Raccoon Loud Mouth

[Paul Arden]

Here’s a variation on my killer Snakehead Popper which has Vince’s Loudmouth head...

I’ve used Raccoon in the tail. Slight departure for me but the proof will be in the casting. When I tried a bunny strip when waterlogged it landed too heavily.

But it looks funky to me

[queenfish]

One good thing about fly tying, experimention is limitless.
You have to be feerless to try them.

[Mangrove Cuckoo]

Racoon huh?

So, how did it work?

Lefty said the best material for a bug tail was squirrel since it shed water in the air but spreads out on the surface. I like it, but it is limited in length and only suitable for small bugs. Racoon may be similar but longer, so better for bigger bugs?

BTW, he also trimmed the lower lip so the bug will skitter instead of dig on the lift.

[Paul Arden]

I haven’t been on the lake as much recently as I would like but I did have a 6KG plus Snakehead like it so much it untied the Lefty Knot and stole it. Very smart these fish.

The picture makes it look as if there is a lot more in there. I’ve actually kept it quite small.

91354213-7A24-4BD1-9D58-F84A30C14593.jpeg (111.66 KiB) Viewed 4978 times

I haven’t tried squirrel in tails, only wings. Certainly no problems with the raccoon fur.

Cheers, Paul

[Paul Arden]

They’re interesting flies by the way. I don’t think I’ve ever fished a fly to which I’ve made so many adjustments while fishing! Adding foam, removing foam, recolouring them, removing lead, adding new tails, re-hackling... sometimes I’ve taken the popper head off one and glued it to another

Cheers, Paul

[queenfish]

I used to do the same Paul when I was fishing for cod.
In fresh water the water condition changes so much, some days it feels like a thick soup, so you have to adjust the floatation to suit.

[Paul Arden]

I also like to adjust the way they pop. Usually I tie them to “just float”, which is better for hook ups, but with bite wire they sometimes “just sink” Sticking another layer of foam on the top fixes this problem, but at other times the bloop is just too aggressive depending on the fishes’ mood.

It’s been an absolutely tremendous fly for me mate, thanks so much. It’s not like any other popper because it’s lightweight and it’s totally versatile.

I bought some steel foam cutters which attach to the drill, I also made of some larger ones using a broken umbrella pole. I like this because I’ve been collecting packaging materials with really excellent foam with a view to recycling it into flies. I don’t really trout fish much nowadays but I can imagine that a muddler minnow sized Loud-Mouth would be a killer. I’ll try tying some up for Mahseer for next year.

I reckon you might enjoy it out here, Vince, I have a couple of boats exactly like yours If you ever decide to come over I’ll show you the ropes and then one of those boats is yours

Cheers,
Paul

[queenfish]

Thanks for the offer Paul I can't imagine how exciting is the fishing there.
Unfortunately getting too old for that.
By the way check this popper heads they are 15mm wide. 8mm thick 190 in a box for 5 aus. dollars.

[Paul Arden]

Ah I was wondering where you were getting the multiple colours from! The most common tubes I'm using are 9mm and then I use one or two layers of 2mm foam. Occasionally I discover foam that doesn't glue, no idea why. When I find the right foam it appears to generate a lot of heat when joined with the superglue.

What are the foam sections intended for in the packet? Necklaces? The mind boggles that there is a whole market of people out there who buy that!

Cheers, Paul

[piffilus]

I don’t really trout fish much nowadays but I can imagine that a muddler minnow sized Loud-Mouth would be a killer.

What size hook/shank are you referring to here? I have just begun tying muddler head flies, a bit tricky to get consistent. I have a patch of particularly stubborn deer hair that doesn't want to spin right since it seems to have some underfur left even though I clean it more than the other ones I have.

The idea with the loudmouth head looks like a nice one. Which size cutter would you use, the 7mm?

Cheers, Piffen