Bodkin / Patterns

Kishwaukee Bourbon

Streamer · Smallmouth Bass · Steelhead · Advanced · 1 version

Tyer Recipe

  • Hook Single salmon hook, 3XL, barb pinched, #4-8 (tied on a #6)
  • Thread Black 70 denier (140 denier is easier for the head)

Materials

  • Goose or duck flank feather (tail) Natural barred (mallard flank used here) (One tuft, tied long)
  • Flat tinsel rib Gold (holographic or plain) (One strand, medium)
  • Rabbit fur dubbing (body) Natural hare s ear dubbing (A big clump raked from the pelt, dubbed thick and fuzzy)
  • Black bear hair (wing) Black (skunk or bucktail substitute) (A small to medium tuft, reaching the bend)
  • Rooster cape hackle (collar) Barred ginger rooster cape hackle (One large feather from the back of the cape, about four wraps)
  • Head cement Clear head cement (A drop)

How to tie it

  1. Pinch the barb and catch the thread in just behind the little bend at the rear of the salmon hook.
  2. Pull a tuft of goose or duck flank off the stem, roll it between your fingers so the fibers stay married, and tie in a fairly long tail.
  3. Leave the butts to bulk out the underbody (the body is fuzzy enough to hide them), bring the thread to the middle or front, then catch in the medium gold holographic tinsel back at the rear where the body will start.
  4. Rake a big clump of rabbit off the pelt, wax the thread and dub a thick, fuzzy body forward; it will take a couple of applications. Err on the side of too fuzzy, since you can always trim.
  5. Wrap the tinsel rib forward with the same spacing as the dubbing, tie it off, and add a few extra wraps behind the hook's bend to close that gap and build the front up.
  6. Spin the thread clockwise to cord it, then tie in a small to medium tuft of black bear hair on top as a wing reaching to the bend of the hook. Snip the front butts and clean the area up with a few wraps. Stack the hair if you substitute bucktail.
  7. Tie in a big barred ginger feather from the back of the cape and take about four wraps as a collar, sweeping the fibers back as you go; back the thread up and catch it off.
  8. Wet your fingers, pull all the hackle back, and wrap a big thread head over it.
  9. Whip finish toward the back of the head and add a drop of head cement.

Tying videos

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