Blanton's Flashtail Whistler SBS

[ScottP]

Another one from Dan Blanton, tied here in fire tiger colors. I believe the fly got it's name from the sound it made flying through the air; with a weighted shank (optional), it'd be nice to hear that thing coming so you'd have time to duck.

hook - Mustad 3407 #4
thread - Danville flatwax chartreuse
eye - bead chain gold
tail - bucktail hot orange/chartreuse/green
flashtail - Flashabou gold/copper
topping - peacock herl
shoulder - grizzly hackle dyed orange
collar - chenille hot orange
hackle - chartreuse


Part 1

mash barb, start thread behind eye and tie in bead chain eyes; wrap back to bend






tie in a clump of orange bucktail (about 2x shank length)




tie in about 25-30 strands of Flashabou; leave them long




tie in chartreuse bucktail




repeat with green




tie in shoulders (I used 2 per side)




tie in peacock (not standard on the pattern, but I like how it looks with FT colors)

[ScottP]

Part 2

tie in chenille and wrap collar 1/2 distance to the eyes






tie in hackles (doubled up to densify)




wrap hackle forward to eyes, tie off/whip finish, trim flash (let it extend about 1"), SHHAN




Regards,
Scott

[TyroneFly]

Nice job keeping the various bucktail separated.

[whatfly]

Thorax is a bit longer than Dan would tie it, and he'd usually use a bit more hackle in the front to push more water, but a very nice tie, as always. As an aside, it is very much in vogue these days to use a 60 degree jig hook like the Eagle Claw 413 for Whistler's.

Not sure if you've seen his take on the pattern, but you can find it here: http://www.danblanton.com/spswhistler.html

[tailingloop]

Nice instructions as always. For this pattern to function as designed it must have about 10 wraps of .030 lead behind the eyes so that it will have a jigging motion on the retrieve. Dan now often ties this pattern with I-Balz or other solid metal eyes in which case the lead wraps are not needed.

[ScottP]

Thorax is a bit longer than Dan would tie it, and he'd usually use a bit more hackle in the front to push more water. As an aside, it is very much in vogue these days to use a 60 degree jig hook like the Eagle Claw 413 for Whistler's.

Forgot I had some of those hooks; added a bit more hackle, too.

For this pattern to function as designed it must have about 10 wraps of .030 lead behind the eyes so that it will have a jigging motion on the retrieve. Dan now often ties this pattern with I-Balz or other solid metal eyes in which case the lead wraps are not needed.

and the heavier eyes




Thanks for the input; been away from the salt stuff for a while.

Regards,
Scott

[tailingloop]

That's a great looking chartreuse/white whistler. By the way, the whistler is great for many freshwater fish. In fresh water I have caught stripers, walleye, pike, lake trout, largemouth bass, black crappie, king salmon and barramundi. They also work for Wipers, white bass, smallmouth bass, large trout and other species.

[chewydog]

Just saw this. Like this fly, but have a question. Wouldn't the large bead chain flip this fly over so the point is up? If so, wouldn't the colors be reversed?

[ScottP]

Wouldn't the large bead chain flip this fly over so the point is up? If so, wouldn't the colors be reversed?

chewydog,

Tied it to a length of 15lb mono and subjected it to the VUKST (very unscientific kitchen sink test) - it dove for the bottom but remained right-side up; bath night isn't until Friday so deep-water results will have to wait (I'll even kick my feet to simulate current/tidal flow ) The bead chain eyes really don't weigh that much and they're fighting against a decent chunk of (cadmium plated) iron.


Regards,
Scott

[AllenOK]

Thorax is a bit longer than Dan would tie it, and he'd usually use a bit more hackle in the front to push more water, but a very nice tie, as always. As an aside, it is very much in vogue these days to use a 60 degree jig hook like the Eagle Claw 413 for Whistler's.

Not sure if you've seen his take on the pattern, but you can find it here: http://www.danblanton.com/spswhistler.html

Wouldn't using a jig hook make this the same basic thing as "Meat Whistle"?