I’ve had a few requests on how to tie the Sponge Bob, so here goes.
Sliders have been around for a while and the Sponge Bob was merely my interpretation of classic sliders. I fish it on an intermediate (estuaries) or sinking lines (surf). The Sponge Bob is retrieved with a quick, sharp strips and then left for a few seconds. This makes the fly dive on the pull, and then swim straight up on the pause. Check it out in a pool to see the awesome action. This is my favourite pattern with kob, and I fish it with lots of confidence.
Start the tie by tying 2 to 3 hackles on either side of the hook. Colour is not that important, but I like to keep it natural. Olive is my favourite. As far as hooks go, I like using a Gamagatsu SL 12 in size 4/0. Secure with superglue. Dress with flash material (optional)
Next tie in a shoulder of Bucktail like you would do with a deceiver.
bucktail shoulder
Next up is a Synthetic collar. I use SF blend and would cut a tuft into thirds to spin a dubbing brush. You can opt for ready made dubbing brushes if you are lazy.
spinning dubbing brush
I like the combination of olive with Bronze Back SF Blend. Bring the brush forward and allow for enough shank space to accommodate the foam head. Comb out with velcro brush.
Bronze Back SF Blend
For the slider heads I use bass popper heads. Make a hole with a heated needle and slide over the hook shank reversed backwards.
bass popper heads
Cover the shank with superglue before you slide the foam head on. Stick on eyes with superglue.
Sponge Bob
Kob loves mullet and Sponge Bobs!
That SF works so well with the natural fibres! You find Olive the best colour?
Hi Peter. I like olive in estuaries, especially after dark. And I’ve also caught on other natural colours like tan, brown and grey. But then again, those were the colours I use. My mates have caught on white, even after dark so I don’t believe that colour makes that much of a difference. I think the combination of materials (for bulk) and the movement (foam) are the crucial properties.
Hi Conrad.
Just a quick one,if you fish the spongebob in estiaries,how long leader do you use on your intermediate line.
Im thinking with a long leader does it not float above the fish zone.
I fish in Gouritz river and im trying my hardest to get a cob on the fly but no luck yet.
Any tips.
Thanks bud.
Chris
Hi Chris
I use a 6 to a 9ft leader, but as a general rule you can keep it short. Unfortunately kob stocks are quite depleted, so they are difficult to start with.
My best advice is to fish sunset and sunrise. You can even try fishing for them at night. From what I can remember from my childhood days on the Gouritz, we ussually fished the bank on the Mosselbay side, directly accross from the slipway and up towards the mouth.
Good luck!
love this page. Any idea who stocks those popping heads locally?
I got those popping heads from Upstream, Fred. But i think SreamX stock it as well.
Thank you,are they situated in sa?
Best Regards
Fred le Roux
Freedom Surf & Water Academy (Pty) Ltd
e-mail: fred@freedomsurf.co.za
Tel: 0357531271
Cell: 0762081539
Both are in Cape Town. Frontier in JHB should also have. Ask for compressed foam, not the polystyrene type.
[…] This fly was created by Conrad Botes to target Kob in the Eastern Cape. It was first mentioned in the Complete Fly Fisherman Mag recently and after numerous requests Conrad posted a step by step on the Feathers and Fluoro Blog which can be seen here click me […]
Check this out. Some very nice looking Sponge Bobs on Fly or Die:
http://flyordie.co.za/2014/02/the-sponge-bob/