Hook: Sproat hook, (I use Eagle Claw 455 spinnerbait hooks for it, but a 3366 Mustad or Tiemco 8089 will work just fine. So will most straght shank worm hooks)
Thread: I use .005 clear mono sewing thread. Anything will work.
Weight: Lead dumbbell.
Underbody: Cactus or ice chenille, color of choice. But just about anything will work: body braid, yarn, regurlar chenilles, etc. whatever gives the color you want there. Not critical.
Overbody: 6mm (1/4 inch) craft foam. Cut into strips. Varies on the size of the bait, but 5/16 to 7/16 is about right. Leave the strips long, you 'trim' them on the fly.
Tail: Any tailing fibers and flash you like. I use bucktail and some flashabou or krystal flash.
Eyes: painted, glued on doll eyes, prismatic dome eyes, or none (I like eyes on these).
Here's how I tie these:
Tie on the dumbbell eye. Leave just abit more than the thckness of the foam between the dumbbell and hook eye.
Wrap thread to just above the hook barb.
Tie on the body material.
Wrap the body material forward to just behind the dumbbell, then back to just over the barb. Tie off and trim the body material.
The thread should be hanging at the back of the body.
(I will have precut the foam strips...usually about 5/16 to 7/16 wide and 11 inches long..you can get several flies from one 'strip').
Cut the angle on the end of the foam strip...I use a sharp razor blade for this, I just eyeball it (you can use one of those hobby mitre boxes if you want to, so the angle is consistent).
Take a large needle or bodkin and poke the hole through the foam where you want the hook eye to come through...center it as best you can..if you don't trust your eye here, measure it. How long you make the lip will effect the action of the fly, but too long of a lip and it will roll. It's always best to leave the lip a bit long and then trim it to what you want after the fly is complete.
I put some CA glue on the upper surface of the dumbbell where the foam will touch it, and along the back of the body material.
Slide the hook eye through the hole in the foam and pull back and down on the strip. Pull it tightly against the weight and the top of the body where you put the glue. You want the stretch the foam ever so slightly. This is why you don't trim the foam strip to length first...much easier to handle it 'long'...
Tie the foam strip down tightly right where you ended the body.
Trim the foam strip..I stretch it slightly and cut it off leaving about 1/4 inch past the tie down point to help support the tail (if you 'stretch' the foam as you cut it, it forms a nice curved end...I like how that looks and how it supports the tail).
Tie on the tail...I prefer bucktail with some flash material in it, but anything you like should work just fine. For bass, I want a long tail...for the smaller sizes for 'gills and such, a short tuft of marabou works well.
I almost always use some kind of an eye on these...wiggle (doll) eyes add some rattle to the bait, but the domed epoxy eyes look great...or you can paint on an eye...or just stick a trimmed ball head straight pin into the foam with a bit of CA on the shaft...whatever works for you...
That's it.
Wht keeps the foam in place is combination of the CA glue and the tension between the tie in point and where the hole in the foam is. Unless it tears from a fish, and I've had a few pike do that, it won't come off.
I use lead dumbbell for the weigth for two reasons. First, it keeps the attitude of the nose of the bait down, it's enough weight to make sure it dives and stays down without popping back up too quickly. Second, the width of the weight helps support the foam.
When you fish with this bait, always use either a snap or a loop knot.
Here's some photos of some other color options I like.
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