MARABOU MINI-LEECH

MARABOU MINI-LEECH

Hook : Daiichi 1130 # 10 - 14

Thread : Danville 6/0 Olive

Weight : Bead head Black 3/32

Tail : Marabou Olive

Body : Marabou Olive

Fly Tier: Peter Frailey

Tying Instruction :

1) Slip bead head on hook and apply thread base in the usual manner.
2) Tie in a marabou feather for a tail.
3) Tie the tail down tight but do not cut the butt off.
4) Wrap the thread up to the bead head.
5) Hold the marabou feather by the stem and begin wrapping it toward the front of the hook. I usually twist the stem a couple of turns to compact the fibers into a rope.
6) Tie off the stem and wrap it down tight with the thread.
7) Whip-finish.

Note :

1) For a tapered body, twist the stem tightly for the first couple of wraps, creating tight abdomen. For the thorax, untwist the stem a turn or two and the rope gets a little looser. The result is a bushy thorax.
2) Use this approach as an alternative to chenille on your Woolly Bugger patterns.

ABOUT THE FLY TIER

E-mail : frailey@fiam.net

After spending his childhood as an avid warmwater fisherman, Peter was coaxed back into the sport by his older son, who wanted to attend a local United Fly Tyers meeting. Now, fly-fishing and fly-tying are year-round activities. During the three cold seasons Peter fishes for trout in the streams and rivers of Eastern and Central Massachusetts and Southern New Hampshire. But he still enjoys lazy days as a warmwater fly-fisher, float-tubing during the summer months on local farm ponds near his home in Eastern Massachusetts. Peter especially enjoys fooling fish with simple flies, tied with just one or two ingredients.