Clousers in the House

Recently I have been quite sick.  I was finally able to stumble to the vise and do some tying.  I needed a break from Poppers, Persuaders and Road Kills though.  So, I decided to revisit the Clouser.  We had sold these a few years back but took them off the shelf so to speak.  We had been using epoxy to seal the heads to them but found that the epoxy yellowed over time.  So, we stopped selling them.  I, of course, ran out of my stash last year and needed to tie more up.  Well, I figured now was the time since I needed a break.  I tied up about two dozen of them in the following color combos white/chartreuse, Kelly green/yellow, white/gray, purple/black and orange/black.  A while back I got some Pseudo Eyes from Hareline and decided to use them as well.  Two years ago, I was fishing the Kelly green/yellow with red flash and was slaying the fish on a local lake.  K.I.L.L.E.R!  These guys aren't pretty I know.  I need to find my groove with them and remember all the tips and techniques.  However, that being said, I don't think they are that bad either.  We decided to try  sealing them with the Delta Ceramcoat instead of the epoxy.  Yes I know about CCG and even have some.  I, and I know I am the minority here, don't love it.  The Delta Ceramcoat dries clear and remains rubbery so we were thinking that it might work out well.  So far, they only have one coat of the sealer on them.  I am curious to see how they work and stand up.  If they survive, it would be a nice alternative to the CCG or similar products that can be rather expensive.  Nothing against them, believe.  I know they work.  This is really more of a personal preference.  So, for those that tie and/or fish Clousers, what is your go to color combo?  Interested in hearing what other color combos are out there that have produced for people.

Customer Success

More than two years ago, J&M Flies was created.  I have been so busy lately that I missed the anniversary this year and didn't get around to doing a blog post about it.  That, however, is not the point of the post.  The point of the post is to highlight some of our customers who have  been catching fish across the United States with our flies.  Think of this as a success story of sorts.  Make that a number of success stories.  Not only is it a success story for those customers sharing photos with us of what they catch, but it is also a success story for J&M Flies.  For every order that we take, Melissa and I ask our customers to send us photos of what they catch  with our flies.  I know it is a little cliche of us, but we truly enjoy seeing photos from customers of the fish they catch with our flies.  For us that is one of the main reasons we sell our flies.  We truly enjoy seeing how successful others are with what we create at the vise.  It's fun and we enjoy it.  I wanted to take some time and share with our followers what some of our customers are catching across the United States. 

First up is Harry from Good Loops, LLC.  Harry is in Texas and has shared with us some amazing photos of some bass he has caught using both our poppers and Perusaders.  Here are some of his photos:

Next up is Andy P.  Andy has been a follower on our fan page on Facebook.  Earlier this year, Andy won an assortment of Persuaders from us.  Using one of our Persuaders, Andy was able to land his first ever fish on the fly.  He wrote that he was so happy, he raced home to share with his family.  How cool is that?  For us, it is an awesome feeling to be a part of something like that.  I am hoping Andy is hooked on fly fishing and will stay with it!

Next is Jon S. and Debbie from Maryland.  Jon, Debbie and I met in late 2011 and started fishing together in 2012.  Jon is just really starting out with fly fishing.  Debbie loves throwing emergers at those 'gills.  Recently, Jon has taken to the Tenkara style of fly fishing as well.

Stephan J. wrote to us saying that the Fish Foolin' Frog fooled one in a canal in Miami, Fl.  What a great photo this is of our Fish Foolin' Frog in size 8 hanging in the mouth of that nice largemouth.

Christopher K. is another fisherman from Texas.  His mother reached out to us looking to send him a birthday surprise.  We were happy to oblige and our flies made it there just in time.  Christopher has been out using them and managed to land a number of red breasted sunfish.  I love these fish.  Their colors can be stunning.  I tend to call them long ears and catch a number of them in the Monocacy River each year.

Tom P. is another Marylander.  I had the pleasure of meeting Tom this past March while attening the Fly Fishing Film Tour in Baltimore.  Tom had been tearing the bass and bluegill up in the Tidal Basin with our Road Kills.  While I don't have a photo of it since its on Instagram, Tom recently landed a baby stripper on a purple Road Kill.  Everyone loves the Road Kills.  They aren't just for panfish anymore!  Its pretty cool, at least in my book, to see our flies in the mouths of fish with the Washington Monument in the background.

Last but certainly not least we have Mike D. who is also from Maryland.  Mike has also been doing well with our poppers and Persuaders landing both largemouth and bluegill on them.

Thanks to all who not only sent us photos but who have been loyal fans, followers and customers for the past several years.  Our company is growing daily and we strive to make the best possible flies we can for everyone to enjoy.  Melissa and I appreciate everyone and would like to say thanks for helping us get where we are today. 

















Ding, Ding....Order Up

Yawn....been tying since 1130 this morning trying to knock out orders before I head back to work tomorrow.  I have attached some photos of some top water awesomeness headed to MI.  Bass and Bluegill beware, poppers and Persuaders coming to a body of water near you.  Melissa and I are looking forward to seeing what the customer catches with these.  Should be a great time!