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7/24/09

hawaii bonefish:

sean’s bonefish turd

 

as promised, sean dialed in the tying steps for his turd style fly.  as you blog peeps may remember, sean caught his last mc fatty hawaii bonefish on this particular fly.  you may just want to have a few in your box... and, according to sean, it goes a little something like this...

 

Tying the Turd

 

The Bonefish Turd is a pattern originally designed by Brian O’Keefe, featuring a rear-set sink eye. This allows the fly to ride hook point up without the need for a wing. That said, the fly I’ll be tying today is a nasty bastardization of said Turd, and in no way reflects the good work of Mr. O’Keefe.

 

Here's what you'll need to tie your own Turds. You'll also need a vise, and my personal favorite is a Renzetti.

 

hook:  tiemco 800s sz.6 or similar

thread:  brown flat wax nylon

eyes:  small lead eyes (painted yellow)

tail:  brown marabou, krystal flash (gold or med. brown), brown sili legs

body: brown medium chenille

hackle: brown saddle hackle

 

Step 1

Begin with a brown thread base on a short shank saltwater hook (TMC 800S, Mustad C47SD, etc.). You could also use a standard shank hook like a Mustad 34007, but I prefer the short shank.

 

Step 2

Tie in the sink eyes opposite the hook point. In this case, they are 5/32" lead dumbbell eyes painted yellow. Use the same figure-8 wraps that Clay told you about in his earlier entries.

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Step 3

Tie in the tips of a brown marabou feather as a fluffy tail. You don’t need to use the entire feather, but since I’m only tying one fly right now, I did. Clay will probably scold me for wasting.

 

Step 4

Tie a brown silicone leg on each side of the tail.

 

Step 5

A few strands of brown Krystal Flash add a little sparkle.

 

Step 6

Tie in the center string from a piece of brown chenille to begin the fly body.

 

Step 7

Tie down the tip of a saddle hackle feather near the middle of the hook shank.

 

A note on saddle hackles: Beginning fly tiers often ask which feather to use when palmering a hackle on a saltwater fly. I like to use a wide, webby hackle. Notice the difference between the two hackle feathers pictured. The stiff barbs of the hackle on the left stick out straight and are well separated. The soft barbs of the hackle on the right curve with the stem and don’t separate easily. This is the "right" feather to use when palmering a hackle.

 

Step 8

Wrap the chenille around the hook shank, creating the fly body. Starting at the tail, go over and around the sink eyes and almost all the way to the hook eye, leaving enough space for one more wrap. Tie off the chenille with a couple of wraps of thread but do not cut the chenille yet.

 

Step 9

Palmer the hackle through the chenille towards the hook eye.

 

Step 10

Once you reach the end of the chenille, tie off the hackle.

 

Step 11

Make your final wrap of chenille and tie off with a whip finish.

 

Step 12

Add head cement to the thread wraps. All pau (finished).

 

Now get out there and catch your own fatty bonefish before Clay does!

 

...i agree!  good times.

 

 

clay.

 


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