Question on the Heaviest Anchor Flies

[Robert Shearer]

Could anyone post any photos of or links to photos or recipes of heavy anchor flies? I know Vladi worms can be quite heavy as well as girdle bug variants like Pete Erickson's "turd" fly.  Any information on the flies and their recipes that are being used when a very heavy anchor fly is necessary will be much appreciated.

Robert

[Timothy Grey]

For me it is hard to beat Polish Woven Nymphs when I need something heavy.  They can be much heavier than a Vladi Worm.  Pat's Rubber Legs (or the turd) is a killer fly, but will never sink quite as fast as a Polish Woven Nymphs because of the chenille and rubber appendages.

[Aaron Laing]

You want to get down right now, then look no further than the lead weighted shrimp hook.



In the words of Hunter S. Thompson, it "will sink like a goddamn stone". It's a bit of a b!tch to wrap material on, but it would probably suit a woven body nicely.

Aaron

[Pat Weiss]

Where in the world did yo find that!!??

[Dejon Hamann]

Do a quick search on the forum for anchor or bomb - terms like that and you'll find some good threads.

It really depends on what you mean by "heavy". In the 1gram range the vladi worm or woven with slick cover are hard to beat.

In the plus 2gram range case caddis molded or split shot covered with substrate are excellent.

[Bob Lux]

I've been a big fan of Walt's Worm tied on a size 6 hook. You can add a ton a weight to it, it's easy to tie and it catches the fool out of fish. It's my go to for when I need a heavy anchor.

[John Killinger]

I tie a big nasty size 2 vladi worm on a 6x long hook. 1.75 oz tied with over 20 wraps of .035 lead. It's gets down in the deepest of runs.

[Aaron Laing]

Where in the world did yo find that!!??

Fly Tying Specialties usually have a few in stock, but the range of sizes is a bit limited. I like his service, but for selection you can do better getting them directly from Europe.

Here's one site Czech Nymph. Look around and you might find a better selection elsewhere.

I don't often use these as we have a single-barbless rule in my area, but if you're fishing the deep this puppy goes down faster than a porn star.

Aaron

[Pat Weiss]

HA! Classic line Aaron!  Thanx.

[Aaron Laing]

Old joke, but appropriate in this case.

Aaron

[Mark Hanes]

I can really load some serious weight into some beadheaded style Czech nymphs that make great high/fast water anchor flies.  you can adjust the weight and hide and extra tungsten bead or two in a turd and really make it sink a bit faster if you need to.  Also don't be afraid to use jig hooks as anchor flies. 

[Greg Glitzer]

A domestic source of the leaded grub hooks is Chris Helm’s Whitetail Supplies.  He offers (or did at one time) Grayling Bug hooks from Fulling Mill – those were barbed though, and a heavy hook without the right point design can gain plenty of momentum and easily work loose from a fighting fish.  I ordered some several years ago.  I found I needed to roughen them up with a file before dubbing or wrapping, as the thread would invariably slide fore and aft off the molded lead.

As Mark indicates, you can easily make some seriously heavy and still comp legal anchor flies by loading a long shank hook with tungsten beads and covering with your favorite  “Vladi material” and barbless hook design of your own choice.  Of course, you’ll end up with $8 worth of beads on a single fly.  Keep your casts/lobs open though, as an impact by one of those flies is a shortcut to a broken rod. 

While it will certainly get you deep, there are penalties to pay for strike detection and sensitivity.  As with most everything, there are tradeoffs. 

[Jim Frazier]

I am not a comp angler so take what i have to say with a grain of salt , once u get to a certain point in the water column for a certain number of seconds you flys automatically end up on the bottom even if they are way to light for that section (rod angle , tracking speed , hesitation at the begining , body position , ) see what i am saying here .....heavy is heavy but get on bottom by a different path maybe , does this make sense to anybody but me ?

[Jim Frazier]

a better question might say this " how can i design a "light" fly that gets down real deep in a hurry ?"

[Kalvin Kaloz]

I will add a few ideas I had which led me down a rabbit hole that lasted a few days.... I can positively say How you add distribute the weight makes a great deal of difference on sink rate! 

Just to give an example… had a friends turd size 6 weighed 1.37 grams, I tied  same size 6 weighed .97 grams with no from antenna and mine sunk noticeably faster in a 3 foot cylinder every time. 2 main factors not front antenna, Jig hook with 2 beads and all weight at the front…sinks head first less surface area that .35 lead double wrapped the whole length of the shank sinks basically level with a ton more surface area!!!

I realize this may be in the weeds but that is just me and if it gets me 1 more fish in a comp it is ALL worth it!

[Jason Hearle]

http://troutlegend.com/forum/river-patterns-and-discussion/hydrodynamic-nymphs/

This might help your thinking process on fast sinking nymphs.  Keep in mind less fuzzy, tightly wound bodies with fewer appendages sink quicker. 

[Jim Frazier]

Kal , that was my point exactly , lighter nymphs can & do sink faster if tied right ! 2 great minds think alike 

[John Killinger]

I use polish woven quite often in the spring and they sink like rocks, no resistance. It's my #1 fly back home, not on PA's spring creek for whatever reason...