Steve Hudson
Senior Member
Your neighborhood may be like mine right now -- it's full of spring flowers! It's a visual celebration of the return of warmer weather...and it means that some epic bass fishing opportunities are just around the corner! Spotted bass, white bass, hybrids and striped bass -- it won't be long!
To interest those big fish, offer 'em a big meal! And that's what we'll be focusing on as we tie the Articulated Super Woolly this Saturday, March 12, on The Tying Bench.
As the name suggests, the Articulated Super Woolly is an articulated fly. Articulation allows tyers to create larger flies without sacrificing lifelike movement.
This Saturday we'll talk about the why and how of articulation, and we'll put it all to work tying the Articulated Super Woolly. It's a fly that just plain works!
Please note that the color scheme can be varied as desired...a white version is a great shad imitation, while an olive version does a good job of suggesting a sunfish. And of course the classic black version seems to work just about everywhere! Don't hesitate to get creative with the colors of the materials that you use!
Here's what you'll need to tie the "ASW" this Saturday. The materials listed are for a black ASW, but remember that you can vary the colors as desired.
For the rear portion of the fly:
HOOK #1 (rear hook): Size 8 Woolly Bugger hook. Size may vary depending on desired size of finished fly, but note that this rear hook should be a size or two smaller than the front hook.
THREAD: Black 3/0
REAR TAIL: Good-quality marabou feather
FLASH: Two or three strands of flash on either side of tail
REAR UNDERBODY: Black chenille
REAR HACKLE: Black hackle yarn, black or grizzly schlappen feather, etc. Wrap somewhat sparsely.
For the initial tying on the front portion of the fly:
HOOK #2: Size 6 Woolly Bugger Hook. Size may vary depending on desired size of finished fly, but note that this front hook should be a size or two larger than the rear hook.
CONEHEAD: Gold- or silver-colored cone head or round bead head, sized to fit the front hook (HOOK #2). Brass or tungsten.
THREAD: The same black 3/0 thread
For the articulation connection:
CONNECTION WIRE: 19-strand, 0.018 or larger stranded steel nylon-covered wire (Surflon, Rio Wire Bite, Beadalon, etc.)
SPACERS: Glass craft beads, clear or black or some color to match your fly's color scheme, typically size 6/0 or 8/0. Remember that the precise dimensions of glass beads can vary.
For the rest of the front portion of the fly:
Front tail: Black marabou
Flash: Two or three strands of flash on either side of front tail
Front underbody: Black chenille (usually the same chenille used on the rear-section body)
Front hackle: Black hackle yarn, black or grizzly schlappen feather, etc. Make sure that the fibers are long, at least as long as the hook shank. Wrap this front hackle more densely than rear section.
"Legs" (fins): A few strands of silicone or elastic leg material.
Dubbed collar: Red dubbing
Other things you will need:
In addition to your regular tying tools, you'll need...
1) Some wire cutters or heavy-duty craft scissors to cut the wire. Do NOT try to cut the articulation wire with your good fly tying scissors -- if you do, they'll never be the same!!!
2) A few rubber bands...depending on the architecture of your vise, you may be able to use these to help hold the rear portion of the fly while you tie the front portion
3) A large plastic straw (I like the red ones from Chick-fil-A). You'll cut it into pieces and use them to help you manage the rear section while tying the front section.
ZOOM Meeting Login Details:
Saturday, March 12, at 10 a.m. Eastern
Meeting ID: 834 5942 9704
Passcode: FlyTying12 [two caps, no spaces]
To interest those big fish, offer 'em a big meal! And that's what we'll be focusing on as we tie the Articulated Super Woolly this Saturday, March 12, on The Tying Bench.
As the name suggests, the Articulated Super Woolly is an articulated fly. Articulation allows tyers to create larger flies without sacrificing lifelike movement.
This Saturday we'll talk about the why and how of articulation, and we'll put it all to work tying the Articulated Super Woolly. It's a fly that just plain works!
Please note that the color scheme can be varied as desired...a white version is a great shad imitation, while an olive version does a good job of suggesting a sunfish. And of course the classic black version seems to work just about everywhere! Don't hesitate to get creative with the colors of the materials that you use!
Here's what you'll need to tie the "ASW" this Saturday. The materials listed are for a black ASW, but remember that you can vary the colors as desired.
For the rear portion of the fly:
HOOK #1 (rear hook): Size 8 Woolly Bugger hook. Size may vary depending on desired size of finished fly, but note that this rear hook should be a size or two smaller than the front hook.
THREAD: Black 3/0
REAR TAIL: Good-quality marabou feather
FLASH: Two or three strands of flash on either side of tail
REAR UNDERBODY: Black chenille
REAR HACKLE: Black hackle yarn, black or grizzly schlappen feather, etc. Wrap somewhat sparsely.
For the initial tying on the front portion of the fly:
HOOK #2: Size 6 Woolly Bugger Hook. Size may vary depending on desired size of finished fly, but note that this front hook should be a size or two larger than the rear hook.
CONEHEAD: Gold- or silver-colored cone head or round bead head, sized to fit the front hook (HOOK #2). Brass or tungsten.
THREAD: The same black 3/0 thread
For the articulation connection:
CONNECTION WIRE: 19-strand, 0.018 or larger stranded steel nylon-covered wire (Surflon, Rio Wire Bite, Beadalon, etc.)
SPACERS: Glass craft beads, clear or black or some color to match your fly's color scheme, typically size 6/0 or 8/0. Remember that the precise dimensions of glass beads can vary.
For the rest of the front portion of the fly:
Front tail: Black marabou
Flash: Two or three strands of flash on either side of front tail
Front underbody: Black chenille (usually the same chenille used on the rear-section body)
Front hackle: Black hackle yarn, black or grizzly schlappen feather, etc. Make sure that the fibers are long, at least as long as the hook shank. Wrap this front hackle more densely than rear section.
"Legs" (fins): A few strands of silicone or elastic leg material.
Dubbed collar: Red dubbing
Other things you will need:
In addition to your regular tying tools, you'll need...
1) Some wire cutters or heavy-duty craft scissors to cut the wire. Do NOT try to cut the articulation wire with your good fly tying scissors -- if you do, they'll never be the same!!!
2) A few rubber bands...depending on the architecture of your vise, you may be able to use these to help hold the rear portion of the fly while you tie the front portion
3) A large plastic straw (I like the red ones from Chick-fil-A). You'll cut it into pieces and use them to help you manage the rear section while tying the front section.
ZOOM Meeting Login Details:
Saturday, March 12, at 10 a.m. Eastern
Meeting ID: 834 5942 9704
Passcode: FlyTying12 [two caps, no spaces]
