Bodkin / Patterns

Slumpbuster

Streamer · Trout · Smallmouth Bass · Pike · Walleye · Advanced · 4 versions

Charlie's Fly Box dressing

  • Hook Tiemco 5262, 4-10
  • Thread Black UNI 6/0

Materials

  • Cone Large Silver Tungsten Conehead
  • Tail Black Pine Squirrel Zonker Strip
  • Body Blue Sparkle Braid
  • Rib Blue Brassie Wire
  • Collar Black Pine Squirrel Zonker Strip

How to tie it

  1. Slide a large silver tungsten cone onto the hook, start black 6/0 UNI thread behind it and run the thread all the way back to the bend and forward again. (Non-lead wire can be shoved up behind the cone here if you want the fly weighted.)
  2. Tie in the blue Brassie wire and wrap over it all the way back to the bend, then drape it back out of the way.
  3. Tie the blue sparkle braid in right behind the cone, pushing it up into the cone and anchoring it, then wrap back over it to the bend and come forward again. A drop of Zap-A-Gap on the base here is worth it - this is meant to be a durable fly.
  4. Wrap the sparkle braid forward in slightly overlapping turns to build a fairly smooth, even body with some diameter to it, stopping just short of the cone. Tie it off and trim the excess out.
  5. Clip a long section of black pine squirrel zonker strip, shove the end up inside the cone and anchor it down good and tight, then pull the strip back over the body.
  6. Drape the wire over the far side, wet your fingers and part the fur at the bend, then take the wire up and over the strip. Spiral it forward in evenly spaced turns, lifting the hair as you go or threading the wire through close to the skin, so you are not binding the fur down. Tie the wire off with a few turns at the front and helicopter the end.
  7. Pull the strip forward and cut just the hide about even with the hook eye, trimming the skin side to a point so the fly looks finished.
  8. Tie a second squirrel strip in behind the cone for the collar. Tie it in by its back end - the tip end, if it were a feather - so the hair lays back when you wrap it.
  9. Squeeze a drip of Zap Gel into the back of the cone, rotating the cone as you go so the glue spreads all the way round inside. A little goes a long way.
  10. With wetted fingers wrap the collar, one turn in front of the last, jamming it down into the cone, then tie it off behind the cone and trim the last of the hide off. Sweep the fur back.
  11. Push the cone right up against the front edge of the collar and hold it for a second so it glues to the hide - that locks the cone so it will never turn, and forces the collar back into a nice sweeping shape. Whip finish behind the cone even though the glue is in there.

Substitutions

  • Body instead of Pine squirrel zonker strip: Rabbit zonker strip — Larger fibers, more movement; Micro rabbit strip — Slimmer profile for smaller sizes
  • Cone instead of Brass or tungsten cone: Tungsten cone — Heavier, gets deeper; Tungsten bead — Rounder profile, same weight
  • Flash instead of Flashabou: Holographic Flashabou — More color-shifting; Krystal Flash — Different flash type

Other versions

3 more in the app: Classic Recipe, Fischer's Flies, Slump Buster.

Tying videos

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