Squeal Piggy Squeal

[speydulika]

Or put another way Makin' Bacon.


I refer of course to Pot Bellied Pigs and sadly not my most beloved bacon butties. The original pattern was developed by Duncan Egan and ranks among my personal top 5 salmon flies. I tie them up literally by the hundred for clients, personal fishing and of course for my friends to pinch out of my fly boxes. The pattern works tied up in red, orange, purple, black and I have even tried them in yellow. I would add however that in yellow I have not major personal success with the pattern. They can be tied on singles, doubles, trebles and tubes. I fish them dressed on tubes in plastic, copper, brass and tungsten. You may have deduced by now that I like them. Yes I do because they catch lots of fish. I demonstrate using copper on this occasion.



Tying Materials

Tube: Veniard Slipstream copper ½" long
Thread: Black
Rear hackle: A red dyed hen saddle hackle
Feelers: 3 Red dyed boar bristles
Body: Fluorescent red extra fine Straggle Ice
Rib: Silver wire
Front hackle: Black dyed grizzle hen saddle
Wing: Fluorescent red dyed bucktail overlaid with 2 doubled strands of extra fine mother of pearl Krystalflash
Cheeks: Jungle cock nails.



Tying Method


Step 1: Slide a length of junction tube onto your copper tube and insert onto a mandrel. Here I use a craft felting needle. Please note that if you choose to do the same as I then these needles are extremely sharp and if you impale yourself they really do hurt. Please take care.

Step 2: Attach thread around rear centre section of tube and wind back.

Step 3: Select a hackle from a red dyed hen saddle.

Step 4: Tie in the hackle by the tip. Double back the end section and tie in 2 or 3 locking turns to fully anchor the hackle to the tube.

Step 5: Trim the hackle tip Wind the hackle to form a rostrum. The inclusion of the junction tube earlier will encourage the hackle to flare out and when wet a most alluring bulge will form from the hackle fibres which resembles shrimp small feelers.

Step 6: Tie in 3 red dyed boar bristles. You may enhance the curve of these bristles by running them over the blunt back edge of a scissor blade. Tie them in so that the bias of curve all runs in the same direction.

Step 7: Catch in a length of silver wire and wind thread to hackle and back to front end of tube.

Step 8: Catch in a length of extra fine red fluorescent dyed Straggle Ice

Step 9: Wind the straggle ice to the hackle and back to front end of the tube. Extra turns of body material at the rear of the tube will allow the creation of  a 'carrot' type profile which is the natural shape of the natural shrimp body.

Step 10: Wind the silver wire in open turns to form rib.

Step 11: Select and tie in a black dyed grizzle hen saddle hackle. When wound this is representative of the black clutch of eggs that the natural shrimp carries under its abdomen.

Step 12: Wind the hackle.

Step 13: Tie in a bunch of fluorescent red dyed bucktail fibres.

Step 14: overlay the bucktail with 2 doubled stands of fine mother of pearl Krystalflash. Cut to length which I recommend at just short of the end of the wing.

Step 15: Tie in a pair of jungle cock nails. These should be positioned side by side over the top of the wing to represent the shrimp carapace.

Step 16: Whip finish and apply a minimum of 2 coats of varnish to the head to complete.

Step 17: Tied up on plastic tube in orange as an alternate option.

Step 18: Tied up in red on tungsten tubes as another alternative.

Step 19: Happy fishing!!!!!!!!!!!! 

[Wildfisher]

Nice one. 

[JimJams]

Lovely looking flies!

[Fishtales]

Added to Index.

[Bobfly]

Some days I am struggling to get a dozen neat looking Black Spiders , so I am mighty impressed !