Coneheads

[charlieh]

They seem to be very fashionable at the moment. Are they just a passing fad, or is there really something special about them?

If so, what do you think the conehead does to increase a fly's attraction, and are there particular circumstances where they are specially effective?

[Fruin]

I like them for various reasons. I used to do a bit of reservoir trout fishing and always found that a weighted head injected more life into a retrieved lure. I think that there is a bit of this in the conehead salmon flies as well.

However, I think they have found favour in tube flies because the use of a cone head, especially when fishing with a floating line, can present the fly in a more even keel by balancing the weight of the tube body and hook.

In slack water life can be injected into the fly by employing a varying retrieve, making the fly dive and rise in the water. This effect is lessened if the fly is overdressed; the dressing, hook, and weight of conehead should be balanced to give the ideal presentation.

With the availability of coneheads in different materials, various weights, and hence depths, can be achieved without having to alter the size of the fly, as would be the case with copper tubes. The small tungsten cones are good for tying behind the wing of small tube flies for getting down a bit in bright summer conditions.

I my opinion and experience they seem to work better in faster flows.

Are they a passing fad? - No, just a natural progression.
Something Special? - Yes, they do 'swim' very well.
Will they outfish traditional tubes? In good water conditions during spring and autumn, I don't think they do. However, they do offer more options for different conditions.

It will be interesting to hear what others think.

Tight Lines

[frh]

Charlie

I could not have put Fruins points better myself.
I do not use them in spring but the grilse seem to love them and will happily pluck and pull at them all evening when everything else has failed. I have never caught a fish on an Ally shrimp hook - except dressed on a conehead. My father caught 12 grilse in one hour in 2004 on the Ally conehead.

They seem to be at their best in low water conditions in the faster flows. For higher water a loop tube tied with artic fox works better but the coneheads are a joy to cast with or without a sinking tip.

Frank