Articulated flies are no novelty, they have been with us since a long time. Even before Richard Waddington started to use an articulated hook fly in English rivers in the 50’s, there already were old books on diverse flies with articulated hooks to enlarge the flies and improve the moves.Many Engl View more...Articulated flies are no novelty, they have been with us since a long time. Even before Richard Waddington started to use an articulated hook fly in English rivers in the 50’s, there already were old books on diverse flies with articulated hooks to enlarge the flies and improve the moves.Many English “lures” were articulated in three or more sections, and in the USA almost at the same time, articulated flies were being shown in catalogs like Herter’s, that already in 1941 spoke about advantages of articulated streamers and nymphs. William Blades, a fantastic realistic flies tier from the US, published in 1951 a book in which he also presented articulated flies of great design, meaning that articulating a streamer or a nymph is no news for a well read tier. It seems their origin is English but in fly fishing history it can’t be told for sure, many discoveries are made all the time.Using cut hooks is not really necessary, because today we can find some special hooks for articulated flies.Today’s fly reminds me of my first times fishing for wolf fish, with lures designed by Heddon.I use Dubbing Brush made with copper wire and synthetic hair to make a thick body. I also make these with deer hair to make them float, maybe with a foam head in its both positions (popper or zig-zagging slider). There are lots of possibilities, you just have to experiment and you will really have fun.
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List of materials
MaterialsArticulated section: Articulated Fish Spine, by Fish Skull. Hook: Daiichi 2546 or Mustad, sizes 2 to 3/0 according to the body.Thread: 6/0, white and transparent nylon of 0.10mm.Tail: Krystal Hackle, pearled.Brush: copper wire, 0.25mm to 0.30mm and synthetic hair by Mirror Image or similar. White and red.Eyes: tridimensional, holographic, adhesive ones.
Steps
Step 1
Articulated Fish Spine prepared.
Step 2
Place the shortest side of the Fish Spine on the vise as if it were a hook. Tie the Krystal Hackle with the fibers towards the back, tightening with thread the wire gap so it leaves no spaces.
Step 3
Wrap the Krystal Hackle combing the fibers to the back, with tight turns, closing when we get to the eye, covering all with thread. Cement the tie with cianoacrilate and take the tail off the vise.
Step 4
Place the second wire piece after needling the tail on it. Use the thread to close the wire gap. Then tie a copper wire loop of 10cms long, fill it with white Mirror Image, spreading it as evenly as possible. I use a Marc Petit Jean tool for this.
Wrap the wire loop making the brush to shape the first body. Comb the body with a wire brush, fibers to the back. Close the head and cement the tie. Take both pieces off the vise.
View more...Place the second wire piece after needling the tail on it. Use the thread to close the wire gap. Then tie a copper wire loop of 10cms long, fill it with white Mirror Image, spreading it as evenly as possible. I use a Marc Petit Jean tool for this.
Wrap the wire loop making the brush to shape the first body. Comb the body with a wire brush, fibers to the back. Close the head and cement the tie. Take both pieces off the vise.
Step 5
Place the third piece after needling the two others. Close the gap with the thread and tie another copper loop a bit longer. Fill with Mirror Image, longer too.
The picture shows how I do it with the tool, holding the Mirror Image before placing it inside the wire loop. Distributing evenly the synthetic hair is important.
Step 6
Connect the bodies to the hook with a steel wire loop, and weigh the hook with lead. Fill the hook with white and red brush up to the eye. Comb with the brush.
Step 7
Trimming from the back, shape the fly. Some monofilament may help to straighten the fly as we trim it. Taking it off the vise works too.
Step 8
Place the eyes. Apply a tiny drop of gel cianoacrilate, fast drying epoxy or UV cement in the back of the eye to paste it correctly. If we use UV cement, we need a lamp to dry it. This way the eyes surely won’t loosen.
