Hot-Spot Humpy SBS

[ScottP]

I was never a huge fan of tying Humpies; it was always hit-or-miss (mostly miss) on getting the wings to come out the proper length using the standard procedure, even when measuring the hump clump to the tail+shank length. I tied some but hated how they came out, then pretty much ignored them after I started tying foam-back Convertibles. Then I found Charlie Craven's Improved Humpy http://www.charliesflyboxinc.com/fly...m?parentID=143 and saw how much easier it was to tie in the wing first, wrap the butts back and use them for the hump. After tying the Lochsa Special, I was reminded of an article in Fly Tyer magazine by AL and Gretchen Beatty about Humpies; pulled out the article, saw this fly which looked pretty cool and decided to give it a go. The Beatty's tie their's like Charlie, although they use a separate clump for the hump; I prefer to just incorporate the wing butts and skip an extra tie-in. If you ever decide to try to tie Humpies (they are fun to play around with), please check out Charlie's site; keep an eye on proportions, follow Charlie's advice and it'll remove a lot of the frustration and guesswork.


hook - Dai Riki 320 #12
thread - UTC 70 chartreuse
tail - moose body hair
abdomen/hot spot - Uni Stretch chartreuse
thorax - peacock herl
wing/hump - yearling elk
hackle - black




Part 1



mash barb and attach thread at 75% mark (that'll be the reference mark for the wing tie-in)





tie in the Uni-Stretch and continue back to point above the hook barb





clean, stack and measure a clump of moose body hair (shank length)





tie down and wrap forward (firmly) to 50% mark; trim butts, smooth over with wraps and brush on a little Sally





move thread back to spot above hook point (25% mark), wrap Uni-Stretch forward (take 1st turn under and behind tail fibers)





tie off Uni-STretch and trim; return thread to 75% mark for wing tie-in





clean, stack and measure a clump of elk hair (shank length); you'll want a pretty substantial clump since you're creating a divided wing





2 firm wraps; try to keep the hair on top of the shank as much as possible (you want it to flair, not spin)





continue back with firm wraps