Redchaser.com - Saltwater Flies

Materials:

Hook - Mustad 34007 size 1/0

Thread - Brown flat waxed nylon

Eyes - small dumbbell

or hourglass eyes.

(option, if you prefer, you can eliminate the

eyes and weight with a few wraps of lead

wire).

Tail - 6 tan neck hackles

loop of heavy mono to prevent tail from

fouling

Collar - 2 tan neck hackles, palmered.

Over Wing - dark brown marabou

Head - Brown dog underfur, or other "buggy"

dubbing.

Making a dubbed loop

With thread secured to hook, pull bobbin

toward you to create a length of thread

between you and the hook, about 8 inches

long. Loop thread around finger, and

return bobbin to hook.

Make thread wraps to secure thread back

onto hook shank, advancing thread to hook

eye. Half hitch thread, if you have a bobbin

cradle, let bobbin hang from it. Wax thread

with dubbing wax, starting nearest the hook

begin placing small clumps of dubbing

material between 2 threads of loop until

the length of the loop is filled.

If you have a dubbing spinner, hook it onto

the end of the loop, if you do not have a

dubbing spinner, you can use your whip

finish tool, a crochet needle, or anything

that has a small hook in the end. Rotate

dubbing spinner causing the loop of thread

with dubbing to twist until it has a uniform

chenille like appearance.

From this point you can palmer dubbed loop

onto hook to form a body or head.

Instructions:

1. Sharpen hook

2. Tie in eyes on top of hook shank at least

a quarter inch back from hook eye.. or

if you prefer to not use eyes, tie in

one end of .015 lead wire and make

about 10 - 12 wraps, secure and wrap

over with thread.

3. Advance thread toward rear of hook, tie

on end of stiff piece of mono in on

the side of hook shank directly over

the point of the hook. pull the other

end of the mono around to the other

side of hook, forming a loop that

extends back beyond the rear of

the hook, perpendicular to the hook.

tie other end of mono off on other

side of hook shank..

4. Arrange six tan neck hackles for tail

by making 2 bunches of 3, each

bunch with all 3 hackles facing the

same direction, tie the 2 bunches in

on top of the hook shank facing each

other so they are NOT splayed to

the outside.

5. Tie a bunch of dark brown marabou in

on top of where the tail feathers are

tied in.

6. Tie in butt ends of 2 more tan neck

hackles right in front of where

tied in tail. Palmer forward less

than 1/4 inch, tie off and secure.

7. Form a dubbing loop with thread by

pulling your bobbin toward you

creating a length of thread between

you and the hook that is about 8

inches long, then passing the bobbin

around your finger and returning it to

the hook. Make thread wraps to to

secure the thread back to the shank,

and advance the thread on bobbin

to right behind the hook eye and secure.

You should now have an open loop

of thread strung between the hook

and your finger, about 8 inches long.

8. Wax the thread of the dubbing loop

with dubbing wax. If you don't have

any, you can substitute almost any

sticky substance like chap stick. I've

even used honey in a pinch.

9. Begin taking small bunches of dog fur

or other suitable dubbing material

and placing it between the 2 threads

of the dubbing loop, starting nearest

the hook and working your way out.

Do this until you have the loop filled

with dubbing almost all the way to

your finger. If you have a dubbing

spinner, hook it on the end of the

thread and spin. If you don't have

a dubbing spinner, you can take a

whip finisher, hook it onto the end

of the loop, and rotate it causing the

loop of thread to twist with the dubbing

until the entire length of dubbed thread

has a uniform, chenille like appearance.

10. Palmer the dubbing loop around the hook

shank, and over and around the eyes

until a nice fairly uniform head is formed.

When palmering, work from the back to

front. once a head is formed all the

way to the hook eye, tie off the dubbing

thread right behind the hook eye, and whip

finish.

11. Use the sharp point of a whip finisher or

pin to pick out the dubbed head making

it full, then use scissors to trim to final

shape.