Lawson's Henry's Fork Salmonfly SBS

All about flies Fly Tying
1

For the foam haters, an all-natural salmonfly. Sorta kinda Mike Lawson’s version.

hook - TMC 5263 #4
thread - UTC 140 hot orange
tail - moose body hair
rib - tying thread
body - dubbing rusty orange/brown
hackle - saddle brown
wing - elk hair
head - deer hair dark brown

Part 1

mash down barb and attach thread at head (gap width)

clean, stack and measure (shank length) a healthy clump of deer hair

two soft loops right behind the hook eye; pull firmly and let it spin

trim hair butts and wrap thread to point above barb

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

tie in, leave the butts long and wrap forward to head, forming underbody; trim butts

2

Part 2

return thread to rear (forgot to leave tag end long for ribbing, so I tied in another piece; dopey stupid); dub thread, dub body

tie in saddle feather, spiral to the rear

trap hackle tip with ribbing and counterwrap forward through hackle; tie off ribbing

clean, stack and measure (hook length) a clump of elk; trim butts, tie in and wrap back gap width back from eye

3

Part 3

push hair at head back with finger (try to ensure even distribution around hook)

pull fibers back over body and tie down

3-turn whip, SHHAN, trim hair underneath and you’re done

Regards,
Scott

4

Scott,
I REALLY love the patterns and excellent SBS’s you post! :smiley:
One question about the ribbing…it looks like it parallels the hackle on this one?

5

Dave,

There’s a few places where the ribbing crosses the hackle to help secure it; I just didn’t do a good job showing it.

Regards,
Scott

6

Always a sucker for legs; optional equipment, but they do add something.

Foam body’s another option and adds more floatability

everything’s the same from here on out

For those folks hesitant to tie bullets head-first, give it a try; it sets the rest of the body up for easy tying and doesn’t get in the way (really). I hated my head-last attempts because invariably, I wouldn’t leave enough room at the front - partly because of poor proportions but also because the wings always slid forward,no matter how hard I’d lean on the thread to keep them in position. With the head hair spun first, the butts support the body/wing and keep it in place

Regards,
Scott

7

Bob Jacklin’s Giant Salmon Fly

The smaller head more closely imitates the real thing (at the cost of some floatation), although after a couple fish, the shredded heads on this and the HF Salmonfly both look like cast members of Scanners. Very similar to Lawson’s - only about 30 miles from Last Chance to West Yellowstone; lots of good ideas migrate back and forth across Targhee Pass.

Regards,
Scott