Reverse Spider

All about flies Fly Tying
1

Dressing please for Les Johnson’s Reverse Spider.Looks a good pattern,in various sizes, for all sorts of trout. Jim Clarke

2

The ‘Reverse Spider’ caught my attention as well -
Try - http://www.salmonfly.net/

Look in Articles for
Sea-Run Cutthroat Flies
By Preston Singletary

Seems like the best source, the author of the article was mentioned in the FAOL piece.

3

Glad I am not the only one who thinks that the Reverse Spider has potential as a trout fly if one should scale down the size and change colors. I e-mailed Les yesterday and asked for the tying instructions and he told me that he thinks the Reverse Spider will be a FOTW soon.

4

Reverse tied spiders, with the hackle cupped forward over the hook eye, have been tied and fished in France and Spain for many decades. The origin of this approach was likely to foster good movement on wets fished in fast water.

Good to see the design gain new leases of life across the Great Pond.

Cheers,
Hans W

5

FYI

The reverse spider was first tied by Mike Kinney a north west Washington guide.

My recipe which may vary from the original;

Thread: black
Hook: size 6 & 8
Hackle: Natural Lacy Amhearst Crest wrap 2 or 3 turns.
Tail: Left over tip of hackle
Body: Black chenile tied just over hackle to force forward and tapered body to tail.

6

I fish these a lot for Coastal Cutts on several local rivers. I tend to use mallard flank for the hackle and tail, but prefer Lady Amherst Tippet. I just have a ton of mallard flank feathers.

My two best producing body colors are black and a black/yellow varigated chenille. I also tie and carry the fly in yellow, pink, orange, red and several different varigated colors.

Typically I just use the down and across wet fly swing with most strikes near the end of the swing or during a slight pause on the dangle.

Like Kerry, my wife and I are die hard Coastal Cutt fans (especially the sea run variety). Because of their aggressive strikes (a strike from a chcrome Sea Run Cutt on a skated dry fly will get your heart pumping) they are almost my favorite PNW fish. Second only to steelhead.

7

Here is a poor pic of a reverse spider.

8

thanks Kerry, for the image, and thanks to everyone else who has chimed in. This is indeed a fascinating fly. I am going to give it a whirl in the warm waters of Texas.

9

Hans, have you one of your incredible photographs? JGW

10

Well!! As Hans has brought the subject up, here they are on my site:-
http://www.dtnicolson.dial.pipex.com/page43.html

11

In his book “Trout Flies : Proven Patterns”, the late Gary LaFontaine provided notes and instructrions for tying a fly he named the “Mess” that appears very similar to the Reverse Spider.

I think you can still purchase these through the Greycliff Publishing Book Mailer site.

Here are two links to an online description of the Mess.
www.fedflyfishers.org/FlyOfMonth/mess.htm
www.gallinago.x.se/watershed/basecamp/000008.html

12

Tenkara (Japanese) Flies are constructed with the soft-hackle facing forward toward the eye of the hook. Tying the soft-hackle in the forward position, increases the hackle movement in the water, using the lift and drop with the rod tip.

~Parnelli

BB checked using [url=http://www.iespell.com:9e9d5]ieSpell.[/url:9e9d5]

13

Hi,
Since I tend to fish a lot of wet flies, both winged and spiders, I’m certainly going to tie a few up for local testing. Should be interesting to see how they work on the local river rainbows and browns. No cut-throats here I’m afraid.

  • Jeff
14

Doug Swisher, in one of his books (if memory serves, it was Caddis Fly Super Hatches), describes a pattern similar to the Reversed Spider but smaller and in more subdued colors, tied to imitate a caddis pupa. Mike Kinney has speculated that the Reversed Spider may represent the pupa of the Giant October Caddis. In recent years I have had notable success with a Reversed Spider tied with a hot orange chenille body and wood duck (or mallard, dyed wood duck) hackle. The color of the body matches quite closely the color of the actual October Caddis pupa, and these pupae are like candy to the sea-run cutthroat and most other trout.

15

Related Piece on a referenced post up this thread you stated:

I am sort of confused by how the hackles are tied in. Are they tied in by the Butts? Which way are they facing at first?

Thanks,
Rich

16

The hackle feather is tied in immediately behind the eye of the hook, with the tip pointing aft and the stem curving forward and down over the eye. I usually leave enough of the tip that it can be clipped after the hackle is tied in and used for the tail. Make 4 or 5 turns of thread to secure the hackle immediately behind the eye.
When winding the hackle, make the first turn snug against the rear of the hook eye, then wind the hackle back, each turn tightly against the one in front.

I’ve done a short article on the Reversed Spider with step-by-step pictures which will appear as next Monday’s Fly of the Week.

17

Great! Looking forward to your FOTW. And Thanks for the further explaination.

Rich

18

Hi,

I’ve tied one up using yellow wool as the body and it looks really cool! My wife said it looked like a sea anemone :lol: , which I thought was fitting since they were for sea-run cutthroats. Can’t wait to try it though.

  • Jeff