First time I used these were on a trib of the Firehole, loaded with browns hanging among some nice undercut banks. Apparently they were picky that day and wanted something small; all my foam stuff was too big but I had a couple of these and some Letorts in #12 & 14. Both worked well that day and even when the HF’s were chewed beyond recognition, they still caught fish. Although I usually prefer foamies, there are times when these just work better, especially in the smaller sizes ( I don’t tie these in anything bigger than a #10 because I don’t have elk/deer hair long enough). Again, like the Madam X and other bullet head flies, I put the head in first; makes it much easier for me to get the head/body transition point correct and.
hook - Dai Riki 280 #12
thread - UTC 140 yellow
body - elk or deer hair (cow elk here)
head- same as tail, bullet-head
wing - landscape fabric
legs - rubber medium yellow
indicator - 2mm foam
Part 1
Mash down barb and attach thread at head (gap width)
cut a clump of elk hair (be generous, you’ll want more than you think is necessary); clean, stack and measure for length (shank)
trim the butts, a couple soft loops right at the hook eye and then pull firmly, letting the hair spin around the shank
like this
trim the butt ends
cover hook shank with thread (to control body torque)
cut another, sparser clump of hair; clean, but don’t stack and trim tips
brush a little Crazy Glue on hook shank, then tie hair in tip-first at backside of head
wrap back to a point above hook barb, then create smooth underbody
take thread behind the hook, pull up through the hair sticking out the back and make a soft loop (about hook gap length)
pull tight, one more wrap then return thread to hook shank
return thread to body tie-in point
gather deer hair body and pull forward
2 soft wraps
and trim flared butts
create 1st body segment
then 2nd segment and return thread to body tie in
trim wing (hook gap width) to shape and length; original pattern calls for feather (hen saddle or pheasant church work great) coated with head cement and pulled to shape but the landscape fabric looks good and is a lot easier to work with
Scott,
Nice fly as usual. I appreciate the flies and the effort.
By the way, how do you get a number of photos on your post. You don’t copy and paste the images one at a time, do you? Do you use photo bucket?
Thanks,
Byron
