Spawn Blog

I am unsure why we say “DIY” in regard to fishing. It’s not something that is typically  used outside of the tropics. I never read about DIY Brook Trout fishing or DIY Smallmouth Bass fishing. But every Bonefish, Permit, Rooster, Tarpon and Snook seems to carry this title if it isn’t caught with a guide. 

First things first, this is a blog about what worked for me. By no means am I an expert on bonefish, but everyday I learned, changed, improved, and caught fish. 

On the first day, the water was murky and I wasn’t sight fishing. I knew how I liked to work a beach from my time spent in Puget Sound. I worked the mangroves inside to outside much like how I fish Puget Sound. I never stand in one area and cast straight out. I walked about 20 feet out from the shore into about 3 feet of water and faced parallel to the beach. My first cast, I casted about five feet out from the mangroves. The second cast was 10-20ft out, and the 3rd about 25-45ft out from the mangroves. Once I completed the fan I would move forward slowly about 40 feet and start the pattern again.  I started with a small light shrimp fly on a size 8 hook but switched after about 45 minutes to something lighter in color and much larger. 

My first bonefish encounter was a disaster. I wasn’t ready. I didn’t even see it. It felt like my line bumped the bottom then got hooked up to the back of a jetski and tore off. I was extremely disappointed when the fish came unhooked and I reeled the fly line in from my backing. To make things worse, I proceeded to lose two more shortly after. Thinking back, I don’t know exactly what I did wrong but i do know what I did right. I had changed to a larger,  jig-style fly that seemed to get their attention in the murky water. I also seemed to be covering the right places. 

Finally, 200 yards down the beach, I landed my first bonefish. I horsed it in as I was a bit nervous about losing the fish and was more prepared for that initial burst of power. Feeling satisfied, I called it a day.  

The next morning, the water clarity was better but still not picturesque. This lead me to my first very important lesson: walk a straight line and stay on the same path. The mangroves are a mix of sand and mud. In certain places, I sank two to three inches into the sandy mud. My footprints which were all over from the day before created shadows that looked exactly like bonefish. It was very difficult at first to distinguish between the two. I found myself squinting at footprints over and over waiting for one to move. 

 I finally saw an actual bonefish, got excited, and casted too close,  spooking the fish. I remembered a friend telling me to increase the length of my leader and to provide more distance between your fly and fish. I added another two feet to my leader for a total of around 11ft of Maxima Fluorocarbon. I saw another bonefish and casted out in front of it, giving myself more room to dance. I paused for a second then gave my fly a small twitch. The bonefish instantly came over and after several more strips, I was hooked up! I had tightened down my drag a bit from the day before and after fighting this fish in, the reel brought it to hand.  

The day only got better from here. 

After 2 more hours of sight fishing and several more landed bonefish, we decided to leave the lagoon and head to a local beach which held a large flat.  Here it was much easier to spot the bonefish, but there weren’t nearly as many around. I did see a school of feeding bonefish. Nervous about spooking them, I watched their movement from a distance. In my opinion, these fish move much like a Coho Salmon in Puget Sound. They were feeding along a path and didn’t seem to move very erratically. Judging their movement, I gave myself plenty of room when casting out in front. Waited for about 20 seconds and gave my fly a long slow strip. They saw it and began to chase. Although I hooked and landed a bonefish in this encounter, I swear it was the smallest fish in the school. The fish also went absolutely crazy spooking all the others away. This was something I found to be common; I never pulled multiple bonefish from the same school. I believe it would be very possible from a boat to target fish on the outside of the groups, but from the water I just wanted to cast into the mix where I had the highest chance of hooking up. 

At this point, I began to feel good about targeting bonefish. I was using an 11ft Maxima Fluorocarbon leader with a 7ft 25lb butt section and four feet of 12lb Maxima Fluorcarbon Tippet. I used a Douglas Sky 8wt Rod and a Galvan Torque Reel. For fly lines, I had a floating line and a mini tip from Jim Teeny.  I was fishing primarily 5 to 35 feet from the shore in the lagoon and just about anywhere on the flat in 5 feet to 12 inches of water! I used a Jig-Style Shrimp pattern. Once I had lost the 2 I brought, I switched to a smaller shrimp fly tied on a size 8 saltwater hook. Both flies road hook point up and were made of Spawn Products. Both flies were made up of primary Spawn UV Ghost Shrimp Simi Seal in particular! 

The next several days I would take a morning “walk” through the lagoon, sight fishing for bonefish in clearer water. Each outing I landed a bonefish.

The last day of bonefishing, I attached a pool floaty to the back of my backpack with strong fishing line and pulled my girlfriend through the lagoon as I found and caught bonefish. That day I went 6 for 8 with several fish that were a bit larger! This day I felt I had a much better understanding of how a bonefish takes the fly. It wasn’t like a bass or salmon where you instantly know because they simply smash your fly; it’s almost as if these fish were nibbling on it. They were like a time bomb in this sense: tik, tik, BOOM.  My hook set had transformed to a combination of strip setting and trout setting raising the road tip and stripping the line as I felt the take.

If you’re going to target Bonefish for the first time, I’d recommend an 8wt rod, quality fly reel, good pair of Polarized glasses, flats shoes, floating line, Maxima Fluocarbon, and shrimp flies using specialized Spawn Shrimp colored products with varied weights. Some thing to lookout for: stingrays were abundant, everyday on the water I saw them. They did not spook,  and sometimes they seemed almost interested in me, coming very very close. Barracuda become a problem. Once you catch a few of them size 10-20 inches,  the honeymoon phase disappears and they become a nuisance. I found that if they follow your fly, stop moving it completely and they will lose interest. If you keep stripping the fly, they will eat it and more often than not you will lose that fly. Don’t move fast and be patient. I found it’s far better to keep your distance and lead the bonefish than to risk casting too close. 

Overall, bonefish are awesome and bringing 12 to hand my first go at it was great. I don’t think they deserve to be in the same class as carp which I’m not a huge fan of. The challenge, the environment, the hunt and the fact that they chase a fly makes this fish a must-do experience for any angler!

Douglas Sky 9ft. 8 Wt. 

Maxima Fluorocarbon 

Bonefish Fly Box which I would supplement with flies using Spawn Products!

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I recently had the honor of presenting about Fly Fishing Puget Sound to the Salmon Creek Fly Fishers Club. Not only did I present all of the ins and outs of catching both Sea Run Cutthroat and Coho Salmon, but I also tied a fly that has been extremely successful for me in the saltwater. This simple articulated jig-style fly made up of Spawn products is a must have pattern for any fishery! You can change the colors of the pattern as well as size of hooks and shanks to fit your fishery's needs! 

60 Degree Jig Leech Pattern Materials List: 

Ahrex SA280 Size #6

Spawn Jig Shank 60 Degree, 20mm

Spawn's UV Simi Seal Ghost Shrimp/UV Orange

Mottled Tactical Slotted Tungsten Beads, Orange 5.5mm

Spawn's Southern Fl. Peach 

Lead Free Wire .025

Start out with your Ahrex SA280 Hook! 

Using Spawn's Fluorescent  Southern Peach Marabou, reverse wrap a quill of marabou onto the shank of the hook starting at the bend.

Add Spawn's UV Simi Seal Ghost Shrimp/UV Orange by using a dubbing loop or tying directly onto the shank up to the hook eye. Once you've finished, place a small amount of head cement or resin and cure.

Next, insert a slotted bead onto the Spawn 60 Degree Shank just as you would use a slotted bead on a standard hook!

Place the tail section of the fly to the Spawn 60 Degree Jig Shank.

Be sure that your slotted section of the bead is facing towards the tail section of the fly. 

Tie down the shank and add seven wraps of .025 Lead Free Wire Wrap to the shank. Push the wire wraps up into the slot of the bead to secure it into place. 

By using a dubbing loop or tying directly down, build the body of the fly using Spawn UV Simi Seal Ghost Shrimp/UV Orange. Stop building the body about 3mm from the bead.

Take another quill of Spawn's Fl Southern peach and reverse tie onto the shank. Wrap the feather forward until it is snug against the bead.

This is when I like to throw in a few whip finishes and add a bit of thin resin or head cement to increase durability of the fly. 

Once you have added a bit of head cement, dub your thread and add a few wraps as snug as possible to the bead. Whip finish and cut your thread. 

The last step is to remove the fly from the vise and shorten the tail section. Do not trim anything other than the very first feather that you started with! 

There you have it! A simple jig-style leach pattern using Spawn products! This fly will bounce over oyster shells and nets and shoot along the bottom like a shrimp, pulsing upwards with every strip! Not only will Sea Run Cutthroat and Coho Salmon love this fly, but countless other species in both fresh and saltwater won't be able to resist.

Under UV light:

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This is something that we have been meaning to share with you for some time! Hook sizing can be confusing. A 1/0 hook from one company can drastically differentiate from a 1/0 hook from another company. As people continue to chase bigger and meaner species using Spawn Heads we needed an easy solution to use our products with any hook.

Our Spawn Heads are durable. They are created to be abused and fished hard! People have used exacto knives, dremel tools and other means to get their favorite Spawn Heads onto biggest of hooks. There is now an easier cheaper means to get your favorite Spawn Heads onto even the largest hooks!

By using a Rat Tailed Diamond Needle File you can easily increase the mouth of a Spawn Head while maintain its structural integrity to fit your desired big game hooks! Below I show a step by step using a Ahrex SA270 6/0 Hook with our Spawn Crew Boss Head! This is a saltwater hook with large hook eye that without the tool would not work with our Spawn Heads!

Test Hook to see fit!

Insert tool into the mouth of the Spawn Head and begin to twist the tool shaving the mouth to fit your desired hook size!

Test fit and continue to use tool until you have reached your desired gap to fit the hook! 

You now have an easy solution to using our products with any size hook! Tie your big game fly as you normally would and cap it off using your favorite Spawn Head! Fill in the increased gap around hook with a bit of resin and you are good to go! Link below to tool! 

Rat Tailed Diamond Needle File $3.00 Each!

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Spawning Bunny Leech by Pete Rosanue

The Bunny Leech has long been a staple in many fly boxes. But how can the movement of rabbit be more enticing? Toss in a trailing egg! Adding triggers to your patterns is an effective way to catch more fish. Having a trailing dessert is also perfect for those short-striking springtime bruisers. Tie it, toss it, net it!  

List of Materials: 

*Thread: White UNI-Thread size 6/0 
*Hooks: Trailer: Size 8 
      Front Hook: Ahrex PR320 size 1/0 
*Weight: .035 and .025 non lead wire 
*Egg Connector: 30 pound Spider Wire 
*Mono Loop: 20 pound monofilament  
*Tail: Hareline Dubbing White Magnum Rabbit Strip 
*Body: Hareline Dubbing Silver Gray Crosscut Rabbit  
*Marabou Accent: Nature’s Spirit Fish Hunter Fl. Bubble Gum Pink UV 
*Head: Spawn Fly Fish Silver Sniper *Super Glue Gel 

*McFly Foam: Fl. Cerise and Baby Blue, Roe Yarn

Step 1: Place the front hook in the vise and begin your thread. Move your thread to just past the hook point toward the bend.  

Step 2: Starting just in front of the hook point wrap approximately 15 wraps of .o35 non lead wire. The critical point here is to leave ¼ inch of free space in front of the hook eye. After you’ve wrapped the wire and smoothed out the ends wrap your thread at 45 degree angles forward and back over the wire two times. Add a very thin layer of head cement.  

Step 3: For the .025 non lead wire begin with 3 wraps behind the .035 wire, 14 wraps in the spaces of the .035 and 3 wraps in front of the .035. This should give you a total of 20 wraps of .025 wire. Again, cover your wire wraps with thread and a thin layer of head cement. 

Step 4: For the egg the choice is yours as to which egg pattern is most successful in your waters. For this application we are using a McFly Foam egg tied on an size 8 stinger style (you can also use Roe Yarn available on our site. Begin by doubling over a 6 inch piece of 30 pound Spider Wire. Run the folded end through the hook eye until you can place both tag ends through the loop you’ve just made. Pull both tag ends until it a knot snugs up against the hook eye. Tie down your tag ends so the egg rests roughly one front hook length behind the front hook. This will let allow the egg to move under the tail of the fly without interfering with the rabbit. Tie the Spider Wire tag ends forward to where the .035 wire ends. At this point take a couple wraps of thread in front of the tag ends and fold the tag ends back toward the hook bend. Securely tie down and trim the ends.  

Step 5: Tie in a piece of 20 pound monofilament on the side of the hook in line with the hook eye. Tie back to your previous thread wraps. At this point make a small loop by leaving some extra mono before tying the other side down on the opposite side of the hook, again in line with the hook eye. The size of the loop should be slightly larger than a strip of magnum rabbit, but not so large that it can slip over the hook bend. Once you’ve cut both sides of the mono loop and wrapped securely with thread apply another thin layer of head cement. The purpose of the mono loop is to keep the trailing egg away from the rabbit tail and to keep the tail away from our front hook point. 

Step 6: Prepare a piece of magnum rabbit strip slightly longer than the front hook. Trim about ¼ inch of fur from the strip where you will tie it in. After trimming tie down so the beginning of the remaining fur lines up with where your previous thread wraps end. This will ensure a clean looking fly. 

Step 7: Tie in 5 strands of silver Krystal Flash so the ends reach just past the end of the tail. Move your thread 2 wraps in front of the flash, pull the remaining flash back over itself and tie down back to your tie in spot. Trim the 10 strands unevenly so some are past the tail and some are a bit shorter.  

Step 8: Clean out the loose hairs on a strip of silver gray crosscut rabbit. Remove enough hair for a clean tie in making sure the fur on the crosscut strip will begin where the fur from your tail section ends. The hair on the crosscut strip should be facing toward the back and opposite side of your hook. Tie in with the leather facing upward so that as you wrap the rabbit the leather will be facing the hook and the fur will be flowing toward the hook bend. 

Step 9: Wrap your crosscut strip to the hook eye and tie off cleanly. Comb out your rabbit to remove any loose hairs and to undo any trapped fibers. 

Step 10: Prepare a strung marabou feather by coaxing the fibers downward toward the base of the quill. Slightly wetted fingers will help immensely. Looking at the convex, or top side of the feather, carefully remove the fibers from the left side of the quill by gently pulling them downward toward the base of the feather. Trim some fibers from the top of the right side of the feather for a nice spot to tie in. Removing half the fibers will make the quill slightly easier to wrap while also allowing the body color to show through. Tie in your feather so the beginning fibers are butted up against the crosscut rabbit. 

Step 11: Make 3-4 wraps of the feather making sure to not trap any of the fibers as you wrap. Tie off the quill and trim away the excess feather. Make a clean thread head and whip finish 2 times. At this point I like to color the thread to match the fly. Add a bit of head cement and allow to dry. 

Step 12: After your head cement has dried apply a small amount of Super Glue Gel at the base where the feather fibers meet the thread head. Carefully position your Spawn Sniper head and slip it over the hook eye until it seats firmly against your fly. Proceed to your nearest fishing hole and commence fish catching. Repeat as needed. 

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For those of you that don't follow NOVE Outdoors, you're missing out! This group distributes our Spawn Products throughout South America and does a phenomenal job putting them to work and promoting them though various media outlets such as Youtube, Facebook, and Instagram! 

This relationship started in 2017 when we recieved a message from our now friend Milton Gareca. He was extremely interested in putting our Spawn Products to work in Argentina for Golden Dorado. 

After our first shipment arrived in Argentina, Milton got straight to work. Several weeks later we began receiving one amazing photo after another of Golden Dorado caught using our Spawn Fly Heads. I didn't know at the time, but this was the beginning of an extremely special relationship. 

Now equipped with our Season 2 Spawn Heads, Milton and NOVE Outdoors have taken our products to new heights. From Fly Fishing Shows to Lodges and now featured films, NOVE Outdoors is leading the charge for Spawn Fly Fish in South America. In the last several months, NOVE Outdoors has put out several films that deserve your attention! 

Someday we will join Milton and Pablo Sureda from NOVE Outdoors and create fishing memories that will last a lifetime! Be sure to watch these videos below!

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