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Current Tags for This Pattern
/ Bass / Black / Flash / Grizzly / Krystal Flash / marabou / peacock herl / Pink / purple / rabbit strip / Red / Ultra Wire / Yellow /

purple bass candy

 
tied by Joe Hard
Target Species: Freshwater Bass,
Recommended Region: Eastern Canada,
Imitation: General Baitfish,
Material List:
Hook; any long shank wide gap streamer hook, here it is a Mustad Signature saltwater streamer hook. It was the last one I had and I sent a fly off in the box and never wrote the hook info down.
Thread; Black 8/0 uni, any strong fine thread
Tail; Purple rabbit strip over pink marabou, can add flash
Rib; Red small UTC Ultra wire
Body; Medium blue body braid
Wing; remainder of rabbit strip tail brought forward. Purple marabou black Krystal Flash and 4 strands of peacock herl
Throat; 6 strands of fuschia silli legs
Collar; Clarett dyed grizzly half bronze rooster coque folded and wrapped 4 times as a collar
Head; Purple Rams wool tied top and bottom of shank
Eye; 7mm yellow doll eyes
Glue; Zap A Gap or super glue
Tying Instructions: Attach thread, and lay a thread base to where the hook bends and back. About 3 or 4 eye spaces back attach a preened and measured marabou plume. (base fluff and tip removed, shank length)
Cover the plume rearward to where the hook starts to bend. Attach the rabbit strip tail directly on top with about 8 firm wraps of thread. I like to lift the rabbit strip and make a couple wraps in front then over the original wraps holding it to secure it good. Return thread to just before where it started, a few wraps back. Attach the wire on the bottom of the shank with the tag reaching to where the thread started. Cover all rearward with thread to where the rabbit strip was originally tied in. Make about 4 firm wraps over the wire to secure it. Return thread. Attach body braid on top of the shank as the wire was and wrap over all rearward with tying thread. To just before the rabbit strip tie in point. Bind it down with about 4 firm wraps, but make sure there is room for 1 full turn of the body braid in front of the rabbit strip. Return thread. Wrap body braid forward and tie it off on the bottom of shank. Bring the rabbit strip forward and tie it down on top of the shank in the same place. Lift up and forward so it is pulled tight. Moisten the rabbit strip and divide the hair where you want to wrap the rib.

Here is a trick I learned that helps prevent the tail from fouling. I like to keep the wire in a bobbin, but can do by hand. Lift the tail and take the wire rib and wrap it tightly under the tail. Then over it where tail is tied on, once or twice. This props the tail. I find with the wire in a bobbin it helps to really wrap the rib tight. Moisten the rabbit strip and divide it where you want to spiral wrap the ribs. Make sure the rabbit strip is on top of the shank when you wrap over it with the wire rib. Tie off the wire on the bottom of the shank with 8 or more firm wraps and twist off the wire and cover the tag and warp the thread to the eye of the hook and back. All this makes a secure fly and with the wire on bottom of the shank and body braid on top, the fly swims correctly. Also the marabou lashed the length of the shank, keeps an even smooth shank.

Invert the fly, with all tag ends covered and thread hanging where the wing is tied on attach and secure the silli legs with figure 8 wraps so that there is six legs per side of the shank. Then wrap thread rearward a few turns holding the legs back and along the shank. this makes the legs slant rearward. Add 2 strands of flash. Position it on the near side so the tags of flash facing rearward are pointing up. Wrap the thread forward over the forward tag ends of flash 3 or 4 turns and then fold the flash over to the other side of the shank and position them the same with thread at same tie in point. . Trim them shank length so they wont wrap in the hook gap. Wrap the thread to eye of hook and half way back.

Here is something I have found that helps reduce the size of the head, and is not really necessary but I like to add it to the fly. The marabou/ herl part of the wing Add the preened marabou feather with about 3 wraps of thread half way between hook eye and wing tie in point. . Pull the marabou forward so it is slightly longer than the rabbit strip. Make a couple of more wraps of thread to hold it there if needed. Clip off forward tag end of the plume and spiral wrap thread to eye. With close tight back to back wraps cover the marabou to where the wing is tied on, Do the same with the herl, which is slightly longer again. Cover everything with thread to eye and back so there is a smooth even shank. Attach collar feather, fold and wrap 2 to 4 turns. so it lays back. Trim the silli legs just slightly longer than the collar. All so they dont foul in the hook gap.

There will a bit of a thread base between the hook eye and wing. If you just keep adding things at wing tie in point there will be a slope and it will be hard to add the wool head as it will slip forward. If you did as I described it should be fairly even and level.

Brush out a clump of Rams wool about an inch and 1/2 wide. Trim it from the hide, brush out the butt ends, and divide it. Tie a clump on top so the tag of the butts are facing out over the eye, the other tapered ends so they reach just slightly shorter than the marabou wing. Use about 2 to 4 wraps of thread. Do the same on the bottom of the shank, with the other clump of wool, but so that the tapered tags of the wool only reach just slightly shorter than the collar. Advance the thread in front of the clumps of wool and wrap rearward tightly to pack it back. Continue with 2 or 3 more clumps of wool to cover the rest of the shank, tie off thread. Preen the clumps of wool so that it is on top and bottom of the shank only. Make sure you check the far side of the shank. There should be nothing on the sides of the shank where the wool has been packed except thread wraps

With the wool preened and fly laying flat on a table or surface that you are not to concerned about add a drop or two of glue. Let it run through to the other side, while it is still wet add an eye in the glue flip fly over and add eye to other side. if needed add a bit more glue but not to much as it will run into the wool head. Trim the wool head to shape when glue is dry. If you added the wool clumps like I said you will wont have to trim around wing and collar. More or less trim the top and bottom with a couple cuts to shape then trim it up.

I tried to explain it as best I could and hope this helps anyone that wants to tie this type of fly. I use this fly for trout and bass and just about anything that swims. It taks on the shape of a minow when wet and has lots of movemnet in the water.




Presentation Tips: as a streamer, sometimes panfish like bluegill and sunfish will turn a purplish colour when spawning. Just a flashy colourful attractor