Bodkin / Patterns

Booty's Bead Tail Jig

Nymph · Trout · Advanced · 1 version

Tyer Recipe

  • Hook Wide-gap jig, #12-18 (up to #8)
  • Thread White or tan Veevus 14/0

Materials

  • Glass beads Translucent/amber glass beads (3 on the shank (1 larger, 2 small) plus 3 on the tail loop)
  • Gel-spun or Kevlar thread (bead tail core) White bead (1 short piece, doubled)
  • Ice Dub (body, in dubbing loop) Tan/caddis (or Senyo, Spectra blend) (small clumps)
  • Wood duck flank fibers (antennae) Lemon barred (2 fibers)
  • CDC feather (collar) Natural cdc feathers (1 feather)

How to tie it

  1. Invert the hook in the vise and thread the beads onto the shank (the larger bead first, then two small glass beads) then re-mount the hook normally.
  2. Cut a piece of gel-spun (or Kevlar) thread, slide one glass bead onto it, double the thread over the bead, then slide two more beads over both strands: this three-bead string is the extended abdomen.
  3. Start the 14/0 thread at the rear of the shank, fold the gel-spun tag over, and bind the bead tail in place with firm wraps so the beads trail off the bend; double the tag back and bind again, then trim.
  4. Form a dubbing loop, feed in small clumps of Ice Dub, and spin it. Keep it loose enough to stay buggy, and pull out any excess.
  5. Slide the shank beads toward the rear one at a time as you work: wrap three or four turns of the dubbing rope, slide the rearmost bead back over the hook, jump the thread and the dubbing rope over it, and continue.
  6. Repeat over each bead, filling the spaces between beads with the dubbing rope, then tie the loop off behind the front of the shank and trim.
  7. Tie in one lemon wood duck fiber as a long antenna, adjusting length by pulling it through; tie in a second to match on the other side, secure, and trim the butts.
  8. Tie in a CDC feather and take one or two turns as a sparse soft-hackle collar; sweep the fibers back.
  9. Whip finish behind the eye.

Tying videos

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