The Bumblepuppy revisited

[hairwing 0]

History says that Gordon and his fellow fly tyers used too play with his pattern and change it to suit their whims, "the Bumblepuppy" has lots of different interpretations, here is mine. I hope Ted would approve.

I think Ted's fly is a cool one and I hope the variations keep going on.

Materials for my interpertation:

Hook: South Bend Aberdeen

Thread: Danville 6/0 white

Tip: silver oval tinsel

Tail: Dyed red calftail

Butt: Buttercup yellow chenille

Body: White firestar nylon with 2 14lb. mono loops to keep the wing from fouling

Eyes: Jungle cock nails

Hackle collar: Pheasent rump feathers and teal

Wing: Grey acrylic over white firestar nylon tied forward and pulled through the loops

[mikechell 0]

Well, that fly is certainly the epitome of tying a bunch of stuff to a hook.

[FlaFly 0]

It looks like a comb-over.

[flytire 0]

Not what I would tie but I hope it works for you

[add147 0]

Looks pretty cool to me!

[hairwing 0]

From "The Complete Fly Fisherman, The Notes and Letters of Theodore Gordon" Edited by John MacDonald C. 1947.

Gordon gives his pattern for the "bumblepuppy":

Tag: silver and red silk

Tail: Scarlet Ibis, two mated feathers, back to back and quite straight on the hook

Butt: Red or yellow chenille; and tried black Ostrich

Body: white silk chenille, ribbed flat silver tinsel...must be bright, body full, not thin

Hackle: Badger, large,long, and lots of it

Wings: Double or single , according to the size of the hook; strips of white swan or goose, over white hair from deer, white bear, or goat

Sides: Jungle fowl, low

Shoulder hackle: Over-wing, a good Wigeon feather as long as or longer than the badger

Head: Red or yellow chenille, or black, plain varnished

I think it's been accepted by most guys that follow the history of our sport that the "bumblepuppy " was an on going experiment by Gordon and the fly I posted here on this thread is carrying on this idea.

No one has to tie it but to do so makes me feel like I was part of fly fishing. My regular fly fishing box is full of flies I use for my fishing and I know I can count on them to catch me some fish. My design in the pic above is a proven fish taker for me and I'll stand by that with no reserve; and because the fly I tie changes with different materials makes no difference. The fly will catch fish for me !

I'm not the type fisherman to carry 100's of different patterns to the stream for an outing. My fishing boxes are full of the flies I need because I know my local water; but fly tying is also my hobby and I enjoy tying the flies I find from past and present. Some different flies are a challenge and I enjoy the learning experience and the history. It's eye candy.

[hairwing 0]

Looks pretty cool to me!

Me too !

[artimus001 0]

interesting use of the mono. is that your idea, or a known technique?

[hairwing 0]

interesting use of the mono. is that your idea, or a known technique?

The idea was a brain fart of mine in the mid 1970's. I tied a few simple ones up that were black and white winged with a splash of red near the throat for gills with a white body. The fly caught a fish on it's very first cast, in Cheesman Canyon I might note.... and that's not a very easy place to fish for most. I named this first fly the "Family Hole Special" but soon found that because of all the variations possible, the name became meaningless . So now I just refer to the fly as "the fly with mono loops".

The original I tied had three mono loops and I soon found that two was enough. Today when I tie smaller streamers one loop is enough if it is placed just past the point opposite the hook point, otherwise I mostly tie using two loops. A secret to the loops is to make "hoops" so the wing material maintains it's shape and stays tight to the body. The legs of the mono are tied on the SIDE of the shank. The loop is raised up and the tying thread is built up to help it stand vertically. A drop of your favorite cement helps the loops stay up....they have a tendency to get lazy and lay down.

The wing on the fly is tied forward over the eye and then folded back through the loops. To make this an easy operation I take another loop of mono (or your leader) and thread it through he loops from the rear to catch the wing and pull it back.

Many years after I was using the technique I noticed that tyers were using a mono loop at the tail of the fly to prevent fouling. An idea close to what I'd come up with but not the same.

[joseph russell 0]

Nice big fly I looked up the bumblepuppy pattern and history of it lots of great history thanks for sharing your variation.

[hairwing 0]

Nice big fly I looked up the bumblepuppy pattern and history of it lots of great history thanks for sharing your variation.

JR...I was hoping folks would key in on the Gordon fly and look at it's history. You did good by pushing the extra keys and researching the pattern. There is a lot there in it's history. I'm glad you enjoyed it.

 

Most will label the Bumblepuppy a trout fly because it's associated with Gordon, but Gordon used the fly for everything, Bass, Trout, Pike, any fish that swims. If anyone thinks of Gordon as a purist you'd better consider history.

[joseph russell 0]

Now is this mono to help hold down all the materials.

[hairwing 0]

Now is this mono to help hold down all the materials.

The main idea I had in mind for the loops was to prevent the wing from fouling around the hook. Like the Matuka design. I really like the Matuka patterns but had a hard time replacing the feathers I was using, so I went the synthetic route.

....and yes the loops hold the material and keeps a nice fish shape form in the water.

[hairwing 0]

Here is an example of the fly with one loop. I tied it small, a #14, the fly measures 7/8th inches long or about 2 cm if your mind is metric.

 

 

The mono loop is .007"

Thread: Danville 6/0

Hook: EC057 #14

Tail: Gold Pheasant Tippet

Body: fine white floss

Throat: red acrylic yarn

Wing: grey acrylic, white nylon, yellow acrylic..yarn

[joseph russell 0]

Thats great is the any other patterns that you had before the final result