Brook trout fry

There is a lake near me that is absolutely loaded with brook trout fry.  There are also some pretty big browns that feed on those fry.  I basically just changed the colors of this perch fry pattern to match the colors of the brook trout fry as closely as possible.  This style of bait fish pattern is absolutely killer.  It has a very realistic transparent look when it's wet.

Materials needed:
Hook:  Standard 3 or 2XL streamer hook, sizes #10-14
Thread:  UNI-thread 8/0 gray
Tail:  Gray marabou
Rib:  Small black UTC wire
Body:  Gray ice dub in a dubbing loop

Place your hook in your vise.

Start your thread.

Tie in your tail.  The length should equal about the length of the hook shank.  Leave the butt ends long, they should extend almost to the hook eye.

Tie in your black wire rib.

To make the body you can use a standard dubbing loop, or a split thread dubbing loop.  I will show you how I do a split thread dubbing loop.  It's pretty difficult to split 8/0 thread, but I've found a pretty cool method that makes it much easier.  First untwist your thread so it is laying somewhat flat, then rotate your vise slightly and lay your thread over the hook point as shown.  Then just split the thread with your bodkin.  It's much easier than trying to "catch" your thread as it's moving around.

After you split your thread, put something in the loop to keep the 2 parts separated.

This little scrap piece of foam works perfectly.

"Stack" some Gray UV ice dub by pulling the dubbing apart and placing back on top of the pile. Try to align the long fibers together.

Put some of your stacked dubbing into your loop. A little at a time works best.

I don't use dubbing wax here, but if it helps you by all means use wax.

Keep filling your loop with dubbing as evenly as possible until you have enough to build your entire body.  As you work your way down, remove the piece of foam that is holding your loop open.

If you are having trouble with keeping your dubbing in your loop, you can spin your bobbin just enough to hold the dubbing in place, while still keeping a loop open on the bottom to add more dubbing to.

Once you are happy with the amount of dubbing you have, twist your bobbin to lock the dubbing in place.

Use a brush or piece of velcro to tease out the dubbing fibers.

Start wrapping your body forward.  After each wrap pull the fibers back with your thumb and forefinger.










Build a slight taper towards the head.












Using a brush or piece of velcro tease out the dubbing fibers again.  I stand them straight up and down so when I wrap my rib I don't trap too many.









An old tooth brush makes an excellent dubbing brush tool.

Here are the dubbing fibers standing straight up and down.

Here's the view from the top.












Now, wrap your rib forward.  Try to trap as few dubbing fibers as possible.  Tie the rib off with your thread.

Whip finish, and apply head cement.








Using your dubbing brush tool, tease out the fibers one last time.  It also helps to use your bodkin to pick out the fibers trapped by the rib. Do not pull out too much though, and don't break the wire rib!

Here's the fly with all of the dubbing fibers teased out.

Get this thing wet, and you will have one of the best bait fish imitations I've ever seen.

Enjoy!

Perch fry

I have been dead drifting this perch fry lately, and catching many fish with it.  Even in places where perch fry aren't really around.  When wet, this pattern looks amazingly realistic due to the transparent effect given by the dubbing.

Materials Needed:
Hook:  TMC 5263
Thread:  Black UNI 6/0
Tail:  Olive brown marabou
Rib:  Fine copper wire
Body:  Light olive UV ice dubbing, with some black UV ice dubbing mixed in.
Gills:  Red floss

Place your hook in the vise.

Wrap 10-20 wraps of .10 lead wire (optional).

Make sure to leave enough room to tie in your gills, and whip finish...

Start your thread just behind your lead wraps.

Wrap your thread across the lead wraps as shown, and wrap a few thread wraps around the hook shank in front of the lead wraps.

This will lock the lead wraps in place, and allow you to tightly wrap your thread around them without separating the wraps.

Wrap your thread across the lead wraps again.

Wrap a few more wraps over the lead wraps to lock them in place.

Tie in your marabou tail.  It should be the length of the hook shank.

Make a dubbing loop with your thread.

Put the dubbing loop in your material clip.

Tie in your copper wire, and put it in your material clip...

Get some light olive UV ICE DUB and mix in a few strands of black UV ICE DUB.

Wax your dubbing loop.

Put your dubbing inside of the loop.  The wax will hold the dubbing in place.

Use a dubbing loop twister to finish your dubbing loop.

Using a dubbing brush, brush out the fibers.

Wrap your dubbed loop forward.  With every wrap, pull back the dubbing fibers.

You should have this when you are finished.

 Pull the fibers on the top and bottom so they are standing straight up and down, then wrap your copper wire forward and tie it off.  Try not to trap too many of the dubbing fibers.

Cut a piece of red floss.

Tie the floss in, and leave a little tag.  Wrap about 3 wraps of floss just in front of the head.

Whip finish.

Using your bodkin pull fibers out from under your ribbing.