Panther Branch Hoppers

It seems that around this time of year I start thinking of warmer weather, bluegills, and top water hoppers. My home pond has some Largemouth Bass that can't resist a tan hopper, and the California Bluegills are all over them no matter the color. This year I decided to tie up some Panther Branch Hoppers. Ive followed panther_branch_bugs on instagram for a couple years now, and I have to say that his hoppers have always intrigued me. (Don't get me started about his hair bugs) After doing some searching on the web I found a Fiberglass Manifesto post that had a step by step, and decided to give 'em a try. They're awesome little bugs, and the River Road Creations cutters that I got for Christmas made consistency easy. If you have any questions make sure to hit Brandon up at bailebr3@gmail.com I'm sure he'll be happy to answer any questions that you may have.

Deer hair success

Early this last spring I took on the task of learning how to tie deer hair flies. I watched a few you tube videos, and set out to give it a try. My first efforts were pretty pitiful. I started with some hair from a buck I killed last winter. The packing went ok I guess, but I broke a lot of thread. The carving was the hardest part. The videos make it look incredibly easy. It is not. When you spend thirty minutes or more packing deer hair only to butcher it in the carving stage it is very frustrating. 

I did mange to make two bugs that I felt were fish able, on my maiden voyage with them I broke my new (to me) Fenwick. I missed a strike, caught a tree behind me, and snapped it in half. 

I did a little more research and ordered some hair and a DVD from Pat Cohen over at rusuperfly.com. It really helped. I was able to tie two nice Tapp's Bugs. I took them to a new pond I found, and proceeded to catch two very nice bass on top. One of them is definitely the biggest bass I've ever caught on top. I lost one bug in a tree, but still have the other one. I'm sure I'll tie up a few more in the months to come, and have even more success next Spring/Summer.

 

My first

2nd

Oh snap!

Two keepers

My best bass.