SALTWATER - INSHORE
WHITING
FLY
This variation on my very successful estuary fly was tied when for a
period I just couldn't get soft plastic tails. I still wanted some
rubber on the fly to give it movement and so I added a couple of legs
each side. It works so well on whiting in Lake Illawarra I decided to
keep it as an option in my fly box. Also it has the advantage of
costing about a full dollar less to tie because of the lack of the soft
plastic tail and now I have a conversion I can tie using estuary flies
which have had the tail bitten off.
For whiting fish it on a sinking line. Let the line and the fly sink -
about 10 seconds in 2 meter deep water is good, and then retrieve it
using quick 10cm strips punctuated by full stops. I have watched this
retrieve in my swimming pool and even though the fly looks nothing like
a shrimp, prawn or nipper it would be my guess that as it scuttles
across the bottom its one of those critters that the whiting sees.
As
for the estuary fly the hook type
and size
and
dumbbell weight are important because I have found that thicker hooks
such
as the 34007 Mustard are too thick and heavy and wont turn over unless
you
use a much heavier eyes and then the fly is hard to cast.
MATERIALS
FOR
GREEN
WHITING FLY:
Hook - Size 2 - 6
Gamakatsu
SS15/T.
Silk - Olive cotton.
Eyes - 5/32” OR 3/16"
chromed
dumbbell eyes (I think "Real Eyes" are the best brand because the
sockets
are convex and easy to paint).
Body - Bottle green ice or estaz
chenille.
Legs - Green and black rubber legs.
Bib - Olive Supreme hair with a little opal sparkle flash.
A)
-
Starting
at the eye wind the thread 1/3 along the hook
shank in touching turns.
-
Secure
the Dumb Bell eyes on top of the hook shank
at the 1/3 point described above using figure 8 wraps. To tighten the
connection wrap the thread around the base of the eyes on top of the
hook shank.
-
Secure
the eyes in place with couple of drops of super glue or head cement.
-
Tie in
the crystal chenille at the bend of the hook and take the thread back
to the front of the eyes
Positioning of the eyes at the 1/3 point
described above is important because you need to leave enough room in
front of the eyes to tie in the dressings and to form a nice shaped
head.
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B)
-
Wrap the
crystal chenille along the body in touching turns all the way to the
eye of the hook.
-
Take the
Crystal Chenille over the top of the eyes and tie off on top of the
hook shank and trim off in front of the tie.
- Trim the body to a cone shape
with a sharp pair of scissors.
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C)
-
Turn
the hook over in the
vice.
-
Take a
small bunch of bib material about as thick as thick as a match
stick and tie it in as a beard on the bottom of the shank and in front
of the eyes
so that the tag ends extend the length of the shank of the hook behind
the fly and partially obscuring the bend of the hook.
-
Build
up a nice head with thread and whip finish the head.
-
Put a length of leg material on a darning needle
and thread it through the body from each side forming the four legs.
-
Make up a small quantity of 5 minute
epoxy and epoxy the head taking care to catch the front legs with the
epoxy.
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