Product Spotlight: Tungsten Handmade Flies

With the advent of fishing heavier, more ecologically friendly jigs, such as those made of tungsten, have revolutionized how some anglers fish.  Tungsten is roughly 1.7 times more dense than lead; this means that you are able to fish a smaller sized offering without sacrificing weight.  Tungsten lures also give you more control of your presentation and allow you to fish deeper water without having to increase the size of your lure.  The only drawback of tungsten jigs is that they are quite a bit more expensive than lead jigs.

Tungsten lures are not a secret and ice fishermen on the pro circuit have been fishing them for a long time.  The initial idea originated in Eastern Europe and Russia from ice fishermen who have long used them.  Many companies such has Fiskas, Sportsmen's Direct, Northland Tackle, Skandia, Bentley, and others capitalized on the concept and helped bring these tungsten lures stateside and make them available on a retail level.

The melding of the heavy weight tungsten lure and traditional flies is not a new concept, rather one which has not been marketed and explored to a great degree.  Barry Williams saw a need for the addition of tungsten and flies so he started handcrafting his own lures at home.  If Williams seems familiar to you, it may be from the recent article Roadkill Panfish in the 2013 In-Fishermen Ice Guide, which featured some of his work.

Williams uses a multitude of tying materials such as marabou, squirrel, deer, rabbit, opossum, and beaver.  Williams notes that each gives a separate and distinct action to the bait.  Some of his favorites for panfish include the Spooky Bushwacker, Roadkill, and Freshwater Shrimp.  The sky is the limit for color and material combinations, as well as sizes ranging from 4mm down to 2.5mm.  His tungsten flies are attractively priced at a dollar a piece which makes them an affordable option for guys wanting to try a tungsten jig but don't want to spend upwards of four dollars on a jig.

Barry did a fantastic job and was very prompt on getting my order completed and shipped.  I was pleased with how well the flies turned out and I really look forward to using these this winter when targeting pressured bluegills and crappies.  While the flies aren't quite as heavy as a same sized counterpart tungsten jigs, they are much heavier then a traditional beaded fly.  I look for these flies to do really well in shallow to moderate depths or as part of a dropper rig when fishing moderate to deeper water.

If you are interested in trying out some tungsten flies this winter, you can find more information about Williams and his offerings at http://spookyspiders.bravehost.com/.

Size comparison: 4mm tungsten jig (left) and 4mm Roadkill fly (right)