Hot Patterns:
Tomaso's Jetty Fly
Tomaso's Jetty Fly
How about a fly that imitates a lure?
| Background |  |
Summary & Tying Notes | |
Tying Instructions | |
Fishing Notes |
San Diego angler Tom Phillips was inspired to develop this fly by his experience fishing heavy lead head jigs for calico bass around San Diego’s Point Loma and La Jolla kelp beds.
Tom was looking for a snag resistant fly pattern with characteristics similar to the Trix Jetty Worm jig, commonly referred to as the “TJW”. The TJW was developed by San Diego angler Scott “Fishtricks” Johnson, and is a popular lure among conventional tackle buffs for fishing the bays and coastal kelp beds.
The TJW employs a molded lead jig head with snag guard, soft plastic body, and silicone spinnerbait skirts to create a lure that sinks rapidly, has some bulk, and shows a lot of animation. The TJW is a very effective calico bass lure that can be fished from top to bottom, and takes other species as well.
Jetty Flies (top and bottom),
Trix Jetty Worm (middle)
Tom had been experimenting for a couple of seasons with rabbit-strip based patterns for calicos with some success. He tied up a few prototype examples to emulate the TJW and presented them to me for inspection and critique. My immediate thought was that this was a succulent pattern that would prove successful. This fly has features found in many other patterns, including Tom Nixon’s Calcasieu Pig Boat and Barr’s Meat Whistle, and blends them into an easy to tie form that successfully replicates many of the features of the TJW.
Since the Jetty Fly lacks the heavy jig head found on the TJW, it has a different dynamic on the drop, and cannot be fished as deep. To depths of about 20 feet, however, it emulates the TJW quite well. Under the right conditions, it can be fished even deeper.
The Jetty Fly has been productive in inshore waters for calico bass and even some barracuda and white seabass. It has also accounted for sand bass and spotted bay bass in the bays. On one outing, after a short cast into a pocket in the kelp, I watched a Giant Kelp Fish about 2 feet long repeatedly strike my Jetty Fly. The fly was too big for the small mouth of this species, so I didn't catch the fish, but it illustrates the broad appeal of the pattern. We expect that in smaller sizes that it will prove to be a very successful “spotty” pattern and we also intend to employ it for largemouth bass.
[Editor's note: Tom's wife runs Sungrubbies.com, purveyors of sun protection clothing for the entire family. They sell over the web, please check them out!]
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