Hook
Owner Aki, Billy Pate, Varivas 2-4/0
Thread
Black 3/0
Lateral line
Black or gray ultra hair
(Optional two strands of blue Crystal Flash)
Wing
Black Ocean Hair or other synthetic hair
Belly
White Ultra Hair,
ocean hair or calftail
Eyes
Spirit River red or pearl with black pupils
Weight (optional)
Black Tungsten cone head
Rib
Two strands yellow
crystal flash
Throat
three red maribou tips or strands of red crystal flash
Tying instructions
Slip conehead weight over hook to eye. Place hook in vice. Wind
thread from bend to eye, building a small lump behind conehead. Tie on
ribbing at bend, wind forward and tie off. Tie on top of hook ultra hair
lateral line so it extends 1 1/2 times hook length and lies in line with hook shank.
Tie in black hair on top of hook at middle, add another clump behind conehead or future built up thread head. Flip over hook and add small
amount of white material that extends just beyond bend. Turn fly back
over and add more black material for wing. Flip again and add white
material that does not go past bend in hook. Add red throat if desired. Build thread
head. Glue on eyes with small amount of Goop and set aside. Double coat
head and eyes with epoxy.
Fishing
Yellowfin tuna can be shy and get very picky. Even when you see them
boiling! When this is happening any
sort of added flash seems counterproductive. The larger ones will be
below the rampaging skipjack and school tuna. A longer cast of a very
fast sinking head and a long countdown helps. Depending on the current
and wind, stripping out even more line may be necessary. If they are
really being shy-use a smaller size. Then retrieve
very slowly in long strips and hang on. This
fly has caught sailfish, large dorado and roosters, pacific amberjack
and black skipjack among others. It is featured in Tony Lolli's book
Go-to Flies.
