The Moodah Poodah
Hook: Daiichi 1160 or curved hook of choice (Size #10
to #12 hook.)
Tying thread: Black 70-denier UTC Ultra Thread.
Hot Spot: UV Hot Orange Ice Dub.
Body: UV Black Ice Dub.
Ribbing: Pearl Flashabou.
Under Wing: Black Cow Elk.
Head: Black 2 mm cross link or fly-tying foam.
Legs: Speckled Orange MFC Centipede legs or similar material.
Post: Fluorescent Orange Para Post Wing Material.
When I first started fishing foam terrestrial patterns they were very small flies, almost all designed to imitate ants. My thinking then was that large foam patterns like Chernobyl ants and oversized beetles might fool fish out in Montana, but wouldn’t catch the selective fish here in Connecticut on the Farmington & Housatonic. My thinking about that has changed completely in the last 10 years. I use a lot of big foam patterns now, some even much larger than the Moodah Poodah. The Moodah is a really effective fly. I think it sometimes represents a cricket, or with a change of colors, a hopper. It’s also just a big floating ‘big Mac’ for trout. I often use it with a bead head nymph or emerger ‘dropper’. The butt of the Moodah has an orange ‘hot spot’ and lies in the film below the surface, something other terrestrial patterns do have or do.
To begin to tie this fly, start your thread half way down the hook shank and and bring it to where you want to dub your ‘hot spot’. Tie in your Flashabou ribbing and then dub your hot spot with UV Hot Orange Ice Dub. Next, dub a tapered body of the fly with UV Black Ice Dub. Leave approximately ¼ of the hook shank for your wing & head of the Moodah. Now, palmer your Pearl Flashabou rib up the body. Tie & cut it off. You are now going to tie in your black Elk wing, very similar to tying it in on an elk hair caddis. Trim the butt ends and apply some head cement or adhesive of choice for durability. Cut a rectangle piece of 2 mm foam a little less than a hook gap width, and twice the length of the hook shank. Take your bodkin and pierce the foam in the middle approximately ¼ length down your piece of foam. Place the eye of the hook through the foam, keeping the shorter end under the hook shank. The longer piece should extend over the elk hair wing. Pinch the doubled over foam with your fingers and clinch it down with a couple wraps of thread. The tie in point for your foam is the same point on the hook shank that you tied in your elk wing. After positioning the head with a couple wraps of thread, give it a few more tight wraps to make sure it’s securely bound down. Trim the ‘under’ part of the head just before the tie in point. You’re also going to trim the top foam even with the wing. When you do this notch a V pointing towards the hook eye in the foam. Next, tie in your rubber legs and wing post. Both should be trimmed to roughly the same size as the foam wing. Tie & cut off your tying thread. Apply some head cement or super glue to the bottom side of your finishing wraps and the fly is completed.
Curtis Fry, a fly fisherman & tier from Utah, has a great website with a lot of fly tying tutorials. It can be seen at www.flyfishfood.com .
He also has a great video on how to tie the Moodah Poodah 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 .
Tying thread: Black 70-denier UTC Ultra Thread.
Hot Spot: UV Hot Orange Ice Dub.
Body: UV Black Ice Dub.
Ribbing: Pearl Flashabou.
Under Wing: Black Cow Elk.
Head: Black 2 mm cross link or fly-tying foam.
Legs: Speckled Orange MFC Centipede legs or similar material.
Post: Fluorescent Orange Para Post Wing Material.
When I first started fishing foam terrestrial patterns they were very small flies, almost all designed to imitate ants. My thinking then was that large foam patterns like Chernobyl ants and oversized beetles might fool fish out in Montana, but wouldn’t catch the selective fish here in Connecticut on the Farmington & Housatonic. My thinking about that has changed completely in the last 10 years. I use a lot of big foam patterns now, some even much larger than the Moodah Poodah. The Moodah is a really effective fly. I think it sometimes represents a cricket, or with a change of colors, a hopper. It’s also just a big floating ‘big Mac’ for trout. I often use it with a bead head nymph or emerger ‘dropper’. The butt of the Moodah has an orange ‘hot spot’ and lies in the film below the surface, something other terrestrial patterns do have or do.
To begin to tie this fly, start your thread half way down the hook shank and and bring it to where you want to dub your ‘hot spot’. Tie in your Flashabou ribbing and then dub your hot spot with UV Hot Orange Ice Dub. Next, dub a tapered body of the fly with UV Black Ice Dub. Leave approximately ¼ of the hook shank for your wing & head of the Moodah. Now, palmer your Pearl Flashabou rib up the body. Tie & cut it off. You are now going to tie in your black Elk wing, very similar to tying it in on an elk hair caddis. Trim the butt ends and apply some head cement or adhesive of choice for durability. Cut a rectangle piece of 2 mm foam a little less than a hook gap width, and twice the length of the hook shank. Take your bodkin and pierce the foam in the middle approximately ¼ length down your piece of foam. Place the eye of the hook through the foam, keeping the shorter end under the hook shank. The longer piece should extend over the elk hair wing. Pinch the doubled over foam with your fingers and clinch it down with a couple wraps of thread. The tie in point for your foam is the same point on the hook shank that you tied in your elk wing. After positioning the head with a couple wraps of thread, give it a few more tight wraps to make sure it’s securely bound down. Trim the ‘under’ part of the head just before the tie in point. You’re also going to trim the top foam even with the wing. When you do this notch a V pointing towards the hook eye in the foam. Next, tie in your rubber legs and wing post. Both should be trimmed to roughly the same size as the foam wing. Tie & cut off your tying thread. Apply some head cement or super glue to the bottom side of your finishing wraps and the fly is completed.
Curtis Fry, a fly fisherman & tier from Utah, has a great website with a lot of fly tying tutorials. It can be seen at www.flyfishfood.com .
He also has a great video on how to tie the Moodah Poodah 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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