Magic tool flies *

[Traditionalist]

These are also some of my "extremely secret weapon" flies!

They are easier and quicker to produce if you have the "Magic tool" from Marc Petitjean, and I will be using this here, ( actually just the clear clips, which you can also obtain separately), but I will show you some alternatives as well later on.

For the first fly, we don?t need the table, but we do need a couple of the clear plastic clips. (You may be able to find these in a good stationers by the way). At a pinch, you may also use other bulldog clips, but this can be very difficult.

These are the clips;


I am going to use these clips differently to various descriptions you may have seen, ( they are normally used a lot for dressing with CDC).

Put a clip on the desk  in front of you. Now take a piece of hare pelt, use the brush to straighten up the pelt, then take your scissors, and proceed to cut small flat bunches from the pelt, clean the under-fur out, and place them in the clip as shown. Spread them out a little if required. There are three small bunches in this clip. (  I used the blue mouse pad as a background, as otherwise it is difficult to see);



Keep the bunches sparse and flat. Place the under-fur in your "dubbing to be prepared at some later date" container.

Now take your second clip, hold it open, and offer it up to the first clip, clamp the butts of the hair that is sticking out. You now have something that looks like this;



Remove the first clip. You now have this;


Put this aside for a moment, and fix a size 8 hook in the vice. Run your stout thread on, and take this down to just above the hook barb.  Select a bunch of hare fur from your pelt,  remove all the under-fur and then "twirl" it in your fingers so that the curves are more or less evenly distributed ( like a bunch of flowers),  and tie it in like this;




Tie down the butts securely, trimming if necessary. If you want to add lead wire etc. as weight, then now is the time to do it. I am going to use another alternative on this one.  I am using a length of Gutermann round gold tinsel here, but you can use anything you like which is strong enough, even copper wire or stuff like that.  I like a bit of gold glint in this fly.  Cut off a length of gold tinsel about six inches long. Form a loop in it, and tie it in as shown;




Mount your dubbing twister, and then get your clip with the bunches of hare hair in it. Place the hare carefully in the loop, close the loop, and remove the clip.



Spin the twister to form the hackle.




Tie in the hackle, brushing the fibres back with your thumb and forefinger as you go.


Tie off securely, whip finish, but DON?T cut the thread yet. Get a pair of bead chain eyes in the appropriate size, ( these are chromed bath chain from the DIY market, sold cheap by the meter). Mount the eyes, give a really good figure of eight mounting. Whip finish.

Get your brush going! Brush vigorously until you are  satisfied.  Varnish the head;




Of course you can dress these things more sparsely, and in various sizes. Even a size 12 "Mini Hare Bugger" works well. use olive hare fur, or rabbit, and it is a first class damsel.  One can do lots of things with the basic design.

This fly will charm fish out of muddy puddles! Believe me, if you thought the Gold Ribbed Hare?s Ear was a good fly, just wait until you have tried it?s "granddaddy" !!!   

What does it represent?   TROUT FOOD!!!!!! 

TL
MC

[drumgerry]

Magic MC - pure magic!!  I'll be getting the petitjean thingmabob going tonight I think!  Thanks for posting this.

Cheers

Gerry

[Traditionalist]

Magic MC - pure magic!!  I'll be getting the petitjean thingmabob going tonight I think!  Thanks for posting this.

Cheers

Gerry

My pleasure. I ?ll be doing  a few more with the magic tool if you want, ( but mainly with the clips) If you have any requests fire away!  I will also show how to do some things if you don?t have the tool.

TL
MC

[Traditionalist]

Is a bulldog clip any kind of substitute?

You CAN use an ordinary bulldog clip, but it is then not possible to see how long the fibres are. 

As a better  alternative, you can use a piece of glass or clear plastic on a piece of wood or similar. Place your fibres between the glass and the wood, and use an ordinary bulldog clip ( of course it has to close properly!) to pick up the fibres. This works perfectly well. You can also get smaller bulldog clips for making smaller hackles etc.

TL
MC

[Traditionalist]

As a result of the bead chain eyes, these flies swim "upside down".  This is intentional!   You can pull them through weeds, along the bottom, etc, and they wont hang up.  In rivers where bullheads ( Miller?s Thumb etc etc ),are extant, these flies will often take large browns. Also. large grayling will really belt them! Bullheads have no swim bladder, and "scuttle" over the stones, more like lizards than fish.
The colouration of the hare fur is of course also an excellent colour match for these fish.  In order to make them work properly, you must retrieve the fly.

Of course they will also work anywhere, on the general "woolly bugger" principle.

This is how to fish this fly in rivers.  With short or long strips, and then allowing the fly to pause in between.  These flies are often taken very savagely indeed, so be prepared!  It is a mistake to use light tippet on these flies, and this will make them very difficult to "turn over" as well.  Open up your loops a bit when casting these. It hurts when they hit you in the back of the head!

TL
MC

[Traditionalist]

The hare bugger, is an example of a larger fly dressed using a bulldog clip.  For many other flies various hair and fur may be used in the same manner, but hare fur is then too coarse for smaller flies, except as wings on dry flies etc. Squirrel is good for flies in the range 16 to 12, and there are many other furs which work well.  Arctic fox also works, or rabbit, natural and dyed. One can make a whole range of really excellent and easy to dress flies with a small range of animal pelts.  One may of course quite easily dye various pelts. This is  also a lot easier than dyeing feathers, as the hair is far less likely to be damaged.

Of course, every hair and fur is different, some very coarse and springy, some very limp and mobile, and not all furs will work for certain things.  Especially on small flies, one has to select fur carefully.

Also, think "SPARSE".  Even a small bunch of hair has a lot more fibres in it than a feather hackle, and it is easy to use too much.

TL
MC