The Squid Imitation:

What flies - Tuna Kahuna Squid

Tuna Kahuna Squid

means a fly that is (obviously) designed to imitate what West Coasters call “candy bait”. Key features include:

  • Optics towards the rear (fly looks like it is travelling backwards)
  • Translucence and/or a body that appears to move or ripple
  • White, pink, brown are typical colors
  • Typical examples: Sea Arrow Squid, Feather Fleye Squid, Kahuna Squid

The Creature Fly:

What flies - Tomaso's Jetty Fly (courtesy Craig Smith)

Tomaso’s Jetty Fly (courtesy Craig Smith)

style imitates some sort of living creepy-crawly thing, typically a crab or other bottom creature like a small sculpin. Key features are:

  • Tentacles/skirt
  • Heavily weighted to produce a more vertical drop
  • “Live action” type tail
  • Reds, browns, oranges, black and purples
  • Typical examples: Jetty Fly, Sea-Ducer, various sculpin patterns

Other:

What flies - Orange Shark Bomb

Orange Shark Bomb (courtesy Paul Sharman)

types of flies that have proven successful:

  • Sharks: Typically, sharks are fished with large streamers, either hair, feathers or a combination of both. Capt. Conway Bowman (see ConwayBowman.com), and Capt. Dave Trimble (On the Fly Fishing Charters) favors a large orange fly with an Ichthyosys plastic head with large eyes. Another recent development is the use of yellow in mako shark flies. Capt. Scott Leon came upon this during the summer, and the results are startling.