The Leggy Blond - Hawaiian Bonefish Fly (step-by-step)

Well I'm a month and a bit back from Hawaii now, and before I put away the saltwater tying materials I thought I would share the "killer fly" I used in Kona--the Leggy Blond.

I don't suppose it should be called a killer fly as almost all the big bruisers I hooked managed to shake off, break off or open the hooks I used. Still, it was the fly and sometimes the only fly that worked all over the west coast of the island (bottom permitting). It's loosely based on the "90%" fly developed by noted Oahu guide Oliver Owens, and other crazy charlie style patterns I've used on the islands.

Like most of my flies the construction is fairly simple: six materials including thread and hourglass eyes. I took my time on the one below, but you can crank them out fairly quickly with an in-line rotary if you're in a hurry.

*****

Leggy Blond

(step-by-step)

Recipe:

• Hook: #6-4 Mustad 3407, 34007, TMC811s, T800s or similar
• Thread: White or tan 12/0 or 8/0, or invisible mending thread
• Eyes: Gold medium hourglass w/ painted red or yellow eyes
• Legs: Pearl perfect rubber (or medium to large rubber legs depending on fly size)
• Body: Tan rayon 4-strand floss (two stands) or similar
• Underwing: 4 Strands of rootbeer midge flash doubled
• Wing: Ginger rabbit cut from zonker strip
• Head: Thread coloured with permanent marker (optional)
• Leg Markings: Brown permanent marker and red nail polish
• Other: Superglue 

 Step 1: Tie-in thread

Step 2: Tie-in hourglass eyes and secure with a drop of superglue. They should be "gold"--alternate colours can be used but I generally felt that the gold was key. The eye colour probably isn't as important as the metal, but I generally used red or yellow.

Step 3: Turn the hook over, bring the thread forward and tie-in the rubber leg material. I tie it along the far top first before folding it back, securing it on the near-top such that the leg material doesn't overlap (as shown).

Step 4: Secure the legs along the body, stopping just before the bend. Return the thread ahead of the eyes. Do not trim the legs at this point--it is easier to do this at the end.

Step 5: Tie-in tan floss at the front of the body and wrap around the eyes and along the shank in two layers, returning to the front of the fly to tie-off. Depending on your timing you can coat the floss with brushable superglue.

 

Step 6: Tie-in the flash underwing as per the leg material, folding the four strands to make eight for the completed wing. Trim to length.

Step 7: Trim a bunch of ginger rabbit fur from the zonker strip and tie-in the wing. I like the mobility of rabbit, but getting long enough fur can be tricky in the larger sizes. Owens uses arctic fox.

 

Step 8: Neatly finish the head and (optionally) colour it with an appropriate coloured permanent marker (rootbeer in this case).

Step 9: Colour barring on the legs with a brown permanent marker, trim to the desired length and "paint" the tips with red nail polish.

fin

*nb: You can enlarge any of the above shots by clicking on the image.

Canadian Arctic Deceiver

For many years I wasn't a big fan of deceivers--I used to think of them simply as overwrought hair wing streamers. However, I've come to realize that the profile is hard to beat when imitating various baitfish and the pattern's simplicity belies some of it's key design features--including the bucktail collar that keeps the tail from fouling around the hook. I first used these for chasing Trevally in Hawaii about four years ago and over the last two seasons for Smallmouth Bass. Recently I've employed them fishing Bull Trout, Cutthroat and (much to my surprise) Rainbow Trout.

I tied this fly up for a recent challenge over on the FlyBC Flytying Forum (see link at right). I called it a Canadian Arctic Deceiver originally, mostly due to the White/Red colour combination and the use of Arctic Fox in the tail assembly. The tail is a departure from the spun saddle feathers used originally by Lefty Krey, but given that I usually tie this in smaller sizes this tail allows for both movement and an appropriate profile. I generally tye this on longer hook shanks (i.e. Mustad 9671, 9672, etc.) for freshwater and regular shank hooks (i.e. Mustad 34007) for saltwater applications.

Canadian Arctic Deceiver

Recipe:

• Hook: Mustad 80400 bnl
• Thread: Red Benecchi 12/0
• Tail: Cream/white arctic fox tail flanked w/ 2 Chinchilla hackles & 2-4 strands "root beer" midge flash
• Body: Pearl mylar flat braid (optional)
• Wing/Collar: Bucktail - grey on top, white on sides and bottom
• Head: Red tying thread
• Eyes: Holo stick on mylar (optional)
• Head Coat: Clear nail varnish or epoxy

Step 1: Tye-in thread base followed by fox along the shank (starting the tail a few eye widths to the rear to leave room for the bucktail collar.



Step 2: Flank tail with two chinchilla hackles per side about the same length as the fox tail.



Step 3: Add 2 strands of midge flash to each side, doubling over to form 4 strands over the tail flanks on each side. Trim to length (leave a bit uneven).



Step 4: Tye-in body material and wrap forward to cover body stopping well back from the eye.



Step 5: Add "wing" of grey bucktail (or olive). It helps to trim the butts of the hair at a forward angle to help shape the head.



Step 6: Tye-in the remaining bucktail in three bunches (one per side and one on the bottom) and finish the head.



Step 7: Clean up any loose fibres and apply eyes if using. Add several layers of nail varnish or epoxy.




fin

Tying the Beaded Soft-Hackle (step-by-step)

Putting a bead on a soft hackle fly (or North country spider if you prefer) is often frowned upon by purists, but it's a useful addition if you fish some of the more turbulent pocket water stretches of many waters--including my own.

Once you make the decision to add a bead, the question becomes: where do you position it? While most nymph styles position the bead immediately behind the eye, on the soft hackle this can create an awkward looking fly--and one that sometimes forces the hackles to collapse behind the bead when the fly is tied-off. The alternative is bead placement immediately behind the hackle. With this structure the hackle is supported by the bead while the bead itself becomes a thorax. The issue with this latter style is that the fly is a bit more difficult and time consuming to tie.

The method I've used to deal with this problem is laid out below. It's a little more work than the alternative, but one that works well. I hope you find it helpful.

Aaron

*****

Beaded Soft Hackle Step-by-Step
(Drop Shot Olive and Quail)

Recipe:

• Hook: Mustad R50
• Bead: 3/32" Tungsten gold
  
• Thread: Pearsall's Gossamer - olive green
• Hackle: California quail
• Body: Natural mole (touch dubbed on waxed thread)
• Head: Pearsall's Gossamer - olive green

Step 1: Tie-in the feather by the tip overhanging the front leaving sufficient room to wrap the hackle forward, make a small thread stop to the rear of the tie-in point to prevent the bead from sliding too far forward, bring the thread forward, whip twice and trim thread.



Step 2: Slide the bead forward to the stop, tie-in behind the bead, and build a tapered body to the rear of the hook. The main reason for the taper is to prevent the bead from sliding back on the body. Depending on the desired body texture and shape you can vary the taper or substitute a stop of dubbing.



Step 3: Add dubbing or ribbing material if desired. In this case I'm using a touch dubbing of mole over waxed silk.



Step 4: Bring the dubbed thread and/or ribbing forward, tie-off behind the bead and trim the thread.



Step 5: Tie-in the thread in front of the bead being careful not to trap the prepared hackle at an odd angle.



Step 6: Wrap the hackle the desired number of turns, and use a bodkin needle to distribute the barbs before trimming the hackle feather and building the head. Even if you do this the hackle fibres may still end up unevenly distributed, but this step increases your odds.



Step 7: The final product. As you can see, the thread head has pushed the hackle fibres slightly and locked the bead in position as well.




fin