Saltwater Fly Arsenal - Who Is Stizzlack?

If you don't know who Stizzlack is - You're about to!

   Spring is here, the water is warming up, bait is creeping back in and we are all getting anxious. I have a friend who has some Fly Tying Skills, known on Instagram as @Stizzlack He is a mad scientist, and a creative one at that. I had him break down a few of his favorite flies, how to fish them, and what species to target. Hopefully after you read this post, you'll be taking away some good tips and some great new flies. He sells his flies at affordable prices , Give him a shout Stizzlack@gmail.com

 "Honey Booboo Crab" Color: Purple rain. Best used for tailing, or "crawling" redfish and black drum, also in the right color (more realistic) could have the right stuff to dupe a Permit. This color is a bit "loud" but works well in dirty water. the fly is ideal for shallow water sight fishing, I prefer to use crab patterns exclusively for sight fishing because I find that the proper way to fish one is to barely creep it along until the fish sees it, then pause it, and make a long strip as the fish comes up on the fly mimicking the crab running away from the fish

 "Half and Half Mullet" Color: Rose (RO-ZAY) sand. Perfect for Trout, Redfish, Snook, Tarpon, and really anything that eats little fish... which is most of them. The fly should sink, but very slowly, so while it is best to be fished in water 3 feet or deeper; the addition of a weed guard allows it to be used in shallower water.

"Critter Crab" Color: Blew Crab. I have gone through several different variations of the critter crab, but this form has proven itself to be the most effective. It is a very slow sinking fly, and will actually float until the fibers get good and soaked. It has taken flood tide redfish and black drum in sight fishing situations. It has also taken redfish, trout and snook on the strip, and I believe it would be highly effective in a situation where you would find small tarpon, or drum feeding on crabs floating along with the tide.

"Gagler" Color: Piss and Vinegar. For the longest time I thought that the gurgler was the dumbest, ugliest, most non aerodynamic fly imaginable... until I fished one. This fly has caught me more micro tarpon than any other fly I’ve ever thrown, and will catch just about anything. In various color variations I have caught snook, tarpon, redfish, trout, jacks, bass, and cichlids on gurglers, and they are the only top water that I'll use to sight fish redfish in mosquito lagoon. Depending on the color the fly imitates a shrimp skipping on the surface, or a baitfish.

 "Slider" Color: Shrimply Chartreuse. This is a variation of the original "Borski's Redfish or Bonefish Slider". the slider is by far my favorite fly for shallow grass flats, the fly rider hook point up, always, which helps to keep it from fouling in the grass, this is achieved by tying in ball of deer body hair opposite of the bead chain eyes. the bead chain want to sink, which is countered by the deer hair which wants to float, and the result is a suspending/waking/slow sinking fly that can be used to imitate a shrimp or a bait fish depending on the color, and is excellent for both sight fishing, and blind casting. it can be tied with lead eyes instead of bead chain if you want it to sink faster, but the bead chain is my favorite because it lands quietly, and doesn't spook the fish. This particular slider is scaled down, almost to bonefish size, and is the only one of my flies to have taken a sheepshead. Sliders in general are an extremely versatile fly that can be tied in a number of different forms to achieve a number of different desired effects. Redfish, black drum, snook, trout, bonefish, and sheephead.

  "Flash Bulb slider" Color: Shrimply root beer. The description is the same except this one has multiple layers of root beer flash incorporated into the head of the fly, and crab eyes on the back. the flash bulb is intended for dense grass, where the fly could get "lost" and overlooked by a passing fish, the shimmering head on the fly should catch the fish's eye, and get him to turn on it. as for the eyes on the back, I find that some of the most successful lures are almost indiscreet in the sense that they don't look enough like one thing or another to be discredited as an imposter, the same way that a knock off of something can often easily be spotted as a knock off, where as something that has never been seen before can’t be discredited as something that it’s not... if that makes sense... maybe I’m over thinking things

-Stizzlack