BASS, ESTUARY & TROUT

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1. Cut a piece of closed cell foam. You can see from the photo above that for a size 2 fly Mark has used 3mm closed cell foam and cuts it about 5mm wide and shapes the underside of the bib. I use 2 layers of 1mm closed cell foam and cut it about 10mm wide for this size 2 fly. Make the foam a little longer than required as you can trim the excess once the fly has been tied.
2. Pierce the foam with the point of the hook along the centre line and a distance equal to about the gape of the hook from one end and push the foam along to the eye of the hook.
3. Now place the hook loaded with the foam into the vice.

1. Push the foam forward to the eye of the hook and wind the thread in touching turns to the start of the bend of the hook.
2. Tie your choice of tail material in. I have tied in a length of zonker strip in for the tail on this fly, but you can use marabou, build up a Dahlberg diver type tail etc. etc..

1. Wind the body material forward almost to the foam.
2. This is sufficient for the body but you may like to:

• Add a hackle beard extending under the fly and partially covering the barb of the hook.

• Tie in a hackle as I have in this fly so that you can palmer a hackle along the body.

D)

1. If you tied in a hackle palmer it back along the shank of the hook and tie it off and trim the excess.
2. Pull the closed cell foam back along the top of the fly and tie it down firmly at the bend of the hook.

E)

1. The next step is tricky. You may be able to whip finish the fly at the bend of the hook and if you can do that then the fly tying is finished. I however prefer to take the fly out of the vice and to put it back in held only by the eye of the hook and then to whip finish on the shank of the hook under the tail of the fly.

F)

1. The final step is to apply varnish on top of the body where it is tied down at the bend of the hook, trim off any excess foam at the bib end or behind the tail and either paint on or stick on eyes.