Bodkin / Patterns

Pazooka

Nymph · Wet Fly · Trout · Advanced · 1 version

Tyer Recipe

  • Hook Wet fly / streamer hook, 2X long (tied here on a #6), #6-8
  • Thread Black 70 denier (140 or heavier is easier on a fly this size)

Materials

  • Golden pheasant tippets (tail) Orange/black barred golden pheasant tippets (About 10 fibers from a small feather)
  • Floss (rib) Red or orange floss (One strand, doubled)
  • Wool yarn (body) Green wool yarn (3-strand yarn, used undivided)
  • Golden pheasant tippets (wing) Orange/black barred golden pheasant tippets (Good clump from a large feather)
  • Ringneck pheasant rump feather (collar hackle) Natural hackle (1 feather)

How to tie it

  1. Lay a black thread base all the way to the start of the bend.
  2. Tail: snip about ten golden pheasant tippet fibers from a small feather, keeping the tips aligned, and tie them in slightly longer than one hook gap. Bind the butts down.
  3. Rib: catch the floss in at the tail, fold it back on itself so you are wrapping a doubled strand, and lock both ends down.
  4. Body: tie in the green wool yarn at the tail without splitting the strands, take the thread forward, then wrap the yarn forward in even turns (spin it clockwise to cord it up, counterclockwise to let it lie flat) and tie it off short of the eye. Trim.
  5. Wrap the doubled floss forward in evenly spaced, fairly tight turns so it lies flat and cuts distinct segments into the fuzzy wool. Tie it off with two or three tight turns and trim.
  6. Wing: take a heavier clump of tippet fibers from a large golden pheasant feather (widely spaced bars), roll them between your fingers to break up the webbing, and tie them flat on top reaching to about the hook bend. Use a couple of medium wraps to settle them down, then lock in and trim the butts.
  7. Collar: strip all the marabou fluff off a ringneck pheasant rump feather, split the remaining barbs so you can tie the feather in by the tip, and secure it at the front. It is a delicate stem, so wrap gently.
  8. Take about two turns of the rump feather as a long swept-back collar, tie off and trim the stem.
  9. Stroke the collar back, build a good-sized head over the butts, whip finish, and coat the head with UV resin or head cement to hide any lumpiness.

Tying videos

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