FLYMPH FORUM

Okay. Last one for today. Something experimental...

Drop Shot - 6a & Quail (w bead)

• Hook: Mustad R50 #14
• Bead: Tungsten
• Thread: Pearsall's 6a
• Hackle: Quail wing feather - stripped
• Thorax: Muskrat

Needed a few weighted softies for slightly faster water. I'm just experimenting here--I think olive green would have been a better choice.

Aaron

I tied a lot of beadhead softies for several years, and they were absolutely deadly. I always used glass beads, however, never tried one with a weighted bead. This pattern looks "delicious."

EP

Aaron,

I can appreciate how difficult it is to get that hackle to sit back and look so natural with that bead behind it. It took me a bunch of tries to get it to not flair out when i tied the knot at the head. This one turned out just right. Especially with the dubbing behind that bead. That looks like a killer pattern. I may have to give that technique another go. lately though I'm still tying wire bodies with sparse dubbing and a soft-hackle. I can't seem to stop tying them.

This looks killer. I need to give that another try.

W

I actually prefer things to flare just a little more, but I've found that the method used here gives the best results. You may do something similar, but assuming you don't (and for anyone who hasn't had a go at this)...

1. Tie-in the feather by the tip overhanging the front leaving sufficient room to wrap the hackle forward
2. Make a small thread stop to the rear of the tie-in point to prevent the bead from sliding too far forward
3. Bring the thread to just behind the eye, whip twice and trim and cut thread
4. Slide the bead forward to the stop
5. Tie-in behind the bead and build the body, finishing with the fur thorax
6. Whip finish behind the bead and cut thread
7. Tie-in again ahead of the bead
8. Wrap the hackle forward and tie-off creating a defined "head"

While a little more time consuming than other techniques, this one has the advantage of a) making the body easier to construct and b) creating a suitable orientation for the hackle fibres. BTW It's a bit easier if your using finer thread than silk.

Aaron

excellent tie...color co-ordination is outstanding......warning bead content....I almost pissed myself reading that one

Thank you Aaron. I was searching for a soft hackle and a bead, because we fish here for Rudd and Roach and an unweigted fly does not go deep enough. Thank you for sharing.

Wonderful fly, Aaron. Thanks for including the tying instructions. I need to give these a try. Looks like a "catcher"!

This looks great, and it's well tied too. Nice!

letumgo wrote:Wonderful fly, Aaron. Thanks for including the tying instructions. I need to give these a try. Looks like a "catcher"!

A catcher rather than a show fly . After posting my "how to" above I decided that a step by step might be useful for others. So I added one to my blog: Stream Time (the site is a work in progress so please ignore any glitches).

Aaron

Aaron- I think this color is fantastic, but I think olive would be perfect right alongside it in your box!