AZTEC patterns?

[Rocco 0]

I have heard good things about the effectiveness of these streamers but cannot find much about how tio tie them.

 

Thanks for any insights,

Rocco

[Philly 0]

Google Aztec fly pattern. There's one You Tube demonstration on how to tie it. And a couple of more that have instructions on how to tie it. I'd never heard of it until you mentioned it. Looks like an interesting pattern.

[spiralspey 0]

I remember the aztec from an article I read when I was a kid, probably the late 70's or early 80's. I tied a few and they're pretty easy to tie, basically a yarn matuka. The ones I tied were out of whatever yarn my mom had in her knitting basket. They caught fish (bass and pike), but were either very light and hard to get to sink if the fibers weren't well soaked or very heavy and hard to cast if the fly was wet. Either way the fly had a lot of resistance in the water and you could strip it very slowly and it would just hang there when you paused. Pike loved my aztecs but their teeth were a nightmare on the yarn. I bet if you tied one with today's better synthetics you could make a nice, effective streamer, that you could cast and would actually sink.

[Rocco 0]

I tried Youtube but obviously messed up the search request. I'll trry again.

 

Thanks,

Rocco

[flytire 0]

YouTube found this

 

[Capt Bob LeMay 0]

Like spiral... it's been years since I heard the slightest mention of Aztecs... I guess everything old is new again at some point.

[Rocco 0]

Except me! I just keep getting older and older... One nice thing is that lots of old stuff went out of fashion for no good reason and because distant memory is better t than near memory, you can make it useful again. .

 

I'm still looking for the original recipe. Youtube only has a sheep wool variant. The one I recall had a much more complicated tying style all based on antron rug yarn. The fly pushed water and moved in it.

 

Rocco

[flytire 0]

so you couldnt substitute antron yarn for the material used in the video link above?

 

page 309-311 of the "fly tiers benchside reference"

 

a good book to add to your christmas list

 

 

 

 

http://www.flyfishersrepublic.com/patterns/aztec/

 

http://www.flydressers-guild-herts-branch.co.uk/fly_tying_patterns/fly_tying_pattern_aztec_streamer.html

[spiralspey 0]

Yah, flytire, that's exactly how I remember tying an Aztec. After tying it you'd brush out the yarn and clip it so it looked like an Aztec haircut. I tied mine with a tail, though, also out of yarn and brushed out. Similar to tying a yarn crab fly.

[Big Fly Bob 0]

I have tied the Aztecs ever since I first saw them in a Fly Fishing magazine back in the 70s. It is a great bait fish imitation but I've since gone to Puglisis as the Aztec takes a long time to tie.

[PATiedFly 0]

My teen-age son and I have taken some fly tying classes at a local fly shop the last few years in the winter. I don't recall if he used the term Aztecs but we did tie some in this format. I think it was in the beginner class. I believe we tied them in bluegill colors and a bit sparse to keep them lighter. Will have to pull them out and try them this spring.

 

First post on this forum - love reading and learning from all the expertise here.

[troutguy 0]

The best new book on tying these "new" style flies is the Professional Fly Tying, Spinning and Tackle making Manual and manufactures Guide by George Leonard Herter. The called the ones hook up Mississippi Bugs. I several different variations he uses marabou, yarn, fur or bucktail.

 

If you can get one on eBay, it is a great idea infuser.

[flytire 0]

the 'new' book i have is from 1968

 

also called the "ozark weedless bucktail"

 

http://flyanglersonline.com/features/oldflies/part194.php

 

or the "arkansas bucktail"

 

https://www.ohiogamefishing.com/threads/the-arkansas-bucktail-a-classic-bass-fly-a-new-podcast.54467/

 

or "whisker bugs"

 

http://www.sparsegreymatter.com/viewtopic.php?f=17&t=8146

[Mike West 0]

BFB,

Me 2

Nice ties!

[SilverCreek 0]

Bump