Materials List:
Hook: Ahrex XO774 Universal Curved size 6
Bead: Hareline Gritty Tungsten 5/32" Red
Weighted Wire: Non Lead .015
Thread: UniThread 6/0 Red
Tail and Wings: Hareline Peacock Sword
Body and Wing Case: Saltwater Flashabou Holographic Silver
Rib: UTC Ultra Wire Red size Medium
Thorax: Spawn Simi Seal Bleeding Black
Loon Hard Head
Loon UV Clear Fly Finish Thin
Step 1:
Slip your bead onto the hook putting the hook point through the smaller opening first. Once the bead is on securely position your hook in the vise. Add 12 wraps of .015 non lead wire. Once you've trimmed and smoothed the edge of both cuts, push the wire wraps into the bach of the bead.
Step 2:
Now begin your thread on the hook shank behind the wire wraps. Take 3 passes forward and back over the wire wraps to secure and then take your thread toward the hook bend almost halfway down the vertical section of the shank. At this point i like to temporarily reposition my hook for easier access to this spot. Make very tight X wraps at this spot to build a small thread bump. This bump will force our tail fibers to splay gently once tied in. Take 2 wraps forward with your thread once your thread bump is sufficient.
Step 3: Remove 5 peacock sword fibers from the quill with your scissors. Tie them on top of the hook shank so the tails are just a touch longer than the total body length of the bug. Trim the butt ends to match with the back side of the weighted wire.
Step 4: Tie in a 4 inch piece of red medium wire. This should also rest against the back side of the weighted wire. Be sure to tie down all the way to our previous wraps. This wire should remain on top of the hook shank to provide an even platform for our body wraps.
Step 5:
Now we will tie in the Saltwater Flashabou just a bit behind the head with the majority of the material to the front of the fly. We do this so we can wrap our Flashabou down and back up over itself. Not only does this provide better material coverage, it also strengthens the body to survive some extra teeth. Once tied in add a very thin line of Super Glue or gel along the undebody. Very small amount here. We will be squishing the glue while we wrap, so we can not afford excess glue peeking out later.
Step 6:
With touching or nearly touching wraps take the Flashabou all the way down the hook shank to the tail fibers.
Step 7: Now we will continue wrapping our way back up the hook shank, but this time using overlapping wraps. Once you've wrapped to almost behind the bead, tie off the flash with 2 thread wraps, gently pull the flash back over itself toward the hook bend and tie down the flash again with 2 more thread wraps. Trim the tag piece of Flashabou, but keep it nearby. We will use that for our wing case.
Step 8:
Now we will counter wrap out ribbing wire. So whichever direction you wrapped your Flashabou, wrap the wire in the opposite direction. For this example the flash is wrapped away from me while the wire is wrapped coming toward me. Counter wrap. This is a very simple way of strengthening flies with multiple wrapped components. Tie off the wire with a few thread wraps, bend the wire back toward the hook bend and cut the excess wire. Much like tying off the flash, using that pull back technique will offer extra protection from that element being pulled free while fighting a fish.
Step 9: Tie in our tag end of Flashabou directly on top of the shank, behind the bead. Our thorax will be roughly 2 beads in length, so tie the Flashabou back about that distance.
Step 10: Add enough dubbing to your thread to have a noodle roughly 3 inches in length. Beginning behind the bead, we will take our thread wraps back to the rear of the wing case and then forward over itself to build a solid thorax that is uniform and strong.
Step 11: Now we will add 3 sword fibers to the near side of the body. These should be in line with the hook eye and reach to a point just shy of the tail fibers. Use 2 mid tension thread wraps so you can fine tune positioning after the other wing is tied in.
Step 12: Now tie in 3 sword fibers on the far side of the fly. Again these should run in line with the hook eye and almost touch the tail fibers.
Step 13:
Pull your Flashabou over the dubbed thorax and tie down behind the bead with 2 thread wraps. Pull the flash back over itself and tie down securely, trim neatly and cover with thread wraps. Add 2 whip finishes and trim your thread. Add some Loon Hard Head to the thread wraps. For extra bubble effect on the wing case and some strength for the Flashabou body I like to make a very thin bead of Loon Thin resin from the base of the tail to behind the bead, but only on top of the fly. Cure with your UV torch and say hello to some fishy friends. Thanks for tying. See you on the water.
Thank you all for reading! Shop Spawn!
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