Bass Streamer Weed Guards

[Loogie]

Folks, I fish a lot bass ponds, lakes and streams. The last lake I fished required some stout double weed guards, the lake is awesome but it is filled with structure and branches etc. (it is a club lake). I am tired of loosing flies, so I am going to try and tie some double weed guards on some streamers, any nice examples out there? Suggestions on best technique to tie with a double mason loop guard?
Here is an example of my clawdad with a single weed guard, I still lost a few. I am thinking of tieing small shad, baby bass streamers with double weed guards. Any suggestions would be highly appreciated.

[Ben Kann]

I fish in shallow, weedy waters for bass. My favorite fly is a frog on a long shank hook with serious foam for the head, tied on the inside the bend and with some chenille (or a very small bit of lead wire on the bend. It floats head up, body down with the hook point riding up (slides over pads and grasses). It is very weedless and makes an excellent presentation of a natural frog

[dborjas]

hey loogie, ben kann is on the right track with his advice. I have been tying with some jig hooks custom made with good stout hooks for a couple of years now. the hooks ride in the up position. you can really "walk the bottom" with them. your pics are great, looks like you are doing pretty well with your current method! dborjas

[Loogie]

Ben and Dborjas, can you post some pics? Appreciate the suggestion, looks like a couple frogs are in my future. This lake has a LOT of brush on the edges, very hard to walk anything, hence the hook protection.

[BrownBear]

No pics, but we use a whale of a lot of flies with weed guards back in the mangroves as well as in the freshwater canals in Florida. Best for us has been to use 30# or 40# mono for double loops.

Clamp the hook shank in your vise between the barb and bend so that the bend is mostly on top. Tie a pair of mono chunks high on the bend of the hook, then clips thread and coat with UV glue (used epoxy for years, but this is my favorite app for UV). Dismount from the vise and tie the fly as normal. Once you're ready to form the head, pull the mono chunks forward and tie off one at a time at the head, adjusting dimensions and position to protect the hook. Some folks like them together, but I spread them a little to protect the hook point when the fly flops on it's side on top of vegetation.

BTW- I choose between 30# and 40# depending on the mass of the fly. If your guard is too light, it will collapse, especially if a heavy fly lands in the vegetation with a hard smack on an errant cast. Lighter flies get the 30#, but mostly I'm tying my 1/0 and larger mangrove flies with the doubled 40#.

[BruceHandley]

If weeds are a problem, try tying your flies as "bendbacks". Something I use in Lake Champlain for Bowfin.
Bruce

[aged_sage]

In my neck of the woods, they are known as "snag guards" as they greatly facilitate 'snaking' the bug over that dead fall you accidentally put your bug on the other side of, or over that pesky limb behind you, or gliding over lily pads without 'snagging' them. They take various forms, and are composed of various materials; both wire and mono, and the nature of the body can also play a role in type selection. For hard foam and balsa bodies, two pieces of 50# mono imbedded into the body in front of the hook point, and projecting down and back to just in front of the hook point can work quite well. On flies with a 'natural' material body, a single piece of 40-50# mono tied to the shank, and again pointing down and back to just in front of the hook point works. For deer hair bugs, a single piece of 40# mono tied in on top of the shank at the bend and bound down well into the bend, and ultimately brought forward and tied in behind the hook eye after the body has been trimmed and the 'mono loop' under the hook has been appropriately sized is a very common method. Similar double mono loops constructed by tying a stiff piece of mono in on each side of the hook at the bend, and both brought forward and tied off as for a single mono loop is another variation. Dave Whitlock seems to be fond of this variation. And finally, the piano wire guard. Take a 6" piece of fine piano wire and fold it in half. Crimp the fold with pliers to nearly close to loop. Next, bend the tips of each leg up at a 90 degree angle, perpendicular to two legs, both laying horizontally, and perpendicular to the bend loop. Complete the fly, but prior to building the head, poke the bend through the hook eye and extend it to just behind the point of the barb. Adjust this arrangement to make sure that the bend in the wire will neatly fit behind the barb, and that it can be easily pressed upwards towards the body without getting caught on the point of the barb. Once the necessary adjustment has been made, securely bind the two legs to the hook behind the eye while finishing the head. Wrap the thread over the legs both above and below the hook. Whip finish, trim the excess wire, add head cement, attach to your tippet. GO FISHING!

These sound like they are time consuming to make; but, in reality, they are quite simple and fast to make. Once you see one, you will know what I am describing.

Tight lines!

[Loogie]

Aged sage, I made a couple of "snag guards" streamers. I am calling it the "Cohoke" (after the lake I fish in VA), it is a little bit of a schminnow, a little bit of a zonker, with a little bit of chartreuse and some UV sparkle. Small weight eyes on the inside, and a double snag guard. I believe Mr Bucket Mouth is in trouble.

[jhuskey]

I bet you are right, great looking fly!

[BrownBear]

Good looking fly Loogie- perfect companion for my beloved Gartside Gurglers! Notes taken.

[aged_sage]

You definitely get an A++ on the double legged "snag guard". The fly is not the least 'shabby' either! If it doesn't work for you, send it to me and I will see how the "bucket mouths" in Texas react to it! AND, at no charge to you!!

Cheers!
Frank

[Loogie]

OK, so this afternoon I took the streamer out on the lake I live on to try it out. I know a couple good deep drop offs that produce well. Fishing was slow I only caught one...
It was 9lbs on the "Cohoke"! I am writing the fly recipe down on this one!
Here she is:

[aged_sage]

Nice Fish! Did you have the opportunity to put the "snag guard" to the 'acid' test?

Cheers!
Frank

[Loogie]

Yes that was on the new fly I tied, worked well!

[aged_sage]

GREAT!