Egg patterns can be tied and variated over and over again. I will be posting variations later, this tutorial is just the basic version of the suckerspawn and glo bug both of which account for more fish in the tribs than most flies. Your best bet for low, clear water is a small, subdued color. Creme, Light Pink, Light Green, and Cheese clors are usually your best bed, tied sparse and small on Size #16-18 Hooks. For the Mint Green water conditions encountered after run-off it is usually good to go bright, but subdued colors work as well. Tie flies for these conditions with a little more material, but not much more. Chartrueuse, Hot Pink, and White work well in these conditions. Purchasing the McFly Foam Clown Pack will give you a good selection of color and material to tie with.
For this particular fly, I used a MUSTAD C67S size 12 Egg Hook. Any 2x strong caddis curved or egg hook will work. Saber fly hooks are 6.99 for 100 and the size 10 egg hooks work very well for tying a bulk supply of egg patterns. They can be found at Indiana Angler 218 Grandview Ave. Indiana PA
Attach the thread and wrap backward just past the midway point of the hook shank. Any further will leave you with excess space after making the loops and make for a strange looking fly.
Use a piece of McFly foam about 2 or 3 inches. You don't need to use a large amount of this stuff. About 3 inches cut from the main strips will give you about 5-6 flies.
Attach the material with about 4 tight wraps of thread with the excess facing toward the eye. Cut the tail material as close to your thread wraps as you can.
Pinch the material between your thumb and forefinger making a first small loop then increasing the size as you go forward. A bodkin can be used if the material is laid flat against the hookshank over the bodkin place perpendicular to the shank and raised into a loop. Tie with 4 secure wraps and continue forward making 4 loops.
Leave a small piece of material to give the head of the fly some bulk.
Tying the head.
Whip finish with about 6 turns and apply a dab of head cement.
Finished Fly.
Glo Bug
This fly is tied with the same hook above, except the thread is different. For this fly I use Power Silk with a Ceramic Bobbin.
Start with about 15-20 wraps of thread. The Power Silk is very slippery on the hook and will spin off if not secured. Wrap forward than back over what you have down then back to the middle to secure the thread on the shank. Pull to make sure it will not spin off.
I use McFly foam for my egg patterns. The McFly Foams spongy texture allows for fuller flies and a more membrane-like appearance when wet. Take a 2 inch piece and double it over with a smaller piece on top for the dot.
Attach with three wraps of thread and pull down firmly on the thread to secure it. The silk is strong but not invincible, pull enough to secure it in place but theres no need to break the vice in the process. Theres no need to waste time with material under the hook shank, this step can be a damper on the entire fly to some.
Make one wrap 360 degrees around the material to get it to stand up into place.
Return the thread to the front of the material and whip finish with 8 turns. The silk is strong enough that you don't need head cement.
It's crucial that you pull the material up with your thumb and forefinger and make the cut about 1/8 of an inch above the hook shank for a size 14 fly. Experiment with higher or lower cuts to get the desired size. The material will fan out into a semi-ball which needs to be formed
Push down twice firmly with your thumb and forefinger then push in with both fingers toward the center of the hook shank to form a perfect ball.
Finished Fly.
0 comments:
Post a Comment