Bodkin / Patterns

Chimera

Nymph · Trout · Intermediate · 2 versions

Note: Contested against a published dressing: Clearly the same pattern — the fl. orange plummeting tungsten bead at exactly 3/32" (2.3mm), small silver Ultra Wire rib, black Thin Skin overbody, UV Black Ice Dub and a UV-resin finish all match verbatim. Source: Fly Fish Food — "Chimera" tying tutorial — https://www.flyfishfood.com/blogs/stillwater-tutorials/chimera

Reference Recipe

  • Hook Heavyweight curved grub/scud hook, barbless (e.g. Fulling Mill 5115), 10-14
  • Thread Black 70 denier

Materials

  • Eyes/Bead Fluorescent orange slotted tungsten bead (Plummeting tungsten bead, 3/32 in (2.3mm))
  • Tail Black ostrich herl (A few UV pheasant-tail fibers)
  • Body/Thorax UV black material (Ice Dub)
  • Overbody Black ostrich herl (Thin Skin)
  • Rib Silver metal tape (Small Ultra Wire)
  • Flash Pink wing n flash fibres (One strand holographic tinsel each side)
  • Collar Brown permanent marker (Sparkle emerger yarn (hot spot))
  • Finish Clear head cement (UV resin)

How to tie it

  1. Slide the tungsten bead to the eye, mount the hook and start the thread.
  2. At the bend tie in a short black pheasant-tail tail, under one shank long.
  3. Bind in the silver wire and a length of Thin Skin, then dub a slim UV-black abdomen forward to the 65% mark.
  4. Pull the Thin Skin over the top as a shellback and rib it down with 5-6 open turns of wire; counter-wrap so the wire crosses the skin and holds.
  5. Add a strand of pink holo tinsel down each side, then dub a fuller thorax and spin a brown sparkle-yarn collar behind the bead as a hot spot.
  6. Whip finish, then coat the shellback and thorax with a thin skim of UV resin and cure.

Other versions

1 more in the app: Fly Fish Food Tie.

Tying videos

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