Spawn Blog

Resident Coho Salmon in Puget Sound simply cannot resist this fly! They are a growing fast and so are their appetites. This articulated jig style fly in bight pink and purple will have fish eat and chase your fly all the way to the boat. Like all my flies, they have specific design purposes but can be successfully adapted to a wide range of colors and sizes for different target species. 

Materials List:

Hook: Ahrex SA220 Size #8

Bling Rabbit Strip Bright Purple w/ Fl. Pink 

Fishhunter Blood Quill Marabou UV Fl. Bubble Gum Pink

Hareline Slotted Tungsten Bead Fl. Pink 5.5mm

Spawn UV Simi Seal Coho Cool-Aid

Spawn 90 or 60 Degree Jig Shank 20mm

Lead Free Wire .025

Step 1: Place your Ahrex SA220 in the vise, hook point riding up.

Step 2: Take the Hareline Bling rabbit strip and puncture the hide in the center of the strip with the bling side facing down. Be sure to puncture at a point that will allow you to tie down the rabbit hide on the hook shank. I like to pierce the hide at a point where it will extend up 2/3rds the hook shank.

Step 3: Secure your bling rabbit strip, leaving about 1/3rd of the hook shank left. This is a good time to add a bit of head cement if you’d like. 

Step 4: Take your Spawn Simi Seal in Coho Cool-Aid and veil the Spawn Simi Seal to fill the space where the rabbit hide is tied in and the hook of the eye. I like to veil the Simi Seal here versus dubbing loop to ensure that the Simi seal extends back along the bling rabbit strip as far as possible. Now, whip finish and apply head cement.

Step 5: Add a 5.5mm Slotted Tungsten bead to either a Spawn 60 or 90 Degree 20mm Jig Sank. Slide the hook into the shank connection and place shank in the vise. 

Step 6: Add 6-8 wraps of lead free wire wrap .025 and slide up in the the slot of the bead securing it onto the neck of the shank.

Step 7: Begin wrapping your thread down the shank to secure the connection between the hook and the shank. Be sure to add thread wraps on, in, and behind the wire wraps to keep the wire and bead secure. Once tied down, you can add a thin layer of head cement.

Step 8: Veil or use a dubbing loop to build the body of the fly using Spawn Simi Seal Coho Cool-Aid. Leave about 4mm of space for the marabou. 

Step 9: Using a dubbing brush, brush out all the Simi Seal fibers. Remember you don’t only have to brush in one direction. Brush Up, down, and back and forth!

Step 10: Taking your Fishhunter Blood Quill Marabou in Fl. Bubble Gum Pink, reverse tie in your feather to finish the fly. This is going to add a lot of movement and attractive color to the body of your fly.  I like to get 3 or 4 wraps of the feather so that the Spawn Simi Seal body is still visible when the fly is wet. 

Step 11: Tie off the feather and whip finish. I like to and a couple  extra wraps of thread here to really secure the feather and give me room for some head cement or thin Solarez Resin. 



Done!

Read more

As promised we will continue to increase the number of step by step patterns of flies that we use! This two hooked fly from Pete Rosenau is as mean as they get. Follow along and add this streamer to your box you will love the results guaranteed! All materials for this fly available live on our site, you can also change any of the colors to better mater the location you are fishing!

Step 3. With your thread roughly 2 hook eye lengths behind the eye dub on a decent amount of Spawn Simi Seal. We are going to dub a body back to our flash tie in and then back to our starting spot.

Step 4. Using a dubbing brush or some Velcro give your dubbed body a fairly aggressive brushing.

Step 5. After teasing out all the fibers, dip your fingertips in water and coax the body fibers back toward the hook point. This will tame the fibers for the next step while also removing any stray fibers the brush left behind.

Step 6. Prepare a mallard feather by brushing the fibers toward the base of the quill. Wetting your fingers will make this a breeze. Trim a section at the top of the feather for your tie in. Come down the quill fat enough that it won’t break when tied in.

Step 7. Wrap 3-4 turns of mallard. To get a tighter body like this example you must keep the concave surface of the quill facing the hook shank as you’re wrapping. If the feather is wrapped with the quill on it’s side the fibers will stick out significantly more. The aesthetic choice is yours. Once it’s in the water the fibers will lay down essentially the same either way.

Step 8. Remove a small clump of the olive marabou fibers keeping the tips aligned. This is a fairly sparse amount of marabou that should add some color without blocking out the mallard underneath. Your marabou fibers should reach just past the mallard fibers. After a few loose wraps to tie in the marabou, gently position the fibers to cover the top half of the hook shank. Trim the excess marabou butts and wrap down the ends.

Step 9. Repeat the same step on the bottom of the fly with the Fl. White marabou. After you’ve trimmed the butts and formed a clean thread head, whip finish twice and cover the thread wraps with Loon Hard Head or cement of your choice.

Step 10. Slip on a sz 5/32 Gritty Brass or Tungsten Bead on your Ahrex NS122 sz4 before placing it in the vise. Add 15-20 wraps of .015 weighted wire and slide into the  back of the bead ensuring the bead doesn’t move at a later time.

Step 11. After wrapping over the wire with thread, tie in a 4 inch piece of Senyo’s Standard Intruder Wire. I like to keep this on top of the hook on the near side. This allows me to still keep the returning wire on top of the hook shank.

Step 12. I’ve used 2 sz6 craft beads as another trigger at the wire connection. This is completely optional. One you’ve slipped on the beads, run the trailer wire up through the bottom of the trailer hook eye. Return the wire through both beads and back on top of the hook shank. Once you have the wire in position secure with thread wraps toward the hook eye. Roughly ¼ inch before the bead bring the wire back again toward the hook point. This ensures that no matter what bites this fly it’s not pulling out that wire! The amount of space between your rear and front hook will be determined by the wire movement. You want just enough room that the wire sticks up slightly behind the craft beads.

Step 13. Prepare your next mallard feather. The fibers should be long enough to reach halfway back on the rear feathers. I don’t want to completely obstruct the red beads, so I’ve stripped the fibers from the shank side of the feather. We’ll still be tying the feather in concave side to the hook shank.

Step 14. Take 3-4 wraps of the mallard. The junction transitions more smoothly while still allowing a glimpse of the red bead trigger.

Step 15. Again, dub a body that goes back and then forward again for two layers of dubbing. Brush out coax back the fibers. Don’t forget to moisten your fingertips.

Step 16.  For our final mallard feather we’ll be tying it in full as we did on the rear hook. You want the fibers to reach just about to where the connection mallard fibers reach.

Step 17. Take 3-4 wraps of the mallard. Tie off and trim away the excess.

Step 18. Again tie in a small clump of olive marabou on the top half of the shank. The fibers here should be long enough to reach the ends of the mallard feather you just wrapped.

Step 19. Add a small amount of white marabou to the bottom half of the shank, matching the fiber length of the olive marabou.

Step 20. On the very bottom of the fly add just a few fibers of the Fl. Bubble Gum Pink marabou. These fibers should be about 1/3 shorter than the white marabou. We’re giving the illusion of gills while also adding another visual trigger.

Step 21. Once you’ve cleaned up the tie offs, make a neat thread head, whip finish twice and cut the thread. Apply some pink marker to the thread wraps before sealing with Loon Hard Head or cement of your choice.

Complete! 

Read more

Baitfish patterns are in every fly fisher’s saltwater box around the world. Mimicking a baitfish on the vise is simple but achieving success in the salt isn’t always as easy. This pattern gives you the extra articulated kick you need to bring the success you want into reality. Like the majority of my flies, this is a simple yet effective pattern using Spawn Products!

This style of fly can be altered and manipulated in many ways to meet your fishery’s needs, from changing the feather on the tail to the color of Simi Seal in the body! 

Materials List: 

SA220 Ahrex Size #8 

Spawn 90 Degree Jig Shank 20mm

Fishhunter Saddle Hackle Fl. Silver Dun

Spawn Simi Seal UV Chartreuse Steel

Spawn Eyes Silver Black 

Slotted Tungsten Beads 5.5mm 

Lead Free Wire Wrap .025

Step 1: Insert your SA220 Size 8 hook into the vise

Step 2: Find two thin feathers in your bag of Fishhunter Saddle Hackle Fl. Silver Dun. These will be the tail section of your fly. Tie in one on each side.

Step 3: Take another Fishhunter Saddle Hackle Fl. Silver Dun feather from the pack and reverse tie it in.

Step 4: Tie in the Spawn Simi Seal up to the eye of the hook. Then, add a Spawn 90 or 60 Degree shank with a 5.5mm Slotted Tungsten Bead.

Step 5: Using lead free wire, add 6-10 wraps depending on desired weight. Push the wire wraps  forward into the slot of the bead to secure it. Tie down the shank and add wraps of thread to secure the shank and lead free wire.

Step 6: Tie in Simi Seal either using a dubbing loop or veiling the dubbing back over itself. Adjust your tie length to create a better body taper. 

Step 7: Add your favorite Spawn 3D Eyes with an adhesive of your choice and cover with resin to add durability. 

 Below are alterations of this fly! Using different colors of Simi Seal and different sizes of Spawn 90 or 60 Degree Jig Shanks, the possibilities for this pattern are endless!

Read more

Step 2. Place 7-8 wraps of .015 Lead Free Wire on the hook shank leaving just over one hook eye length behind the hook eye bare.

Step 3. Begin your thread on the hook and cover your wire wraps taking care to not let them shift. Cut a 3-4 inch piece of amber Vinyl Rib. The rounded side should be facing the shank as you tie it in. Begin tying in your Vinyl Rib so that the end matches up with the rear wraps of .015 wire.

Step 4. Tie down your Vinyl Rib to roughly above the hook barb. Make sure your Vinyl Rib stays on top of the hook shank while also watching that it doesn’t twist.

Step 5. Tie in a piece of pearl Lateral Scale. Make sure your thread wraps go all the way to the wraps used for your Vinyl Rib. Advance your thread to near the hook eye.

Step 6. Using overlapping wraps advance the Lateral Scale up the entire body to roughly halfway on the wire wraps. Tie off with 3-4 strong wraps and then fold the Lateral Scale back over itself toward the rear of the hook while maintaining thread tension. Wrap 2-3 times and neatly trim off the remaining Lateral Scale.

Step 7. Now wrap the Vinyl Rib to just past the beginning wraps of wire. Tie off with 4-5 firm wraps of thread and neatly trim away the excess Vinyl Rib for your next fly.

Step 8. Cut a strip of D’s Flyes olive Dura Skin that is just slightly wider than the Vinyl Rib abdomen. Trimming to a V shape makes for an easier and cleaner tie in.

Step 9. Securely tie in your piece of Dura Skin. The proportion we’re looking for is roughly 2/3 abdomen or body to 1/3 thorax. Tie back the Dura Skin until you feel you are right around 1/3 back on the entire body of what will be your finished fly.

Step 10. Cut off 2-3 herls from a caddis green Peacock Eye. Tie in all 3 back to the same tie in for the Dura Skin. Trim off the excess peacock and advance your thread to behind the hook eye. At this point gently twist the peacock herls together always twisting the same direction. Don’t put on too much pressure or you’ll need to tie in new peacock.

Step 11. Wrap the peacock herls forward to just behind the hook eye. As you wrap the peacock forward you may need to add a twist or two between wraps to maintain the grouping. Tie off and trim the excess peacock being as clean with your cuts and thread wraps as possible.

Step 12. Pull the strip of Dura Skin over the peacock thorax. Securely tie down the Dura Skin making sure it is centered on top of the shank. Trim the excess Dura Skin and wrap a neat thread head. After 2 whip finishes cut your thread and cover the head with a thin layer of Loon Hard Head.

Step 13. Add a small amount of Loon Thin UV Clear Fly Finish on top of the Dura Skin. Cure with your UV torch and this caddis is ready for action.

Read more

The words "Chum Fry" spark every fly fishers attention in Puget Sound. This is a time of year when Cutthroat are leaving the spawning grounds and looking to recover from the hardships associated with an anadromous lifestyle. Food is usually plentiful with large schools of Chum Fry pouring out of the streams and into Puget Sound. 

Although this year's Chum Salmon returns were low and flooding post spawn could have disrupted many of the redds, we are hoping there will still be Chum Fry around with hungry Sea Run Cutthroat and Resident Coho looking for an easy meal. 

If you have looked into the Spawn Simi Seal Dubbing, you will see that the blends we have created with John Romher are ultra specific. Their applications reach far outside the beaches of Puget Sound, but the inspiration stems from our home waters here in Washington. Pete Rosenau is one of the most talented tiers and materials designers there is and his involvement with creating the Chum Fry Simi Seal is invaluable.  

Chum Fry Recipe:

All available on our site!

Spawn's Mega Simi Seal- Chum Fry

Spawn's Mega Simi Seal- Smolt Belly

Spawn's Simi Seal- White/Silver

Lead Free Wire .025

Ahrex NS122- Size #10

Spawn Eyes- 4mm 

Black Sharpe

First we will start with a size #10 NS122 from Ahrex Hooks.

After a thin thread base, add 8-10 wraps of .025 Lead Free Wire leaving about 4mm of space in front of the wraps to finish your fly and add Spawn 3D eyes.

Then, take Spawn's Mega Simi Seal in Chum Fry and tie on the tail section. For this you want to have as much going off the back end of the hook as possible while still ensuring it is snugly tied in. 

Dub your thread with Spawn's Simi Seal in White/Silver and begin to wrap forward. For best results, wax your thread!

Stop wrapping the Simi Seal at the end of your Lead Free Wire wraps. 

Now add Spawn's Mega Simi Seal in Chum Fry to the top of your hook shank and veil back the Simi Seal to create a small taper for the head of the fly. 

Add Spawn's Mega Simi Seal in Smolt Belly to the bottom of your hook shank to create the belly of the fly. 

Whip finish and brush out the fly. 

Use resin to add on your favorite Spawn Eyes to give your fly an even more lifelike look and feel.

If you'd like, you can use a permanent marker to add Parr marks.

Without Parr marks:

With Parr marks: 

You now have an easy and effective Chum Fry Pattern using dubbing that was designed to exactly replicate the colors of this Puget Sound Hatch here on our home waters! 

Read more