Friday, February 22, 2019

Paul's March 2019 Fly of the Month

Spring's Wiggler
(and variations)



Hook:  TMC 200R #4 to #10 hook. 
Tying thread:   6/0  brown thread. 
Weight:  (Optional)  Non-lead wire.  You want to use wire at a small enough gauge so as not to impact the profile of the fly.
Eyes:  (Optional) Small black beadchain.
Bead:  (Optional)  Color & size of choice.
Tail/shell back:  Squirrel tail in color of choice.  (I also substitute it with peacock herl.)
Body:  Yellow Chenille, antron yarn, dubbing.  (You can make this fly any color you desire.)
Hackle:  Brown saddle hackle.

This is an extremely versatile fly.  It can represent a number of different insects, such as stone flies, hellgrammites, and other large nymphs.  The fly just looks buggy!  It was originally developed as a Steelhead fly in Michigan by a man named Ron Spring.  Also known as the ‘Pan Fish Wiggler’ and 'Michigan Wiggler’, this fly can be used to catch a variety of fish, including steelhead, trout, small mouth bass, and pan fish.  It can imitate whatever you want it to be and is a fairly easy tie.  Tie it from very big sizes to size #10.  My preferred material for the body is yellow chenille, but I have used antron yarn and dubbing.

To tie this fly begin your thread behind the eye of the hook and wrap down to the bend.  Your going to tie in your squirrel tail hairs for a tail.  They should extend about a hook gap length beyond the bend of the hook.  (I also use peacock herl especially when tying stonefly or smaller flies.) Do not cut off the tag end of the squirrel.  This will become your shell back later.  Next, tie in your hackle.  Now tie in your chenille or yarn for the body.  (You can also dub a body of your preferred material.)  End the body behind the eye and tie/cut off your material.  Next, wrap/palmer your hackle forwards and tie it off behind the eye.  Cut off the tag end.  Now bring your squirrel tail forward to create your shell back.  Make sure you hold your shell back down firmly and tie it off.  It has a tendency to loosen up and pull away from the fly body.  It’s important to firmly hold it down as you tie it off.  Cut off the tag end of your squirrel shell back.  Whip finish it off and apply head cement to your wraps.  I also apply some UV resin on the shell back for extra durability.  

No matter what size wiggler you tied, or materials you used, you have a very buggy and productive nymph.  Last year the small mouth fishing on the Housatonic was killer.  Big nymphs seemed to be the most productive way to catch them.  This was a fly that was very productive for me. 

There is a nice video by ‘Panfish on the Fly’ on how to tie one of the variations of this pattern below:




If you have any questions about this fly or would like to submit a Fly of the Month I can be reached at 203 305-3850 or at pdinice@frontier.com .  

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