Copper Squirrel Muddler SBS

All about flies Fly Tying
1

hook - Mustad 9674 #6
thread - UTC 140 burnt orange
rib - medium wire copper
tail/wing - fox squirrel tail
body - tinsel gold
head - deer hair dyed rust/brown

Part 1

mash barb, start thread; tie in rib and wrap back to bend

clean, stack, measure (shank) a clump of squirrel tail; tie in (1 wrap behind/under)/trim, finish at tie-in

tie in tinsel, wrap to bend and back; tie off/trim

counterwrap rib; helicopter end, cover with thread

clean, stack, measure (tips to halfway mark on tail) another clump of squirrel; tie in/trim

2

Part 2

clean, stack, measure (tips to hook point) a clump of deer; 2 soft wraps, firm pull, spin

pack hair, whip, SHHAN, trim

Regards,
Scott

3

love the sparse nature of this one

4

Great job on the tinsel and ribbing on the body! Is that mylar tinsel?

5

I agree! I think that this may be the nicest tie you have posted, Scott

6

Thanks folks, glad you approve. First go-round I tied it with a fuller head

but wasn’t really happy with the results, so I razor-bladed it off, re-set the wing a little bit farther back, and spun a sparser head to go with the wing and tail, as mr. blur noted.

tigfly, it is mylar; bought it post-Christmas years ago (also in silver and pearl).

Regards,
Scott

7

Scott,

Another great tie! Is there a reason you went with the straight-eye hook over the down-eye hook?

Regards,

Alberto

8

Alberto,

I saw a picture of the fly tied on a straight-eye and since I had some, and rarely use them, thought I’d try it with the 9674. A down-eye would work fine, too.

Regards,
Scott

9

Nice and sparse Scott, as mentioned before. A fine looking fly.

Also, like in Byron’s fine examples, your “sharp/clean/crisp” focus is very appreciated. Makes things that much more fun! It shows care!!

Jeremy.

10

Ahhh a Muddler…my favourite of all flies.
Scott my question is…did you also wrap behind/under the wing to make it stand up off the hook shank? That ramp effect at the head of the ribbing looks like it helps.
I seem to have problems using squirrel hair being the most slippery stuff and sometimes it just won’t stop moving, so the behind/under wrap is a good idea.
As for the hook, I prefer and tie most of my Muddlers on straight eyed hooks…just my thing because I like them. And gold Mylar…have to find some of that for sure. I don’t like the fact that gold flat metal tinsel dulls with time rendering the flash unflashy so to speak.
Years ago, I started a personal challenge to find as many Muddler patterns that I can and tie them for a future shadow box project to hang in my workshop. Problem is the variations in material inventory to make this happen is overwhelming to say the least.
Another great SBS and thank you for that!

11

David,

That’s correct; otherwise, the tinsel body sometimes pushes the tail down below the horizontal, which I don’t want.

Squirrel can be very slippery. One thing I sometimes do is dose the butts with some Sally after the first couple wraps, then really lean into the thread as I continue to secure the wing; didn’t have to here because I was keeping things sparse.

The stuff I got was very inexpensive; check places like craft stores, Dollar stores, etc. Buy it in a fly shop (tinsel this wide would be equivalent to magnum saltwater Flashabou) and you’ll measure off every piece before you even think about cutting it :wink:

Regards,
Scott