Toupee

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.

Materials:

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

Step 1:

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.

Step 2:

Tie in a tail of natural kinky fiber. I’ve found that the right length is achieved by simply folding the material in half.

Step 3:

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)

Step 4:

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.

Step 5:

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.

Step 6:

Mix a clump of White Fishair with 10 strands of gold Sparkleflash. Tie it in just in front of the previous bunch.

Step 7:

Mix a small bunch of tan Kinkyfibre with 10 strands of copper Sparkleflash. Tie it in almost at the hook eye.

Step 8:

Tie a clump of white Fishair and pearl Sparkleflash on the underside of the hook.

Step 9:

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.

Step 10:

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.

Enjoy, but cast it carefully!

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

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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