| I’d love to tell you a story about how this fly
caught tons of fish last season or even how it produced one of
my best bass. But unfortunately, I can’t. You see, I only tied
up three of these flies last winter, and somehow all three ended
up with Jeff. The first one landed in his head, and the other
two made it into his flybox. So I can’t tell you if it’s
incredibly productive. All I can say is that I’m really fond
of it, and I wouldn’t be doing this article if I didn’t
think it’d catch fish.
This fly is less of a specific pattern, and more of a style
that I’ve found to produce some very nice results. The design
is basically along the lines of a Flashy Profile Fly, or a
"Blue Chew" but differs somewhat in materials and
construction. It’s fairly easy to tie, and once you’ve
figured out the technique, it can be adapted to many other
patterns. For the majority of the wing I chose to use 50 Denier
Fishair which is about the texture of fine human hair. It works
really well when hi-tied, has a lot of movement, and blends very
well with the flash. As for the colors of this specific fly, I
think it nicely imitates a darker colored herring but I really
can’t say. Anyway, I like it and I hope you do too.
|
Hook: 4/0 Eagle Claw 254SS
Thread: Clear Mono
Tail: Natural Kinkyfibre
Wing: Polarbear White 50 Denier Fishair and Pearl
Tiewell Sparkleflash, Gold Sparkleflash, Copper
Sparkleflash, Tan Kinkyfibre, Bronze Sparkleflash.
Eye: ½ Raised Epoxy
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| Start the thread at the hook eye and wrap back about
half an inch, maybe a little more. Building up a base of
thread helps prevent the mono from slipping as you tie. |
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| Tie in a tail of natural kinky
fiber. I’ve found
that the right length is achieved by simply folding the
material in half. |
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| Stagger the ends of a small clump of Fishair and
blend it with 5 strands of pearl Sparkleflash. I
basically just mix the flash in with the material by
working it with my fingers. Fold the clump over the
thread (As shown in Image 3A) and tie it in on top of
the natural kinkyfibre. All the materials in the wing
will be tied in this manner. (Tied in clump shown in
Image 3) |
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| Turn the hook over and repeat the process of blending
pearl Sparkleflash and Fishair and tie a clump in on the
underside of the hook, beneath the kinkyfibre. |
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| Flip the hook and tie in a third bunch of white
Fishair with pearl Sparkleflash. Tie it in slightly in
front of the previous bunches, as the goal is to move
towards the eyes. |
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| Mix a clump of White Fishair with 10 strands of gold
Sparkleflash. Tie it in just in front of the previous
bunch. |
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| Mix a small bunch of tan Kinkyfibre with 10 strands
of copper Sparkleflash. Tie it in almost at the hook
eye. |
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| Tie a clump of white Fishair and pearl Sparkleflash
on the underside of the hook. |
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| Tie in 15-20 strands of bronze Sparkleflash. I like
to trim about 2 inches off the length before I stagger
the ends and tie it in. This helps to taper the fly. |
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| Attach the eyes with goop,
squeezing them together to spread the materials. It may
help to dip the head of the fly in Softex or a similar
material. |
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Enjoy, but cast it carefully!
 |
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|
| For a long time I couldn’t figure out
where my obsession with flyfishing had originated. All I
knew was that around age six I developed an incurable
desire to learn how to flyfish. Looking back, I think I
can trace my fascination to the weekends my family spent
at the Quichee Inn in Vermont. The inn had a small
tackle shop in which I spent a great deal of time
looking at the then dazzling array of flies and rods.
What captivated me the most though, was a tying kit set
up in the lounge. Something about it enthralled me and I
was hooked. I tried to persuade the guy at the tackle
shop to teach me how to flyfish, but he would only teach
kids twelve and older. That left me no recourse but to
teach myself. So at age 7, armed with a glass rod of
unknown make and a reel and line that my mother found
somewhere, I proceeded to mimic the motions that I had
in my head. It didn’t take me long to cast far enough
to catch a sunfish, but it took several years before I
was able to fool a wise and wary eight inch stocked
brown trout in my neighborhood stream. Somewhere in
between the sunfish and the trout, I started tying flies
with a kit I received for Christmas. My creations were
largely hideous, but I enjoyed doing it. I’ll always
remember that my impressions of nymphs was that they
were just ugly, hairy wads, which led me to tie some
ugly hair wads out of squirrel tail that even managed to
catch a few bluegills. My first incursion into saltwater
came during a trip to Sanibel Island, Florida, where we
visited my grandmother every winter. I had fished with
spinning rods and shrimp there for a number of years,
and was eager to explore the brine with my new
technique. My parents booked me an afternoon trip with a
guide in Tarpon Bay. On my first cast towards a piling I
had a strike, and soon pulled in a small seatrout. I
caught several more trout that night, and saw more
tailing redfish than I still have ever seen. That
spring, though it took several outings, I managed to
succeed in catching schoolie bass with regularity at the
Chequesset Neck dike. From those distant days, I’ve
grown to enjoy the sport more and more. I’ve caught
more fish, bigger fish, faster fish and exotic fish, but
each one still has some of the magic of that first
bluegill. And as for the flytying kit that first
captured my imagination? That pastime has become as
consuming as the fishing itself. I spend many hours at
the vice during the winter tying flies for the upcoming
season. I find it is a way to reflect on seasons past
but also to anticipate the new experiences |
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