Post by reelteacher on Jan 17, 2009 17:17:28 GMT -5
About 5 weeks ago or so, I was pondering what to do with the extra foam pieces that are left from the back cut of the poppers made with Gary Krebs Popper Jigs. I discovered that you can make a very interesting floating panfish bug thing if this piece is tied to the hook in a certain way. I experimented with several designs and used a little imagination and Tabert's Trilobite was born!
I don't have any idea if this fly actually works or not, but Krebsie and I believe that it has some definite fish catching potential.
In case you're interested here are the materials and how to tie it.
Materials:
Hook: size 10 dry fly
Thread: 140 denier any color
Tail: white round rubber hackle under gray squirrel
Body: Grizzly hen neck soft hackle under foam from back cut on a 3/8" foam rod.
Markers to color to preference
Here is a picture of the foam pieces that are used.
Place the hook in the vise and make a jam knot near the bend of the hook. Tie in two strands of round rubber hackle, with 1/2" extending beyond the hook bend and 1" extending forward toward the eye of the hook.
Now bring the forward pieces toward the back and divide them so that they splay out on both sides and tie in as shown.
Now select a small amount of fur from the tail of a gray squirrel. You can substitute this material with anything you wish. I had squirrel that I never use, so I chose to use some here.
Tie this material in on top of the rubber hackle. Then, select a soft hackle from a hen neck. Now tie this feather in by the butt of the feather and advance the thread forward to about the middle of the hook shank.
Wrap the feather around the hook shank 4 or five times toward the middle of the hook shank, and secure with thread wraps.
Now, hold the piece of foam so that the steepest edge is facing forward and on top of the hook eye. Take one loose wrap of thread around the piece of foam just behind the peak of the foam. Slowly tighten the thread and take one more wrap around the foam, but make sure that the foam remains centered on the hook shank.
Now tie in the legs on both sides by dividing the rubber hackle in half with the thread and tightening. One piece of rubber on each side makes two legs on the same side as shown. Secure the rubber hackle with two thread wraps.
Now wrap forward, underneath the foam body and whip finish just behind the eye of the hook. Apply a generous coat of glue on the underside of the fly to prevent the foam from moving back and forth.
Use markers and put a nice face on it to make it yours!
Most of all, just have fun tying this little fly.
The name Trilobite came to me yesterday as I was tying up a few of these. The face and rounded front end reminded me of Trilobite fossils I found several years ago in eastern Indiana in a road cut near Richmond. If I find the fossils, I'll post a picture of one for you.
I don't have any idea if this fly actually works or not, but Krebsie and I believe that it has some definite fish catching potential.
In case you're interested here are the materials and how to tie it.
Materials:
Hook: size 10 dry fly
Thread: 140 denier any color
Tail: white round rubber hackle under gray squirrel
Body: Grizzly hen neck soft hackle under foam from back cut on a 3/8" foam rod.
Markers to color to preference
Here is a picture of the foam pieces that are used.
Place the hook in the vise and make a jam knot near the bend of the hook. Tie in two strands of round rubber hackle, with 1/2" extending beyond the hook bend and 1" extending forward toward the eye of the hook.
Now bring the forward pieces toward the back and divide them so that they splay out on both sides and tie in as shown.
Now select a small amount of fur from the tail of a gray squirrel. You can substitute this material with anything you wish. I had squirrel that I never use, so I chose to use some here.
Tie this material in on top of the rubber hackle. Then, select a soft hackle from a hen neck. Now tie this feather in by the butt of the feather and advance the thread forward to about the middle of the hook shank.
Wrap the feather around the hook shank 4 or five times toward the middle of the hook shank, and secure with thread wraps.
Now, hold the piece of foam so that the steepest edge is facing forward and on top of the hook eye. Take one loose wrap of thread around the piece of foam just behind the peak of the foam. Slowly tighten the thread and take one more wrap around the foam, but make sure that the foam remains centered on the hook shank.
Now tie in the legs on both sides by dividing the rubber hackle in half with the thread and tightening. One piece of rubber on each side makes two legs on the same side as shown. Secure the rubber hackle with two thread wraps.
Now wrap forward, underneath the foam body and whip finish just behind the eye of the hook. Apply a generous coat of glue on the underside of the fly to prevent the foam from moving back and forth.
Use markers and put a nice face on it to make it yours!
Most of all, just have fun tying this little fly.
The name Trilobite came to me yesterday as I was tying up a few of these. The face and rounded front end reminded me of Trilobite fossils I found several years ago in eastern Indiana in a road cut near Richmond. If I find the fossils, I'll post a picture of one for you.
