Hatches Magazine Fly Patterns

Whitlock’s Swimming Sheep Shad

Recipe:
Hook: TMC 9394 NP (bent to shape)
Thread: White UTC 140
Rattle: Mini
Gill: SLF dubbing (minnow gill)
Wing: Ultra Wing
Flash: Midge Flash Wing-N-Flash
Laterial Line: Saddle (dun)
Checks: Mallard Drake Belly
Eyes: Flat stick on eyes

TYING INSTRCTIONS:

Step 1.

You will need to bend the front of the hook upright at a small angle. I like to use the sidecutters with the baby blue handles. They sell them for saltwater use, but I have found them to be great when bending hooks.

Step 2.

Now add the fly rattle. I glue mine first with zap-a-gap to get it started. Then I add the epoxy on the sides first then I fill in the rest. I don’t go all the way around the rattle. Just in between the hook and the rattle.

Step 3.

Tie your thread in right in front of the rattle. Only make enough turns to get the thread started. You need to remember this fly requires a lot of steps so be easy on the thread wraps.

Step 4.

Tie a small ball of dubbing for the gills. I do about four turns with dubbing dubbed loosely around the shank.

Step 5.

Tie the bottom first. This isn’t going to be as long as the top wing. What I like to do is fold the material around the thread then tie it in. If you know this step then you know it’s a lot easier. For those who don’t know how to do that step you can tie it in the center of the whole length and make a few turns around the material and fold the other piece that is still forward over and tie it down. Make a few more turns to secure the material from shifting.

Step 6.

Now your ready to tie the top wing on. This wing should measure past the length of the hook. Tie the ultra wing the same way you did the bottom.

Step 7.

Your going to add two types of flash. The first one is going to be the wing-n-flash. Pull a little out of the bag and tie it in. There’s really no right or wrong way to tie in the flash. It’s sloppy in the bag to begin with. It’s not individual strands is what I’m trying to say.

Now grab about eight strands of midge flash and tie it in. This part is easier just fold it around the thread then hold it with your left hand and make a turn around the hook shank with the bobbin. As your making the turn it will slide down to the hook. Now tie it in with a few turns.

Step 8.

Now tie in some more ultra wing to blend it all together. You don’t need much. Make sure you stay with the right proportion.

Note: Also make sure you aren’t building to much thread. You can do that at the end when you make a nice thread head.

Step 9.

Tie in some midge flash in the same color your going to make the last top wing. Mine is a green so I’ll be using olive green midge flash. I’m tying in about eight strands again.

Step 10.

Tie in the color of ultra wing you would like in. I like shades of olives, chartreuse, blues and black for the dominant color.

Step 11.

Now you’re ready for the saddle hackle. When measuring this, it needs to be the same in length as the top wing. And when selecting this feather make sure you don’t tie it in right at the end (fat section of the feather) where you see the marabou look. It needs to start with barbs and not the marabou. What I mean by that is when you pluck the feather you will notice at the end where you picked it the feather starts with a marabou look. You need to pull the marabou off until you reach the barbs.

Step 12.

Tie in the mallard drake feather’s the same way you tied the saddle hackles. By the tip. Make sure you measure the feathers to proportion right on each side. I always try to match the same feathers before tying them in. I also prep my feathers with flex-seal and let them dry over night. When tying them in I only do about three turns of thread on each side.

Now build your thread head in a cone shape and whip finish the fly. Now you’re ready to glue the eyes in.

Step 13.

I like to use marine goop when gluing the eyes on. You only need a small amount so be careful not to add to much.

Note: You can do this step, but it’s not necessary. The reason why I do it is to make a more durable fly. Because everything is tied in at the front I believe a coat of epoxy will keep the whole fly together and it will last longer on toothy critters.

Peanut Butter Fly (Bluegill)

Recipe:
Hook: Saltwater hook 3/0
Thread: .006 Monofilament
Wing; E-P Fiber (olive color for the body and yellow and orange for the belly)
Gill: SLF Hank ( crimson red )
Eyes: Black plastic eyes (flat stick ons)

TYING INSTRUCTIONS:

Step 1.

Mono is a little harder to get secure around the hook shank. It tends to slip a lot easier. So when you tie it in make sure you hold the tag end at an angle until you wrap enough turns to secure it. Then cut the tag and make a few more turns to make sure its not going to slip.

Step 2.

Cut a piece of SLF. You don’t need much. You can either fold it around the thread and tie it in. Or tie it in the middle of the clump. Make a few turns tying it down. Then fold the other piece over and tie it all down. I do about ten turns or so. Make a even cut in the back. I like to use a straight pair and I make one cut with the back of the scissors.

Note: It makes it look a lot cleaner of a cut when you only make one cut.

Step 3.

I don’t show this step in a picture, but it’s a step you need to do before tying this E.P fiber in. When you get a clump out of the bag you want to pick enough to split it in the middle. Once it’s separated evenly you’re going to add flash all the way down it. Then sandwich the two back together (with the flash in the middle) and you’re ready to tie it in. You shouldn’t use the whole clump. This should be enough to do two whole steps like the first one.

Note: The type of flash you can substitute that is real easy to find is wing-n-flash. They make all types of colors and you can add the colors to the color of fiber your tying in.

Step 4.

As you can see I already tied my first clump in. When measuring (proportion) this fly to shape. You have to remember your building it (the clumps) to taper smaller as you go up the fly. So the first clump is going to be almost the first clump. You should have enough to do the top one more time. Now the bottom is a little different because the first clump is going to be the same in length as the first one, but the rest will be small because it only needs to measure the gap of the hook the rest of the way up.

Step 5.

When tying this down you can measure the back to either be shorter like a peanut butter fly in the Enrico Plaglisi line or it can be the longer ones that you can paint to look like various baitfish patterns like his mackerel.

I tied top side first to get my measurement and then rotate and do the same to the other side. When tying this down one thing to remember is you don’t want the clump to be tied right on top of the hook shank. Make a few turns to secure it and then try to spread it around to hide the sides of the hook. It needs to blend so you can’t see the metal showing. This step is called a herringbone technique. What you want to do when tying these two clumps in (in the two colors you picked to use) is tie the first clump down then rotate the hook to the other side and tie the other clump in on the underside. Once you’ve tied them both in you will want to rotate the vise back to the topside and fold the material over towards the back tying right in front of it with the mono. Don’t tie it down, which is tying on top of the material you folded over, but right in front of it forcing it just to stay back out of the way. It will look smashed down instead of flared out.

Do the bottom the same way as the top.

Step 6.

They should both look the same when you get done with the first set of clumps. When you pull the material back to get ready for the next set. You will notice the material will mesh together (and that’s good). That way it will stay out of the way until the fly is completed. Move the thread up about a ¼ inch up the shank and do the same step again. You will do this a few more times as you tie up to the eye. Look at the pictures below to get the right measurements on where to tie the next clumps in.

Step 7.

Continue the same step with the second clumps in olive. This should be your second set of clumps.

Step 8.

This is where you will still tie the olive on top, but the bottom will change twice with two different colors. The first one will be the yellow. Make sure you add flash in the two different colors also.

Step 9.

Tie in your yellow. Remember this only needs to be twice the gap in length.

Step 10.

After you tie in the last set of clumps. This step will be a little different then the rest. This time your going to tie on top of the clumps. You don’t want to go too far back (notice in the picture) just enough to tie down the material forcing it to lay back. Whip finish the fly and you’re ready to start cutting it to shape. If you tied it right with keeping the material shorter as you went up the fly then this is how it will look. It will already have a shape of a baitfish. This will help you get the desired shape when cutting it.

The next thing you want to do is take the fly out of the vise and lay it on your leg. With some kind of soft brush you will start at the front of the fly and brush down blending all of it together. Keep the strokes straight and smooth. This will also force some of the hairs to the side hiding the hook shank.

After combing the hair to blend together. Use the taperize scissors and make two cuts up at the head to get some of the excess hair out. Now cut the fly to shape.

Step 11.

You can either glue the eyes on now or wait until your done shaping the fly. I like to use marine goop the best. Make sure when you apply it that the goop isn’t dried out. This can easily happen if you have an old tube laying around. The glue should be like a liquid form not like paste. If it doesn’t it won’t dry and the eyes will come off the first time fishing the fly.

I also put small dots on each side with a prismacolor marker.

The Original “Sowbug”

Recipe:
Hook: TMC 3769 size 12-18
Thread: UNI- thread 6/0 Tan
Antennae: UNI- thread / same color
Back: Swiss straw/ brown or mottled thinskin
Body: Antron/ cream
Rib: UNI- thread/ same
Lead wire: 0.15

This is the original sowbug that was created for the White River and Norfork tailkwater systems. Fox Statler is the originator of this pattern. This pattern is deadly in high water. I think the best size is a 12 fishing it in two or three units at the start of the dam. The biggest fish I’ve caught so far on it was a eight pound brown. I’m still waiting for something bigger and I’ll be ready when that time comes.

TYING INSTRUCTION:

This fly is real simple, but very effective.

Step 1.

As you can see I already weighted the fly. Do enough wraps to cover most of the hook shank ,but leave enough room for a head to tie in, and in the back as well.

Step 2.

Start you’re thread in the front of the lead wire making a thread dam and wind over the lead doing the same thing to the back of the lead. This will lock it into place so that it will not shift or move when you go to complete the fly.

Step 3.

Once you do that you should still have a tag hanging of the back. What I do with this is make a loop with the tag to create my antennae’s. You will cut that after you complete the fly. Whatever tag end you have left after making the loop, go ahead and cut it off.

Step 4.

Advance the thread back to the center of the shank. Now you’re ready to tie in your swiss straw. Cut a piece of swiss straw and cut it in the center. Now you will have two pieces. You will only need to use one of those. Tie it in an wind to the bend. Advance the thread to the eye to start the dubbing.

Step 5.

You can’t really see how the dubbing is put on, but I’m sure you know how. The only thing in this step is not to dub too much dubbing around the shank as you wind back. Build the dubbing up as you go.

Step 6.

Once you are at the back, grab some kind of pliers that has a flat surface so you can pinch the lead flat to create the flat body. I like to use the de-barb pliers from Tiemco. After you pinch the lead you are ready to start the segmentations. Your thread should be at the back. Now start the segments wrapping the thread to the eye. I usually do about six to seven turns creating the segments. The bigger the hook the more segmentations.

Step 7.

Cut the loop in the back to form the attenneas.

Step 8.

Whip finish the fly and glue the eye.

Hunt’s Perfect Scud

Recipe:
Hook: 2457 TMC size 14-18
Weight: Lead Wire .15
Thread: Uni-thread 6/0 Tan
Body: Antron dubbing
Back: Thin Skin - Gray

TYING INSTRUCTIONS:

Step 1.

Wrap about 10-12 wraps of .15 lead wire.

Step 2.

Now build thread dams on each side of where the lead wire ends. Make sure you center the wire in the middle of the hook shank.

Step 3.

Don’t worry about thread wraps in the center yet. That will happen as you build the fly. Now you’re ready for the wire.

Step 4.

Tie in the wire and advance the thread back up to the front.

Step 5.

Cut a strip of thin skin according to the size of the hook you’re using. You want it to be wide enough to cover the back, but not to fold down the sides. You need to be able to brush the dubbing out after you get done tying the fly.

Step 6.

Tie the thin skin in somewhere in the center. Tie it to the bend and advance the thread back up. Whip finish the thread so you can make a thread base of the Fl. orange.

Step 7.

Tie in the orange thread in the center. Make an even thread base to the bend and advance it back where you started. As you can see I only tied the orange on half of the shank. That’s the way they look in real life so why not do it to your flies. I guess that’s why you see red thread heads on so many scud patterns.

Step 8.

Start your thread back and wind to the bend.

Step 9.

Now your ready to dub the fly all the way up until you get right behind the eye. Always leave a little room for a thread head. Make sure when your dubbing the fly you make a nice tapered look. You want it to be bigger in the back and smaller as you wind to the front.

Step 10.

Fold the thin skin over and tie it in at the front. Cut the excess off. I leave a little tag over the eye.

Step 11.

Get some pliers that have a flat side on each side and squeeze the lead wire to create a high back.

Step 12.

Wind the wire making the wraps even all the way up. I like to space mine smaller in between.

Step 13.

Whip finish the fly and glue the eye.