Looked for the Winter Northwest Fly Stuff Mag in the Shoppee but couldn’t find it.
Understand the pattern in in it.
Interested in how the trailing hook is attached and how the zonker strip is attached to the hooks and material btween the hooks.
thanks
Is not the sky a father and the earth a mother, and are not all living things with feet or wings or roots their children?
Give me the strength to walk the soft earth, a relative to all that is!
I’m also trying in vain to tie articulated leeches to use in AK this month. And also having problems tying in the crosscut zonker strips between the two hooks. PLEASE - any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks and regards,
Bill
I fly fish the salt because the voices in my head tell me to…
Cabela’s website has a brief description on their MOAL pattern that might help. Just use the keyword search and type in “MOAL”. Then click on the image to get a closer view along with the description.
The hair attachment appears to be like any other zonker method.
There’s almost nothin’ wrong with the first lie, it’s the weight of all the others holdin’ it up that gets ya’! - Tim
[This message has been edited by MOturkE (edited 05 September 2005).]
Here’s the Cabelas site you suggested which provided all the info I need to improvise the TnA version–
Spirit River Fergus MOAL Leech
This unique fly is a killer on all species of salmon and steelhead. Materials are a combination of bunny hair and flashabou with a heavy cone head to get it down. Under water the materials sparkle and undulate providing an extremely enticing appearance. The materials are tied around a hook that has been clipped at the bend. A short length of spectra braid is tied with one end to the clipped hook shank while the other is tied to the actual hook. This design provides excellent hook-up percentages and holds strong by decreasing the leveraging capabilities of the fish. Per each.
Sizes: 2.
Colors: Chartreuse/White, Black/Purple, Purple/Pink, Black.
Is not the sky a father and the earth a mother, and are not all living things with feet or wings or roots their children? Give me the strength to walk the soft earth, a relative to all that is!
I’m trying to tie a leech about the same as the MOAL. The one I’m trying to tie is about 5" long with a connecting strand (of something pliable?) between two #1/0 hooks of about 2". Once the thing is tied, the front hook is clipped off. My problem is how to keep the material tight on the in-between strand. How to hold it all in a vise (s)? Have tried several ways, and am not satified with any of the results. The sample I have is tight, with the crosscut zonker very dense and uniform, even between the hooks.
There has got to be a simple method for tying this, I just haven’t hit it yet. Any ideas?
Thanks for any help.
I fly fish the salt because the voices in my head tell me to…
Fergus was at a roundtable I attend and showed us the process.
Two vises are needed. I use a Thompson clamp and a pedistal with a heavy base. Lead hook (any hook with a large eye and reasonable shank length), point removed after, in the Thompson. Tailing in the ped., mounted with point up, Gamakatsu octopus #4, (My notes say a #4,I use a #1, seems closer to the hook size he used that night). Put cone on lead hook before putting in vise.
Length of braided line (he recommended Gel spun power pro)30lb, thru the eye of the tailing hook wrapped around the shank 4 times, back thru the eye. Run both strands thru the cone and then the eye (of the lead hook) and back thru the cone (using a threader makes that step easier)and attach to the lead hook shank with (strong but not kevlar) thread wraps and super glue (SG). Leave thread at cone. Slide the ped. vise to tighten the line. Having the ped vise higher than the clamp vise helps with working room.
With a bodkin divide one strand of line in half near to the tailing hook and wiggle to make a space large enough to accept a strip of cross cut rabbit (CCR)(cut at an angle to form a point) with natural flow of fur to the rear.Apply a drop of SG alow a few seconds to set, then run a bead of SG the length of both strands to the point of tie in for the second color CCR. Wrap the CCR around both strands to that point. The SG will hold it in place. Insert the second color CCR between the two strands and SG as before, wait, apply SG bead along both strands to the cone and wrap forward around both strands and shank to cone.
Tie in two stands of flash at the cone on each side and hide the wraps with a hairy dubbing loop, color to match rabbit, up tight to the cone, I use Seal Sub dubbing.
Cut lead hook point off above bend, behind thread wraps.
Surprisingly durable and nearly snag free.
Peter
[This message has been edited by PETI (edited 06 September 2005).]
[This message has been edited by PETI (edited 06 September 2005).]
[This message has been edited by PETI (edited 06 September 2005).]
[This message has been edited by PETI (edited 07 September 2005).]
Having seen the MOAL in magazines only, I cannot comment on how to tie them. Having tied a lot of articulated flies, I can comment on those.
I tied a lot of articulated leaches for steelhead, and used cross cut rabbit strips. I used 30 pound dacron to tie the front hook to the back hook. I start with the back hook, tieing in the 3- pound dacron, then simply tying in the rabbit strip for the tail, and palmering the rest up the shank to the eye. Take the back hook out of the vice and insert the front hook. Tie in the rear hook to the first hook with the 30 pound dacron so the the eye of the first hook is about 1/2 to 1 inch from the bend of the front hook. Tie in a short rabbit strip tail, just to the eye of the rear hook, and palmer the rest up to the fron hook eye. Tie in sparkle as desired, and make a head and it is done. Cut the first hook, and this is important, file any burs from the cut hook or you will damage the dacron while fishing/catching. The body and short tail of the front hook will cover the dacron connection and gap between the hooks, and the fly will look like one big, swimming leach when wet. I tied a bunch with dumbell eyes, and orange sparkle chennille heads for egg sucking, articulated leaches. Talk about a mouthfull!
I have also been tying articulated grasshoppers too, and they have worked very well for me this summer. I guess the articulation really makes them look alive
Thanks for the helpful instructions. Will ATTEMPT to tie as suggested, and will let you know results. Have tried two vises, one a Danvise and one an old Thompson. Kinda thought it would involve two vises. And am using 30# gel-spun between - from a flyshop owner’s suggestion in Fairbanks. He also suggested using an up-turned or down-turned eye on the rear hook, never a ringed eye - said it would not ride correctly.
OK, thanks again and I’m off to the bench.
Bill
I fly fish the salt because the voices in my head tell me to…
He does the attachment of the first rabbit strip different now then in the original article.
The connection to the back hook is a loop…Peter, I have the article and also have sat with him at the Eugene Expo last March…was your session since then …the 4 wraps are different…maybe he’s doing it different for some reason.
Also note that on this fly there is no rabbit wrapped on the back hook.
It has concerned me that adding the superglue to the spectra makes it stiffer.
Ducksterman,
Not sure of the date, notes back home, but I do think it was prior to March probably the Nov. session. I used the fly quite a bit last year.
I can see where a loop to connect the rear hook would cut down on bulk and simplify, if I’m visualizing correctly.Loop thru the eye then under and behind the point/bend and up over the shank?
How does he start the first rabbit strip now? The method described is really quite simple and effective once practiced and durable, but if he’s changed it ther must be a reason. Would like to try it.
Correct on the hook protruding, guess the “near to” wasn’t clear enough.
The SG does make the line stiffer, but once set and worked it becomes very supple again and the rabbit still holds on very well.
I havn’t had a one come apart yet, even after several fish.
I tie them with 20 pound braided dacron and I have never used superglue, it is unnesessary. I use an octopus hook in the back and whatever in the front. As you wrap the cross cut rabbit up the taught backing that connects the hooks you can bind it down with some thread wraps. Before doing this you should wrap your thread all the way up the backing and then back down. The hardest thing is if you decide to leave the front hook on there, the hardest thing is to have the hooks both end up on the same side of the body: both facing down or up.
You should not change colors of rabbit fur on the backing, use the same cross cut strip to span that. Then switch immediately to the color for the front. Once in a great while, the rabbit wrapped on the backing will begin to untwist. That is what the extra thread wraps to bind it down are for.
Is it worth the trouble? I don’t know. It really is a pain to tie. I try to keep a difficult fly under 10 minutes and an average fly under 6 and this one takes me about 20. It does look amazing in the water undulating uninhibited by hook shank.
No promises but when the fishing season winds down I’ll try and do a fly of the week featuring this pattern.
[This message has been edited by Benjo (edited 09 September 2005).]
One more thing: The steelhead junkies that taught me this pattern were in the habit of tying it with only one vice! They simply took the back hook out of the vice and put the front one in while pinching the materials. It is easier with 2 vices but can be done with one.
I haven’t tied this fly enough to get proficient with it so have to agree it is somewhat of a pain…did buy from Hook and Hackle his cheap vise $6 or was it $9…thought maybe I could figure a way to hold it other than a second vise but for that price why fight it…
Peter, your method is the current one for attaching the strip…e.i. splitting one strand…now he does this to keep the rabbit from…“sliding”…but he still puts the second strip between the two strands.
You are correct on how you visualize the loop.
Incidentally he was using 50# Power Pro [in the article and at the session] I think I remember him saying the spectra type products are braided therefore work the best for that bodkin splitting technique.
Probably the best reason for the loop attachment of the rear hook:
The hook of your choice can be attached to the loop by simply slipping the loop through the eye of the hook and over the shank then snugging the loop back up to the eye. I really like to use an “Matsuo Up Eye” or "Gamakatsu Octopus