Since this is the Year of the Bluegill on T.F.M., I figured that a few fly tying tutorials were in order and asked Lucas Madsen of A Tenderloin Runs Through It to share a pattern called the Disco Cricket. Lucas was kind enough to provide a step by step tutorial on how to tie this great looking, and I bet money it's effective, fly pattern.
MATERIALS LIST
Dry Fly Hook - Sizes 10-12
Goose Biot - Gold
Dubbing Mixed To Match Foam
2 mm Fly Foam - Green/Orange
Dry Fly Hackle
Saddle Hackle Quills - Stripped
Light Cured Resin - Clear Cure Goo
Sally Hansen's Hard As Nails
Zap-a-Gap
Begin by cutting the foam as shown. Make sure you cut them long enough to work with. I also stretch it between my fingers to flatten it out a bit. I like to bevel the top edges of the shorter orange piece -- what will be our wing case.
Next, fold a the tip of a goose biot over 90 degrees about a quarter of the way up from the tip end. Capture it folded with a pair of curved hemostats. Apply your resin to both sides of the fold, and cure with the light. I find Clear Cure Goo Thick is best here, with a topcoat of Hard as Nails. Set aside and repeat for the other leg.
Attach your thread, and run it back into the bend behind the barb. Tie in the tapered end of the longer orange foam.
Add a small dubbing ball to help separate the rear legs.
Tie in two goose biots roughly the length of the shank as tails. Try to keep them level and in line with the shank.
Advance your thread to a point roughly 2/3 up the shank, and tie in the tapered end of the green foam. Run your thread back to the tails. This will help prevent a bump on the butt of your fly.
Advance your thread again to tie in point 2/3 up the shank again. Apply a bit of Zap-a-Gap to the thread base. Wrap the green foam forward to the 2/3 point on the shank and tie in. Begin with heavy tension on the foam, relaxing the tension and spacing out the wraps as you go forward, to build a tapered body.
Stretch your shellback tightly forward, and tie it in. Lash your front legs to the sides.
Tie the wing case in. I like it to extend back even with the length of the body. Trim the front as closely as possible.
Tie in a slightly oversized hackle (this is a size 8 hackle on a #10 hook), and make a couple wraps of dubbing forward.
Palmer your hackle forward through the dubbing 2-4 turns, and tie off.
Strip the fibers from 2 hackle feathers, leaving some attached at the tips. Tie them in on top of the head, roughly 2 body lengths long.
Notice I've folded over the tag ends and tied them in to lock the antennae in. Trim the butts off closely.
Dub the head and whip finish under the antennae.
Run your thumbnail or the back of your scissors blades along the rear-facing sides of the quills to give them a nice curved antennae shape. You can play with them quite a bit to get them situated how you want. I like to trim the ends with just a few hackle fibers remaining attached for an extra buggy touch.
Finish by trimming the bottom hackles close to the body so the fly sits flat on the water.
Tight lines and happy bluegill hunting!
Dry Fly Hook - Sizes 10-12
Goose Biot - Gold
Dubbing Mixed To Match Foam
2 mm Fly Foam - Green/Orange
Dry Fly Hackle
Saddle Hackle Quills - Stripped
Light Cured Resin - Clear Cure Goo
Sally Hansen's Hard As Nails
Zap-a-Gap
Begin by cutting the foam as shown. Make sure you cut them long enough to work with. I also stretch it between my fingers to flatten it out a bit. I like to bevel the top edges of the shorter orange piece -- what will be our wing case.
Next, fold a the tip of a goose biot over 90 degrees about a quarter of the way up from the tip end. Capture it folded with a pair of curved hemostats. Apply your resin to both sides of the fold, and cure with the light. I find Clear Cure Goo Thick is best here, with a topcoat of Hard as Nails. Set aside and repeat for the other leg.
Attach your thread, and run it back into the bend behind the barb. Tie in the tapered end of the longer orange foam.
Add a small dubbing ball to help separate the rear legs.
Tie in two goose biots roughly the length of the shank as tails. Try to keep them level and in line with the shank.
Advance your thread to a point roughly 2/3 up the shank, and tie in the tapered end of the green foam. Run your thread back to the tails. This will help prevent a bump on the butt of your fly.
Advance your thread again to tie in point 2/3 up the shank again. Apply a bit of Zap-a-Gap to the thread base. Wrap the green foam forward to the 2/3 point on the shank and tie in. Begin with heavy tension on the foam, relaxing the tension and spacing out the wraps as you go forward, to build a tapered body.
Stretch your shellback tightly forward, and tie it in. Lash your front legs to the sides.
Tie the wing case in. I like it to extend back even with the length of the body. Trim the front as closely as possible.
Tie in a slightly oversized hackle (this is a size 8 hackle on a #10 hook), and make a couple wraps of dubbing forward.
Palmer your hackle forward through the dubbing 2-4 turns, and tie off.
Strip the fibers from 2 hackle feathers, leaving some attached at the tips. Tie them in on top of the head, roughly 2 body lengths long.
Notice I've folded over the tag ends and tied them in to lock the antennae in. Trim the butts off closely.
Dub the head and whip finish under the antennae.
Run your thumbnail or the back of your scissors blades along the rear-facing sides of the quills to give them a nice curved antennae shape. You can play with them quite a bit to get them situated how you want. I like to trim the ends with just a few hackle fibers remaining attached for an extra buggy touch.
Finish by trimming the bottom hackles close to the body so the fly sits flat on the water.
Tight lines and happy bluegill hunting!
4 comments:
A killer pattern for some monster bluegills--can't wait for the season!!
Great idea for the legs!
Thanks for the link, Cameron. Honored to be a part of Year of the Bluegill!
Insanely cool looking fly!
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