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Fly Tying
Tim Shovel

Hellgrammites (Dobsonfly Larva)

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I am looking for a bass fly, I have heard good things about hellgrammites but have yet to tie a hellgrammite fly, would it be worth it and f so could somebody give me the name of a hellgrammite fly. Sorry if this is the wrong place to post this but I figured any one in this section would have a better idea about these larva than me.

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Here are two patterns I tied a while back. Its a PITA to tie the second one. , short legs, a bunch of them, goose biots for short tails, and the pinchers. I used some sort of thread for all the legs. The first one is simply a woolly worm with a biot tail.

 

An easier way would be to tie a long black woolly worm (not bugger.) Use two short black biots for the tails, palmer with a black hackle, and finish the head with two short biots for the pinchers. Then simply trim the hackle to about 1/16" on the back two thirds of the body.

 

I know that hellgramites are a popular smallmouth bait, but I haven't fished for them with flies.

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I will be sure to try them out in the spring, they seem quite easy to tie. I know that Hellgrammites are huge for bass, and some say they are the ticket to walleye and trout but didn't have a clue how to tie one. Thank you for your help.

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This one is simple. Black biots, black dryfly hackle, black dubbing. A wire rib, and a black shellback. The front part is the same with beadchain eyes and rubberlegs. image.jpg

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Hi Tim,

 

I posted these last November. They're one of the best patterns I use for catching smallies all season long. Tie them a little smaller for trout too. You'll have to scroll down a little through the posts to find it and the recipe is a few more below the picture after someone requested it.

 

Regards,

Mark

 

http://www.flytyingforum.com/index.php?showtopic=79632&page=6

 

 

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I cobbled these up last fall from ideas of two much more adept tiers. The materials are not easy to get as the key one in the tail has disappeared from the craft stores. The pincers are 'O' rings.

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Mikechell,

 

Thanks. You are welcome to all the details I can muster on this one.

 

The fly is fairly easy to tie. The components are:

 

Hook: Mustad 3399 size 6 mounted upright to lessen snags.

 

Tail: A furled mystery yarn from Mary Ann's. ( I absent-minded grabbed it one day while following my bride around and have never seen it again.) It has a black soft core with thin protruding filaments of mylar-like strands spaced about half inch apart . They are way too long but can be trimmed readily with a scissors. The tail is soft and wiggles a bit in the current.

 

Head: Black dubbing with thin rubber legs -- a real misery to work with for me-- with a hard case over top and bottom made from black thin skin tied in at the end of te mystery material, then brought forward over and through the eye of the hook and back to the junction of the head with the mystery material on the bottom. All coated with CCG.

 

Pincers: 'O' ring with a section trimmed out to create a 'C' shape and tied in at the eye before the thin skin is drawn over it.

 

Weight: I used black lead barbell eyes tied on the bottom of an upright hook.

 

I tentatively named it the "Krasnoski" in honor of the guys whose ideas I stole.

 

The tying sequence I use is tail, pinchers and lead eye, thin skin tied in o n top, dubbing and legs (GRRR!), thin skin over and under, CCG, and trim.

 

Regards,

 

Rocco

 

 

 

Rocco

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