Guest Blogger: John Satkowski, Toledo, OH, J. Stockard Pro Tyer, fly tying demonstrator and instructor. Find Hohn on Instagram and Facebook.
A couple of years ago, I was hitting the river on a warm, hazy evening. Having forgotten my fly rod I grabbed one of my spinning rods from my vehicle and tied on a small Heddon Torpedo. I started nailing fish left and right and had a great topwater evening of fishing. As I was driving back home, I started to think about how I could develop a fly that has the characteristics of a Torpedo, but can be used with a fly rod. After a few attempts, the Top Gun was born. This is an extremely effective fly for all types of species including smallmouth and largemouth Bass, Northern Pike, and even has a Longnose Gar to its name.
The head of this particular pattern is unique in that I used carved foam to simulate a Creek Chub, which is the favorite forage fish around my area. In the commercial model, I would use premade foam product such as Rainy’s PSP bodies, Rainy’s popper or slider bodies, or Rainy’s frog bodies. I wanted to show how you can create very realistic patterns with just foam, a dremel, and some markers. It’s a fun project on a bad weather day or over the winter when the cabin fever is setting in. The materials are pretty common and can be ordered through a myriad of tackle building sources such as Jann’s Netcraft. The tutorial will show you how to build the fly body and some techniques for the foam head. This is an effective fly, and a lot of fun on the vise. more…
