Peter - nice fly.
As an alternative to the method that you described, have you tried stacking two marabou feathers together and then, after tying in the tail, spinning the butt ends in a dubbing loop? I also wonder what the pattern would look like if you tried this technique and used two colors.
John,
I think the best thing about this pattern is the hackle in front of the conehead. It can be adapted to a lot of patterns. I am currently trying some of the mini-cones on soft hackles. Just slide the cone back over the dubbed thorax. I plan to re-publish the directions on my own site in May or June with a few other ways to use this approach.
As far as the marabou goes, I have twisted both together and wrapped, but without using the dubbing loop. I will have to try the loop, as you suggest. My experience is that it is hard to tie down the double-butts without the whole thing slipping a bit. When I tie them this way, I actually lay down some thick nail polish on top of the shank before wrapping.
Good fly Peter. I tie a similar fly for salt species sans cone head. I think it is called a popsicle (?). I think your technique for applying the final collar of marabou is really good and will be giving that a try.
JME
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Nice looking fly. I like the techniqes used and the good images. Thanks…