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- Hook: Mustad 9672, #12-4
- Thread: Danville's Prewaxed 6/0 olive
- Tail: pearl Flashabou,
olive hackle fibers
- Underbody: brown floss
- Body: pearl Mylar tubing, # 2 to BB
steel shot, epoxy
- Wing: olive rabbit strip
- Eyes: gold 3-D Molded Eyes
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1)
Attach the tying thread behind the
eye and cover the shank back to the bend. Tie in a half
dozen or so Flashabou strands, length about equal to
the hook shank. |
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2)
Clip a section of soft, webby fibers from a
olive saddle
feather, hen or rooster. Align the tips and tie the bundle
in directly on top of the Flashabou so the length is slightly
longer than the hook gap. |
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3) Cut a section of pearl mylar tubing
about one and a half times as long as the hook shank. To
help keep the tubing from unraveling, wrap a small piece of
Scotch tape around the tubing and cut through this (see the tape
in the photo). Remove the core and carefully push the
steel shot into the tubing... I find it easiest to hold the
tubing up, place the shot on the in the tubing, then use three
fingers to hold the tubing around the shot; push the tubing to
expand the diameter (like a Chinese finger puzzle) and let the
shot fall down into the tubing. Hold the "loose" end of
the tubing on top of the shank about one and a half hook-eye
widths behind the eye. Take two loose turns of thread,
pinch the tubing, then pull down on the thread to tighten.
Take three more turns to secure. Wind the thread rearward
to between the hook barb and hook point. |
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4)
The "underbody" represents the
lateral line and can also serve to inject some color within the
body. Tie the tag end of brown floss to the shank between
the hook barb and point. Wind this forward to the mylar
tubing, then wind rearward with it to the tie-in
point. It is not necessary to try for a smooth wrap, just
cover the shank. Tie off and clip the excess.
Here, you could also use yarn,
tinsel, Sparkle Braid, or other materials for different looks. |
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5) Position the steel shot so that when the
mylar is folded over, it will be in the front half of the body.
Pull the tubing back and pinch down to fold it onto both sides
of the shank. Carefully trim away the excess tubing. |
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6) Cover any exposed tubing ends and whip
finish the thread. Apply some head cement to the wraps.
If necessary, finish shaping the body by
pinching the tubing or pushing the steel shot in either
direction.
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7) We're now ready for the epoxy.
Five-minute epoxy will work, but will quickly yellow, so I
prefer a longer-setting variety. 30-minute epoxies such as
Devcon 2-Ton work well and let you do up to about a dozen
bodies per batch. Mix the epoxy. Start at the bend
with a good dollop of epoxy and use the stick to stroke it
forward, working it into the tubing and into the gap between the
tubing and the floss. Continue up to the shot, then start
from the front. Run the stick down the length of the body
on both sides to remove excess epoxy, being careful not to push
it out of shape. Be sure to epoxy over the floss as well.
Place the fly on a rotary to set for an hour or so, then let it
cure overnight or for about eight hours. |
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8) Cut a rabbit strip about one and a half
to two times the shank length. Mark it with a pencil where
it will intersect the hook bend, and use a dubbing needle to
poke a hole in the hide (see
photo for step 8 on the "Body Tubing" version page)
Remove the fly from the vise and insert the hook point through
the hole, and slide the rabbit strip up the bend. |
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9) Stroke the hair out of the way and
reinsert the hook into the vise. Swing the rabbit strip
around into position and moisten the hairs slightly to keep them
out of the way as shown at left. Turn the fly over.
Start the tying thread behind the eye and wind to the back of
the head area. Pull the rabbit strip down and secure with
four or five tight turns of thread. If there is any
excess, trim this away and cover any exposed hide with the
thread. |
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10) Build up a smooth rounded head with the
thread, whip finish, and clip. Hold the rabbit strip wing
near the tail and pull so the hide pulls taught against the
body. Even though the eyes are self-adhesive, use a thick
cement to glue these to either side. This helps since the
front edge of the eye is in the read 1/3 of the "nose", and
one-third of the eye is above the hide on the rabbit strip (see
photo)... this usually means there is a gap under the middle of
the eye, so the thick glue fills it in and secures it.
Allow some time for the glue to dry. Mix
up a second batch of epoxy and carefully coat the body.
Work the epoxy between the eyes (on top) and around the thread.
Work it into the gaps around the lower half of the eyes, and
along the rabbit strip. Coat the entire body over the
tubing and even things out by "dragging" the epoxy where it
needs to go... keep it thin and remove excess- we're basically
just smoothing out the body and securing the rabbit strip and
eyes. When it looks even and the epoxy is in all the gaps,
pull the wing taught again and place the fly on the rotary to
set. |
Usually, due to the extra care taken for
the second coat, only about six to eight flies can be done before the
epoxy starts to set up. This is of little consequence... take your
time with the second coat to achieve the best results, even it means you
only get two flies coated. These flies are very durable and will
last a long time, so you need not carry very many and you can invest
some time into individual fly quality.
~ The End ~ |
