Fly Tying Workshop – December 16th

Please join us at our regular fly tying workshop held on the third Thursday of each month from 5:00pm to 7:30pm. We meet at the Port Royal Sound Foundation classroom located at 310 Okatie Hwy, Okatie on the banks of the Chechessee River.  Please make a note to check our Event Calendar periodically for information on the monthly fly tying workshops and other upcoming club sponsored events.

This month, our Fly Tying Chair, Ken Prager, will be the presenter. Ken will assist us in tying a top water fly, The Saltwater Popper.

This fly uses a preformed popper body that is made of high density (hard) white foam. Our presenter will be Ken Prager, an expert fly tyer and chairperson of the SIFF Fly Tying Committee.

“Hard poppers are used in applications where a floating fly is needed to create commotion.  With a jerk strip the popper will push water and with a hard pull will throw water and pop. The splash and popping sound will call the fish in, and since the popper will float after each strip, you can see the strike on the surface.  Use a weight forward fly line and a shortened leader to  turn over a popper with better accuracy.  Long casts are more appropriate as this allows for a longer strip before pick up.  Adjusting the color of the back will help imitate sardine, anchovies, or finger mullet bait fish.  Use a hook length that supports the popper body length you choose.  Use a waterproof glue to fill in the slot in the popper body on the underside after positioning the popper body over the hook.”  – Ken

Materials List:

• Hook – kinked popper hook with straight eye
• Thread – white 140 or 210 denier
• Body – solid popper body
• Tail – Four white saddles and bundle white deer tail
• Eyes – stick on yellow with black dot
• Color – blue, olive , or gray applied to top
• Gill – red marker
• Glue – E6000 waterproof adhesive

Tiers of all levels are welcome from beginner to expert.  If you are so equipped, don’t forget a craft light and your tying gear.  There is no fee required for participation. We encourage tiers to seek out the listed materials at their favorite fly shop. However, we have an adequately stocked “club box” to supplement the tiers’ supplies. For beginners, we also have a number of tying vises and craft lights for your use.

Questions? Contact Ken at 610-999-9897.