Rees Mini Lure -step by step

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Published on Thursday, 02 August 2012 08:37
Written by Dennis Shaw

Keeping with the early season theme this is one of my most successful mini lures and is in the well proven black and green colour combination. The original Rees lure was a long shank version devised by one Trevor Rees from South Wales. The original had a black cock throat hackle and black squirrel over-wing, I omitted these for this scaled down version.

Instructions assume right-handed tyers

Materials list
HOOK – Wet Fly #12
THREAD – Black 6/0
EYES – Small Silver Bead Chain
TAIL – Danville’s Lime Green DRM Floss
BODY – Peacock Herl
THROAT - Danville’s Lime Green DRM Floss
WING – Black Marabou

 

STEP 1 Mount the hook upside-down in the vice and attach the thread.
STEP 2 Mount the bead chain eyes with figure of eight wrappings. Make the first wrap across the chain.
STEP 3 Then take the thread round the shank and wrap across the chain in the opposite direction.
STEP 4 Repeat several times until the eyes are secure. You can if you want apply a spot of Superglue to the wrappings, but I find them unnecessary.
STEP 5 Turn the hook to its normal position. Take the thread to the hook bend catching in the tail as you go. Danville’s is a four strand floss, I fold it three times to get the thickness of tail I prefer.
STEP 6 Trim the tail to length. I like my tails to be the same length or slightly shorter than the length of
STEP 7 Tie in three strands of Peacock Herl, taking the thread to the shoulder.
STEP 8 Give the body a smear of varnish then twist the herls into a rope and wrap over the wet varnish to form the body.
STEP 9 Tie in the floss.
STEP 10 Then wrap to form the hot spot at the throat. Make figure of eight wraps between the eyes and tie of at the head.
STEP 11 Take a pinch of marabou and strip the fibres from the base.
STEP 12 Tie the marabou in at the head.
STEP 13 I like to lift the wing and take a couple of turns of thread behind (to the left) of it. This holds the wing up a little and allows a little extra movement in the wing.
STEP 14 Whipfinish and detach the thread. Trim the wing to length by tearing the excess fibres off the tip.
The completed fly.


Dennis Shaw was born into a fanatical fishing family at Dalbeattie in Southwest Scotland. He graduated from the local "Barr Burn", with the proverbial cane, wool and bent pin for eels, to fishing the local rivers and lochs. Now married with a son and daughter and fishing the chalkstreams of Southern England, Dennis is always yearning for "home". He has been tying flies for over 35 years yet still learns something new every day.