Marabou Muddler... step-by-step

[Runarsson]

A popular fly is the Muddler Minnow and I guess it can be considered
a "father" of many newer muddler flies. Here is my favourite variant:


MARABOU MUDDLER

Hook:	Streamer or Long Nymph, , #6-12
Thread:	Gudebrod 8/0, black - GSP for head
Tail:	Marabou tips, red
Body:	Mylar tinsel, silver
Ribbing:	French tinsel, silver
Wing:	Marabou, yellow + 2 peacock herls on each side
Head/collar:	Deer hair

Step 1

Mount a hook in the vise and cover the rear 2/3 of the shank with
thread. Leave the head part bare.


Step 2

Tie in a few marabou tips for tail and tie down the surplus along
the body part of the fly.


Step 3

Tie in a piece of french tinsel along the side of the hook.


Step 4

Wrap the thread back up to the start of the body.


Step 5

Tie in a piece of silver mylar tinsel.


Step 6

Wrap the mylar tinsel backwards over the body. Turn around at
the tail and wrap it back up again. Tie in and cut the waste.


Step 7

Spiral wrap the french tinsel over the body and tie off.


Step 8

Tie in a generous bunch of marabou for wing.


Step 9

Add four peacock herls to the wing, two on each side.


Step 10

This is optional, but a way I prefer. Here I have tied off the regular
tying thread and tied in a GSP thread instead. Gel Spun Polyethylene
is a superior thread material for muscle work such as deer hair spinning.
Together with Kevlar it's considered as a "super thread". The difference
between them though is that GSP has a higher breaking strength and
isn't as rough on the tools as Kevlar, which is a money saving advantage.
The advantages in a choice between GSP and a thicker polyester thread
is that it flattens better on the hook than a thick polyester thread does.
It's also much more slippery, which is good when spinning... and while the
stretch in polyester is 15%, the stretch in GSP is only 3%.


Step 11

1: Prepare a bunch of deer hair and find your tie-in point.
2: Switch hand and cut down the other side a little bit. This makes
it easier to control.
3: Lay a couple of loose wraps around the hook and the hair and
then tighten the thread.
4: Let go of the bunch and allow the hairs to spin around the hook.


Step 12

Pack the bunch backwards with your fingers or a hair packer.


Step 13

Make a few wraps immediately in front of the hairs to make them
stay back there. First bunch in place...


Step 14

Here I've just laid a couple of loose wraps around the second
bunch and the hook.


Step 15

Tighten, let it spin and pack it backwards against the first. This
time a hair packer is used though. Personal preference, but at
least to me, this tool makes a difference to the better.


Step 16

"There is always room for another bunch." And here it has just
been tied in and spun.


Step 17

But that last one said 'good bye hook shank' so it's time to tie
off the thread.


Step 18

Scissors or razor blade... another personal preference. I prefer the
razor blade for most of it, even though you have to be careful so
you don't cut too much.


Step 19

Now we're going to do a series of straight cuts to create a
symmetrical head to work from.
1: Start with a cut under the head. Straight backwards and
relatively close to the hook. Continue with a cut on the upper
side, in the same angle as the top of the wing.
2: Cut down the sides and make also two smaller cuts in against
the hook eye.
3: Make the top-bottom versions of the hook eye cuts.
4: A rough head seen from the front.


Step 20

Cut around the back of the head to separate it from the collar and
create a little neck. Cut only the butt end of the hairs.


A finishing touch and DONE!!!

With a rough but symmetrical model, like the one we just made,
the only thing left is rounding off the edges. Don't do it "smaller",
just rounder... and it will be easy to make it STAY symmetrical.


Top view



Color variation

I have seen many of my friends' boxes and they seem to believe
that "the Marabou Muddler is a yellow fly". That's not true........



/Nick

[scotfly]

Another excellent step by step Nick. On a par with Charlie Craven's  :allhail

[Runarsson]

Another excellent step by step Nick. On a par with Charlie Craven's  :allhail

Thanks.

Charlie sits in his own tower... I can hardly see him from down here. :roll:

[Wildfisher]

Nice one Runarsson, thanks for that and welcome to the forum!  What a start!   

[Runarsson]

Well, they were already made, so why not share? It was only a matter of resizing the pictures.