Bodkin / Patterns

Snaelda

Salmon/Steelhead · Salmon · Steelhead · Intermediate · 2 versions

Classic Recipe

  • Hook copper, brass or tungsten tube, 1/2 to 1 inch, small treble to suit
  • Thread black 8/0

Materials

  • Tail/wing Bucktail: black over orange over yellow (Willie Gunn colours) (3 sparse bunches)
  • Feelers Yellow and orange rubber/nylon feelers (optional) (2-4)
  • Flash Gold micro Krystal Flash (few strands)
  • Body Black wool or epoxy/glitter body (1 length)
  • Rib Oval Gold Tinsel (1 length)
  • Hackle Orange and black hen (or yellow cock) at the head (1-2 turns each)

How to tie it

  1. Mount the weighted tube and, at the rear, tie in a long sparse tail-wing of yellow bucktail, then orange, then black over the top, two to three tube lengths long. On a Snaelda the dressing streams from the back, leaving the heavy body bare to cut through fast water.
  2. Add a few strands of gold Krystal Flash and the rubber feelers among the bucktail.
  3. Wrap the body of black wool forward over the tube and rib with open turns of oval gold tinsel (or substitute an epoxy-glitter body, which salmon teeth can't destroy).
  4. At the head, wind one turn of orange hen then one of black hen, swept back.
  5. Whip finish and varnish; trim the tube liner and rig a short treble or double in junction tubing when fishing.

Other versions

1 more in the app: Snælda.

Tying videos

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