Hook Mustad
9671 or 9672 or equivalent, sizes
Thread White
and Olive, 6/0
Tail
Body Silver
mylar piping, length of the hook shank, weighted
Throat
Wing Equal
amounts of Pearlescent under Peacock Green Krystalflash, extending just past
the hook bend
Tying Notes -
Weight the middle
of the hook shank with lead wire of about the same diameter as the hook. Be generous but leave room at the back and
eye where more materials will be added.
Start white thread (if you don’t have white, use olive throughout) and
secure the wire front and back with little ramps of thread. Attach a small tuft of orange dyed ram’s wool
cut from a skin patch at the bend. If
you must use orange wool, comb it out a little.
Leave the thread near the hook bend.
Measure a section
of mylar piping equal to the overall length of the
hook and slip it over the hook shank. Tie in the piping at the bend with 4-5
tight wraps of thread and tie off the thread with a whip finish knot at the
back.
Restart olive
thread just back of the hook eye. Tie
down the front of the piping making certain the body is smooth. You may have to trim a little excess mylar at this point.
Add a throat of orange wool equal in length to the hook gap.
Tie in your wing
of equal amounts of Krystalflash or similar material. Pearlescent first, then Peacock green. Trim the material at a point just beyond the
tail. Don’t overdo it, you want a
relatively slender effect overall. Form
a noticeable, neat head of olive thread, whip finish, and trim the thread and
coat with your favourite lacquer or head cement. You could add eyes with material paint or
enamel (or the little stick on eyes but coat the head with epoxy or Softex). Try yellow with a black or red pupil.
I know what you’re
thinking. Where’s the yellow in Yellow
Perch and where are the olive vertical bars on the side of the Perch? If you must have yellow, substitute gold
Krystalflash for the pearlescent. I have
tried various approaches for the vertical bars and have given up. The fish don’t seem to mind.
Fishing Notes –
This is a classic
streamer or wet fly. For those who don’t
mind, it can be trolled out behind your float tube or pontoon boat. I often double it up with something much
bigger (like a red and white Bunny fly).
In any case, treat as any streamer or large wet fly in either moving or
still water. When the fish have taken
this fly, they have usually done so with some authority so don’t go too light
on the tippet!
Rabbit Strip Leech
This
fly has caught everything that swims in the rivers and streams around here
except suckers. I’ve even caught sunfish
with it (in smaller sizes). On those
days on ponds when everyone is trying to use tiny midges, try this fly deep on
a full sinking line. Retrieve it with
short, 6 inch strips of line with a little pause in between strips. The pattern is simplicity itself:
Hook Mustad
9672 or 79580 or equivalent, size 2 to 12
Thread Black
Tail Some
gray or yellow marabou (to hide the white underside of the rabbit strip), half
the body length
Body Yellow
chenille, weight the front half of the hook with lead wire)
Rib Copper
or Gold wire
Wing Natural
grizzly rabbit strip, 1.5 times the hook shank length, tied Matuka style with
the ribbing (allow the half length to act as a tail)
Hackle Large
webby gray speckled hen hackle tied back (wet fly style).
Tying Notes –
Weight your hook
shank on the front half of your hook.
Tie in a tuft of marabou as a tail.
Secure the ribbing at the bend.
Strip a little bit of the chenille and secure it at the bend by just the
thread core. Advance your thread to the
front.
Wrap the chenille
forward in touching turns to form the body.
Secure your rabbit strip at the front.
I like to taper the rabbit strip to tie it in to help control bulk. Moisten the rabbit fur and stroke it so it
stands away from the skin at right angles.
Using the tip of your dubbing needle to part the hair, secure the strip
at the bend with a turn of the rib wire.
Each subsequent turn of the rib will require parting the hair with your
needle. Tie down and trim the ribbing
once you’ve reached the front.
Tie in a large
webby hackle and form a wet fly style collar.
Form a nice neat head of thread.
Whip finish and trim the thread.
Coat the head with cement/lacquer.
Fishing Notes –
This too is a
classic streamer or wet fly. For those
who don’t mind, it can be trolled out behind your float tube or pontoon
boat. I often double it up with the Lake
Erie Perch Fry on a dropper 60-70 cm. above the Strip Leech. In any case, treat as any streamer or large
wet fly in either moving or still water.
When the fish have taken this fly, they have usually done so with some
authority so don’t go too light on the tippet!
Smallmouth Gurgler
Hook Mustad
9671 or 9672 or equivalent, size 4 - 10
Thread White
(or to match body)
Tail Saddle
hackle, 2 pairs, tied splayed, body length.
A hackle can be wrapped in at this point to cover the place where the
tail was tied in.
Rib Fine
silver or copper wire.
Over body Strip
of craft foam about equal to the hook gap, tied in along hook shank and pulled
forward after body and hackle are wrapped.
Body Floss,
wool or dubbing
Legs Short
sections of rubber hackle secured by body wraps (optional)
Hackle Saddle
hackle, tied in at the front, palmered back over the body and secured with the
ribbing.
Tying Notes –
This fly can be
tied in many variations. Match up 2
pairs of hackle feathers (I like the inexpensive Chinese necks for this) and
tie them in so they naturally splay.
Play with colours to achieve various effects. If you wish, you can tie in and wrap a short
section of hackle (same type) at this point.
Advance your thread to the front.
Secure a strip of
craft foam along the hook shank. The
first wraps of thread should not be too tight.
As you get a couple of layers of thread on the material, tighten the
wraps to make sure the foam won’t slide around the hook. Secure your ribbing where the foam comes up
from the hook shank. Advance your thread
to the front.
Add your body
material. Wrap back and then
forward. You may need to do a couple of
passes to get the bulk you want. On the
last layer as you wrap forward, add short sections of rubber hackle so they
come off the body in a V on each side.
Secure the body material at the front and trim any excess.
Tie in a hackle
feather at the front, palmer back and secure forward with the ribbing. Secure the ribbing at the front and trim
excess hackle and rib.
Pull the foam
forward to form a shellback. Secure at
the front forming a lip that sticks up over the hook eye. You may need to wrap some thread at the front
to help push the lip up. Tie off the
thread and coat all exposed thread with head cement/lacquer. Trim the lip if it is too lengthy.
Fishing Notes –
Fish this fly like
any popper. The lip on the front makes
plenty of noise and I tie it in highly visible colours. Smallmouth love
it. So do many other species and it can
be tied quite small for sunfish and crappie.
Smallmouth Bomber
Hook Mustad
9671 or 9672 or equivalent, sizes
Thread To
match body, 3/0 or heavier
Tail Bucktail,
half length of body
Rib Fine
wire or monofilament line (optional)
Body Deer
hair, put in a tightly twisted dubbing loop and wound over the hook shank
Hackle Saddle
hackle, tied in at front, palmered back over the body and secured with the
ribbing (optional)
Wing Bucktail, tied upright and divided.
Tying notes –
Tie in a tail of
bucktail hair about the length of the hook shank. Not too heavy or you’ll ruin the proportions
of the fly. Tie another bunch of
bucktail (about the same amount and length) at the front so it points out past
the hook eye. Force the hair upright
with turns of thread so it sticks forward at a 45 to 60 degree angle from the
hook shank. You can divide the hair into
2 wings if you wish. Move your thread to
the back.
Secure your
ribbing. Form a dubbing loop. Take a “clump” of the deer hair, trim the
tips off, and distribute the hair in the dubbing loop (a little wax on the
dubbing loop helps control the hair).
Spin the loop until a dubbing brush is formed. Wrap the dubbing brush to form the body. Pack it back tightly. Form another dubbing loop and repeat until
the entire body is formed. If you wish
to add rubber legs at any point, secure short sections of rubber hackle on each
side of the body, so they form a V, in between dubbing loop steps. Tie off your thread at the front.
Take the fly out
of your vise and carefully trim the body so it tapers at each end. Be aware of your ribbing and rubber legs so
you don’t cut them off. Once the body is
shaped the way you want it, return the hook to the vise and restart your thread
(it could be a different colour, if you wish) at the front.
Tie in a hackle
(or two of different colours) and palmer to the back. Secure the hackle with the ribbing, waggling
the wire as you wrap forward so it doesn’t trap down the hackle fibers. Secure the wire at the front and trim the
excess. Form a nice neat head, tie off
the thread and coat with head cement/lacquer.
Fishing notes –
There is no
prescribed way to fish this. It’s a
popper or slider, if you wish. Dead
drift it in a river. Give it a little
action. Try anything but hang on
tight. Don’t be surprised if a Steelhead
or Muskie doesn’t eat this fly when you least expect it!