Paul's April 2014 Fly of the Month

The Trickster

Hook:  Owner 5311-133 Red Finish 3/0 or Mustad 34007ss 4/0

Thread:  Monofilament, fine.

Eyes:  Chartreuse Bead Chain, Medium.

Body:  Rainbow Flash-a-bou under white super hair, under SF Shrimp Flash Blend, under SF Olive Flash Blend, under 5-6 strands of peacock herl.  (This is also a great pattern tied and fished in Black!)

Head:  X-cut Magnum Bunny, Olive Green.

Glue:  Crazy Glue or Zap-a-Gap

This fly was developed by Captain Skip Montello of North Coast Angler.  It’s used to catch finicky stripers on the Joppa Flats.  The Joppa Flats are part of the Merrimack River Estuary System in Newburyport MA.  North Coast Angler has a great website at  http://northcoastangler.com/ .  This is a big fish fly.  I call it “A Bunny Fly on Steroids”.  

This fly is tied with Steve Farrar Flash Blend material.  It’s a mixture of two great fly tying materials, Slinky       Fiber and Angel Hair.  Begin by laying a base of thread from the eye of the hook to the bend.  Next tie the Rainbow Flash-a-bou.  It should extend approximately 1” to 1 ½” beyond the hook bend.  On top of the Flash-a-bou tie in a clump of white super hair.  It should extend 2-3” beyond the hook bend.  You can now tie in your Chartreuse Bead chain eyes very close to the hook eye.  Use figure eight wraps and apply some glue or zap-a-gap to them.  Next tie in your SF Shrimp Flash Blend.  It should extend 4”-5” beyond the hook bend.  Next tie in your SF Olive Blend a little bit longer than the Shrimp.  Next, top this with 8-10 strands of peacock herl.  Finally, tie in your X-cut bunny near the bend of the hook.  You are going to wrap it forward just like a traditional bunny fly.  Tie it off right behind the eyes.  Tie in a clump of red ultra-hair under the eyes to mimic gill plates.  Tie off the fly at the eye, apply head cement, and your done.  Tie this in black and chartreuse as well.  

This fly can also be viewed at the Housatonic Fly Fishermen’s Association website at  www.hffa.net .  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 e-mail me at pdinice@frontier.com .  Below is an instructional Fly Tying Video on how to tie the Trickster.