Wolfe's St. Joe Hopper SBS

All about flies Fly Tying
1

Whole lotta deer hair going on here. Packing foam underhead was Mr. Wolfe’s idea; kinda like it. Supposed to be a cutty killer up in Idaho. You can do the spun/clipped body first if you like.

hook - TMC 5212 #6
thread - UTC 140 yellow
tail/body - deer hair spun/clipped
wing - mottled turkey
underhead - packing foam strip
head - deer hair
legs - medium rubber yellow

Part 1

Mash down barb; start thread at eye, cover gap width

clean, stack, measure (hook length) a thick clump of deer hair; tie in, let it spin

trim butts, wrap back to bend

clean, trim a clump of deer hair; 2 soft loops, pull firmly but don’t release the hair (for the tail, you want it to stay on top of the hook)

stroke the hair back, pack it

2

Part 2

move forward; clean, trim another clump, 2 soft loops and let this one spin

repeat 'till you run out of hook; tie off/trim thread

razor blade the belly

trim to shape

re-start thread, tie in wings (gap width, sprayed with fixative); tips extend a bit past tail

3

Part 3

tie in packing foam strip, wrap and tie off

push hair back

pull it around head, tie down, pull tight

knot rubber legs (or not), tie in; whip finish, trim, SHHAN

trim out hair underneath; trim legs, brush a little thinned vinyl cement on the head (improves durability)

all done

Regards,
Scott

4

Great SBS! That looks like one durable hopper. :slight_smile: