a bag full of wine corks and a Dremel also, and yeah they'll work...but OMG what a process!!!!  And I can never make 2 the same. 🙄

I prefer to get good cork popper bodies and just flip them around.  J.Stockard is where I got my last batch, but they don't have them anymore.  I probably have 8-10 left and then I don't know what I'll do.

[snagged in outlet 3]

10-4   I don’t tie foam bugs or tiny crap.  3D printer?

[fishinwrench]

4 minutes ago, snagged in outlet 3 said:

10-4   I don’t tie foam bugs or tiny crap.  3D printer?

Can you feed cork into a 3D printer ?

Boy that'd be sweet!   

[snagged in outlet 3]

1 minute ago, fishinwrench said:

Can you feed cork into a 3D printer ?

Boy that'd be sweet!   

New product line for @Mitch f  Gotta be some crazy plastic that mimics it.

[Flysmallie]

Googley eyes are for baby dolls. 

[fishinwrench]

5 minutes ago, Flysmallie said:

Googley eyes are for baby dolls. 

🖕😊🖕

[Mitch f]

1 hour ago, snagged in outlet 3 said:

New product line for @Mitch f  Gotta be some crazy plastic that mimics it.

They have floating plastic with ultra tiny bubbles made out of some material like glass. Very bad to breath 🤨 but you can buy the floating plastic with the stuff already mixed in. The rest would be easy 

[Al Agnew]

From the perspective of a dedicated ultra-clear water angler who only occasionally uses the fly rod for smallmouth...THE most important consideration if you are fishing very clear streams like those all over the Ozarks is how far you can cast.  As somebody else said, smallmouth are smallmouth.  Going small with your flies in clear water doesn't really make a lot of sense to me, because it isn't the size of the fly that turns the fish off, it's YOU.  They still eat the same things and they still like a good mouthful, but clear water smallies are much more wary than murky water fish, and you simply can't get close to them in these gravel bottom streams--even if you're stealthy enough that they can't see you, they'll still hear you crunching gravel.

So...I would suggest using good sized flies, like those Wrench has shown you.  But make sure you use a rod and setup that can get some distance with those big, bulky, wind-resistant flies.  If it takes an 8 weight, so be it.  Just because the water is very clear and the creek isn't too big, that doesn't mean the fish are tiny.  There are great small streams all over the Ozarks that have plenty of 14-17 inch smallmouth.

[fishinwrench]

24 minutes ago, Al Agnew said:

clear water smallies are much more wary than murky water fish, and you simply can't get close to them in these gravel bottom streams--even if you're stealthy enough that they can't see you, they'll still hear you crunching gravel.

Can't emphasize that enough.  That's why I think your odds improve by working your way upstream.   

With exception of the Sneaky Pete I find it's best to work flys pretty fast.  Don't give them a chance to study the fly for even 2 seconds.   Something about the Sneaky Pete just slowly drifting with occasional twitches though will often catch the biggest Smallies in the pool.  Topwater is King on small clear streams about 90% of the time. 

[Gavin]

Casting distance is key...If you cant cast 50'+ with your first cast and a 1/0 or #2 bass bug,  you end up catching dinks. Bass bugging is a long range run and gun game. Best if you have a tandem canoe or jon boat...One paddles the boat, the other fishes. Its more productive than both of you fishing.