Fishfinder (Jack Gartside pattern)

[letumgo 0]

A new addition to the fly pattern database has been submitted by letumgo:

 

Fishfinder (Jack Gartside pattern)

 

[letumgo 0]

I came across this pattern last week while surfing the web and just had to give it a try. Jack probably uses slightly different materials, but it is my attempt to tye the same fly. Here is a link to his website in case your interested. (EDIT - I am in no way associated with Mr. Gartside. I've just had good luck with his gurgler pattern and was looking to try one of his other patterns. The five bucks he charges for his fly was to rich for my blood, so I tyed up a couple of my own.)

 

Jack Gartside's Fishfinder Streamer

 

I got a chance to fish this fly last weekend (didn't catch anything on it), but the thing looked amazing in the water. This fly looks alive after it gets in the water. The photo I posted is showing the fly in the water. Here is another photo of the fly after it is soaked through. Pretty neat pattern.

 

 

and a video showing the fly "swimming" in the water

 

Fishfinder streamer (Underwater Video)

[Guest]

Great addition Ray...that's a sweet streamer!

[snboggs 0]

I love this fly!

 

A question about the marabou collar though. I've tried a couple times to palmer wrap marabou, with little luck.

Your pattern says "Tied in by the tip, folded, and then wrapped." I can't seem to get a mental picture of how this looks. Any chance you could help me understand this a little better? I would greatly appreciate it! Thanks!

 

snboggs

[letumgo 0]

Sure, I'll try to explain it. Here goes...

 

After you have tyed in the grizzly hackle tail, pick out a nice soft (whispy) marabou plume. I like to remove any fibers at the base of the plume that look matted or are too bulky. Now carefully pull back the fibers on each side of the marabou plume until you find the center stem and the tip of the plume. pull back the fibers on each side to expose the last inch of the plume. I then lay the plume over the fly with the tip fibers pointed over the back of the fly and tye it onto the hook. Advance your thread forward to the eyeof the fly to get it out of the way. Now, pinch the base of the marabou plume by the base of the feather with your right hand (assuming your right handed). Use your left hand to stroke the fibers of the marabou all to one side. Pinch the fibers back with your left hand and start to wrap the stem of the plume around the shank of the hook. As you wrap forward, you will need to continuously stroke the fibers backwards to keep them from getting trapped under the stem. Continue forward until you run out of plume. At this point, back off your tying thread and then secure the stem of the marabou plume. I then take a bodkin and make sure that all of the marabou fibers are free to move towards the back of the fly. Repeat this process with a second plume of marabou and the collar material.

 

It may sound complicated, but it is quite simple. It is basically the same technique used to form soft hackle flies (this is just done with marabou). The only trick is to keep messing with the fibers to pull them back out of the way after each wrap. If you lightly moisten the marabou fibers, it may make them easier to control.

 

Let me know if you still have questions and I will try to do a better job of answering. Good luck.

[Mice 0]

Ray, excelent fly. Fantastic in water. Killer in slow water, I thing.

 

Paul

[ROR-EYE 0]

Very nice!

[snboggs 0]

I think I got it. How far up the shank are the grizzlies tied? It looks to me like the marabou and mallard are both tied in near the eye, but I can't tell about the tails because of the collar. Any chance I could twist your arm into doing a step-by-step? Pleeease?

[Gaddy 0]

Ray I love this fly it looks great in and out of the H20. I am sure there are some fish out there that think the same as me.

[JJD 0]

Nice stuff Ray. Over the last few years I've gone full circle from traditional feathers, to synthetics, and now back to feathers. I absolutely love the action of marabou in the water.

 

snboggs - you can also palmer marabou by removing the fibers from one side of the shaft. It does not create a collar as dense, but some people find it easier to work with at first.

 

John

[tyrite 0]

Nice Fly I really like the silhouette it has in the water!!

 

 

tyrite

[letumgo 0]

Excellent tip John. I can see where removing the fibers from one side of the marabou plume would make it a bit easier to form the body of the fly. It would also make it easier to control the density of the body of the fly.

 

I too have played around with lots of various materials (natural and synthetic). I tend to use a range of materials depending on the design features I am shooting for in the finished fly (i.e. - function often defines the form and materials). When I look at the design of this fly, marabou seems like a beautiful material to work with (tons of motion in the water, soft texture so that fish may hold onto the fly longer, cheap and easy to get, substantial profile/bulk without adding lots of weight to the fly, etc.). I like the simplicity of this fly and how easily it can be modified (change size, shape, color, etc.). It reminds me a lot of some of the flatwing streamer flies, but just a softer fly. I bet a smaller blended brown/black/olive/orange color combination would make a killer leech pattern. (I've got to pay around with the leech version later this evening to see what I can come up with...)

 

snboggs - I may not be able to create a step-by-step on this one since it this is a fly where you need both hands during the tying steps. I'll try, but I think this one is probably better for one of the Virtual Tying classes. I will give the step-by-step a try to see if I can make it work. If not, maybe I could demonstrate the fly to you on the Virtual Tying classes. Let me see what I can come up with.

[stickbait 0]

great Fly,looking forward to seeing the recipe.

[beaverfsu 0]

Very nice....I have some tying to do. Thanks

[dwiltshire 0]

Sweet Ray. Very sweet. :headbang:

 

Love the picture and love the idea. Great movement. A potentila salmon fly for the summer.