Description

This baitfish pattern uses ideas from Jack Gartside's Soft Hackle Stream and another pattern I like to tie called a D's Minnow. It is a fun and easy baitfish fly to tie and will catch almost any fish that likes to eat small fish! You can vary the hook style and the material colors to come up with hundreds of different baitfish. I tied this one using a bass stinger hook from Gamakatsu and just fun colors to demonstrate the pattern. It can be tied to look like a small trout, small bass, shad and a bunch of different baitfish found in saltwater.

Materials

Hook: Tiemco 8089, Size 2-10 or Gamakatsu B10S, Size 1/0. Can be tied on a standard streamer hook for trout or on a saltwater hook for saltwater fishing.

Thread: Ultra Thread 140 Denier on larger sizes and 70 Denier on smaller sizes, color to match the wing.

Extended Body: A marabou feather inserted inside a short piece of mylar tubing.

Body: Tinsel, Sparkle Braid or some type of flash.

Wing/Soft Hackle: Strung marabou feathers wrapped like a soft hackle at the front of the fly. Flashabou or Krystal flash can be tied in as an underwing before the marabou is wrapped. When the fly gets wet the marabou gives it the shape of a small fish.

Eyes: 3-D holographic eyes glued to the head of the fly (optional).

Step 1

Place hook in the vise and start the tread on the hook. Wrap down the hook shank so the thread is directly above the hook point.

Step 2

Prepare one or two marabou feathers by stripping off the real fluffy fibers on the bottom of the feather(s). Then even the tips and slide the stems of the marabou feathers into a short piece of mylar tubing like shown in the picture.

Step 3

Measure how long you want the tail and extended body to stick off the back of the hook and hold it on the hook to tie it in using a pinch loop to keep the material on the top of the hook.

Note: If you tie the extended body long you will get a long thin baitfish. If you tie it shorter it will look like a shorter thicker baitfish.

Step 4

Next wrap forward towards the eye of the hook while wrapping over the mylar tubing to secure it to the hook. Stop about two hook eye lengths behind the hook eye.

Step 5

Now trim off the excess mylar tubing.

Step 6

Tie in the Sparkle Braid or other flashy material for the body that will be wrapped on the hook shank. Wrap back over the material to where the mylar tubing was first tied in. That should be directly above the hook point.

Step 7

Wrap the Sparkle Braid forward towards the hook eye. Stop about two hook eye lengths behind the hook eye and secure with your tying thread.

Step 8

Trim off the excess Sparkle Braid material.

Step 9

Tie in 2-6 strands of Flashabou or Krystal flash for the underwing. Trim these so they are just slightly longer than the marabou tail.

Step 10

Now tie in 2-6 strung marabou feathers by the tips directly in front of the body and wrap them like you would any other soft hackle. I like to pick feathers that have long fibers and are real fluffy. This will make them move much better in the water.

After wrapping the feathers, secure them with the tying thread and trim off the excess material. Then wrap thread to form a head on your fly.

Note: The number of marabou feathers and different colors will make different shape and color baitfish. I used two brown olive feathers and one bright yellow feather for this fly.

Step 11

Place a small drop of super glue on each side of the head and then stick the 3-D eyes to each side of the fly to fisnish it. You can epoxy the head or just use head cement. Great Job! You just completed on of my favorite streamer flies to tie and fish. Let me know how this pattern works for you.

Step 12

Finsihed fly when wet. You can see how the marabou makes the baitfish body shape. Have fun with different colors and see what you can come up with!