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Easy
and Effective Fly Tying
SALMON
FLY'S
presented by
Gordy Gracey
Traditional
and
contemporary fly patterns
for Atlantic Salmon, King/chinook Salmon, Silver/coho Salmon, Sockeye Salmon, Pink
Salmon and Chum Salmon .
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Component Leeches
The Latest "BIG FISH"
killers!!
Updated 05-20-03
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Materials:
1 cut off heavy straight eye hook shank (this is what you will tie material
to), kevlar thread, straight and cross cut bunny strips (your choice of
color), 20lb red dacron fly line backing or spider wire, schlappen hackle
crystal flash and long strand "Ice Chenille". To begin: Place the cut off shank in vise, tightly wrap 1 smooth layer of kevlar thread over 3/4 of total shank. Put a generous amount of head cement over the wrapped portion of the shank. Now cut off aprox 6.5" of the dacron line, double it to form a loop, lay the cut off ends on either side of the shank with the loop bend facing toward the eye of the shank, tightly wrap the cut ends of the dacron to the shank covering aprox 1/2" of the dacron, Now pull the loop back toward the vise and tightly wrap over the dacron again so that it is doubled over onto itself and firmly affixed to the shank. Tie in 7-10 strands of crystal flash, aprox 3.5" long, laying them back over the loop. |
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Take a 4" strip of straight cut bunny hide (I used bright orange for this fly but any color can be used for regional species specific favorites) and tie it down on the rear top portion of the shank so that it extends back over the loop by at least an inch. Now take a cross cut section of bunny hide and tie it in at the rear of the shank, then wrap it forward toward the eye to within 3/8ths of an inch from the eye, tie off and snip excess. |
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Wrap a prepared long fibered Schlappen hackle in front of the bunny thorax/body section, about 5-6 wraps of the Schlappen should be just fine. Then in front of the Schlappen, finish off the fly with 3-4 wraps of extra long fibered "Ice Chenille". Wrap a nice neat symmetrical head with the kevlar thread being sure to cover the eye-shank juncture and apply generous amounts of head cement. |
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The hook of your choice can be attached to the loop by simply slipping the loop through the eye of the hook and over the shank then snugging the loop back up to the eye. I really like to use an "Matsuo Up Eye" or "Gamakatsu Octopus" style hook for this particular pattern as it tends to ride perfectly straight and in line with the fly. The beauty of this pattern other than it's fish catching action is that you never have to worry about discarding your fly due to a rusted hook, simply remove the hook when you are done fishing this and other component patterns. These fly's can be fished in a traditional across and downstream swing or radically pulsed and twitched for the more aggressive fish in water temps above 46-50 degrees F. |
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A note about component fly's:
Component fly
patterns are just what the name implies, fly bodies tied on components not the
actual hook on/with which they are to be fished. Component fly's can be tied on
a great variety of objects, I.E. Waddington shanks, cut hook shanks, prepared
stainless wire shafts, metal or plastic tubes and various types of cordage. Tube
fly's are currently a very popular type of component fly and for good reason, it
is very prudent, especially for Pacific Northwest Steelhead and Salmon fly
fishing applications to have a box of various colors of both marabou and bunny
wrapped short tubes (aprox 1/2" to 3/4" sections and always carry a few with
either crystal flash or Flashabou enhancement)) so that in any given situation
you can change sections of the fly to match the color and fly size most
preferred by the fish in that given location. Also with tube flies you can add a
cone head or bead in front of the tube section to give the fly a bit of weight
and always use a small plastic or glass bead between the knot and the hook at
the aft end of the fly. Fly bodies tied on solid shanks need to incorporate an
articulation device for your hook, again you can use a variety of effective
components such as loops made from dacron, fire wire, spider wire etc.. or
formed wire mini snaps, split rings and small stainless clasps. |
Here are a couple of excellent patterns tied by Chris Senyohl, Pres. of
Intrepid Anglers in Seattle WA. (For fishing trip reservations call
425.222.8820 or visit
www.intrepidanglers.com ) Click on the picture and take
a real close look at these patterns. The one on top is tied on a single waddington shaft with a small split ring to affix the hook.
The fly on the
bottom is an articulated pattern that Chris dressed on two seperate
stainless steel heavy wire shafts joined by a tiny split ring with a small
split ring aft to affix the hook. Both of these patterns were originally
designed and dressed by Chris and have proven absolutely killer on both
Steelhead and salmon. The hooks used with these fly's should be super
sharp with a generous gap and have extra strong semi short shanks,
I.E.,Gamakatsu
L11S-3H, Gamakatsu "Octopus" 02010, Mustad C67S, etc... |
The
"KING
KONG"
This a very effective steamer
style of fly for Pacific
Northwest King Salmon
and Silver / Coho Salmon. Twitch (not strip) it in
very short hard
bursts and hang on.
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Size 2/0 heavy wire hook (tmc 7999 or simular) and slide on a jumbo cone head. Tie in a bright marabou tail with six strands of holographic mylar on each side then wrap on a bright piece of chenille half way up the shank. In front of chenille, tied in on top and bottom, are even portions of bright mohair, flare vertically. |
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Then wrap on six or seven very supple, brightly colored saddle or schlappen hackle tips ending about a 1/4" to 1/2 inch behind the tail, now tie a couple of dozen sections of falshabou on each side of the shank with the tips ending half way down the tail. Now turn 3 wraps of the chenile in front of the hackle and flashabou, coat with head cement and pull the cone head back to the chenille. |
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Finally, in front of the cone head wrap in some bright colored kip tail or simularly shiny hair (on this fly I used chartruese). make shure the hair flares over the cone head evenly all the way around the shank of the hook. The tips of the hair shouldn't go back past the tip of the hook. Form a tapered head toward the eye and tie off with whatever knot your comfortable with and coat several times with head cement. |
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Here are a variety of KING KONG fly's in effective colors and
configurations. Click on the pic's to see'm full size. |
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Hook: heavy wire design i.e., tmc7999 2/0, Thread:
kevlar, same color as body. Body: dyed bunny fur strip (not
crosscut)about 7" long. Head: A palmered,(3-4 turns), heavy
webbed saddle hackle and lead or tungsten barbell. FLANK: Flashabou Simply put a few wraps of thread down on the corner of the hook bend, securing the thread,wrap the bunny strip down over the top of the shank leaving a tail of aprox the length of the hook shank. Run the thread forward now to the eye of the hook and coat the shank with head cement.Wrap the strip forward keeping the skin side down on the shank, and tie off & cutt1/8" back from the eye.Wrap the flashabou in for flank flash and trim to 3/4 body length. Tie in barbell weight for the head, put on plenty of head cement and your done. Can be tied in two tone versions also, and tungsten cone heads can be substituted for the barbell eyes. experiment with your most productive regional tones.
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NEXT Exciting surface fly for Silver Salmon and Pink Salmon, fishes exceptionally well in the back eddy's and over deep, slow moving, holding pools. "Strip and Twitch" the heck out of it and hold on. |
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Hook: Wide gap, stiff wire, straight eye. I.E. TMC 8089. Thread: red or pink kevlar. Tail: Hot pink marabou with plenty of Flashabou mixed in. Body: Tightly spun deer hair, preferably from northern whitetail buck ( white rump patch) dyed hot cerise or pink. |
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Wrap the marabou tail feathers on the hook shank right at the begining of
the bend of the shank (this will prevent the tail from wrapping on the hook while
casting), Now tie in about 15-20 strands of flashabou along both sides of the tail,
the strands should be aproximately the same length as the tail. Start spinning on the thick sections of deer hair, working from the tail to the eye of the hook. |
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Once the deer hair body is tightly spun to the shank of the hook and the head of the fly is tied off you can start to trim into the shape you desire with a sharp pair of scissors, a flat razor or even an electric hair cutter/shaver like they use at the barbers. |
FOR MORE EFFECTIVE
and EASY TO TIE
Steelhead, Trout and Salmon fly patterns
Go To These
pages
Click here for
Steelhead fly's |
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