Jon P. Posted October 17, 2016 Report Share Posted October 17, 2016 hey folks, recently I've been working on a trout swimbait and one of the things I've decided to do with it is to add frog hooks concealed as fins on it's underside. originally i was going to mold the fins out of plastic but that raised some issues with its durability. so i decided to tie the fins. i was hoping someone could help give me some ideas with making the fins. I'm thinking either dyed turkey feather sandwiching the barbs of the frog hook or buck tail. I think I would have problems shaping the bucktail and the turkey feather might affect the swimbaits action. any help is appreciated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bassrecord Posted October 17, 2016 Report Share Posted October 17, 2016 Just a suggestion: IMO pectoral fins are "always" moving. Turkey flats and buck tail seem kinda stiff. How about "semi-marabou" over your frog hooks? Seems like I've seen feathers that are normal next to the stem and marabou-like out toward the tips. Maybe you can find something in trout colors. Sorry but I don't recall where I saw this stuff. Good luck. John Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon P. Posted October 17, 2016 Author Report Share Posted October 17, 2016 Just a suggestion: IMO pectoral fins are "always" moving. Turkey flats and buck tail seem kinda stiff. How about "semi-marabou" over your frog hooks? Seems like I've seen feathers that are normal next to the stem and marabou-like out toward the tips. Maybe you can find something in trout colors. Sorry but I don't recall where I saw this stuff. Good luck. John I work in a fly shop so finding materials really isn't an issue, but do you think that marabou would be shapeable enough? I'm looking for a pretty "on the dot" shape. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fshng2 Posted October 25, 2016 Report Share Posted October 25, 2016 (edited) For some durable fibers...how about bristles from a brush either natural or synthetic. Never made fins but you could remove a small bundle from the brush. Once removed manage the fibers using an adhesive or double side tape placed at the end of the fibers. After attaching the fiber bundle to the swim bait, shape it to a realistic shape. Edited October 25, 2016 by fshng2 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bassrecord Posted October 26, 2016 Report Share Posted October 26, 2016 Here is a link to somewhat I saw from Spirit River https://spiritriver.com/materials/feathers/jailhouse-ostrich with sever possible colors. Another is OSTP Ostrich the barred not the dot: http://catalog.theflyshop.com/opst-ostrich/ but except for olive, I did not see a color that was close to trout pectoral fins. Hope this points you where you want to go. Good luck! John 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
canuck Posted January 13, 2017 Report Share Posted January 13, 2017 A suggestion for lots of fiber movement would be cross cut rabitt strips tied to the frog hooks.That stuff really flares and moves with the slightest of water /lure movement. I thought also that movement of the frog hooks could come from a flex pivot point or tie in to the bait body rather than expecting all the movement comming from the fiber or fin covering itself. Would thin sheet foam or mylar work for finn material? hard to say without seing the total design. Hope these options are of some use. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clemmy Posted January 21, 2017 Report Share Posted January 21, 2017 You could try microfibbets. The turkey flats, (or perhaps tented Chinese hackle), you could coat with flexible bug bond or similar us epoxy. heck, you could have ba custom feather cutter made at river road! I think Roman Made uses just normal hackle on his.. clemmy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon P. Posted January 27, 2017 Author Report Share Posted January 27, 2017 On 1/21/2017 at 10:35 AM, clemmy said: You could try microfibbets. The turkey flats, (or perhaps tented Chinese hackle), you could coat with flexible bug bond or similar us epoxy. heck, you could have ba custom feather cutter made at river road! I think Roman Made uses just normal hackle on his.. clemmy actually that custom feather cutter is a great idea! and it's funny that you mention roman made, making a bait that is better than the mother is one of my top goals. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
