Sparkle Pupa Soft Hackle

[letumgo]

Hook - Mustad 3121/Size 12 (Turned Up Eye - Limerick Bend)
Thread - 8/0 UNI-Thread (Orange)
Sparkle (air bubble) - Clear Antron
Body - Three strands of Peacock Herl, reinforced in a thread dubbing loop which has been waxed and dusted with tan mole dubbing.
Hackle - Hungarian Partridge (tip tyed)

The hook was a special present from our friend Mark Libertone (Soft-hackle). He gave me a box of these hooks and I have been reluctant to use them, since they are quite rare. Tonight I could not resist the tempation any longer and started playing around with them. Man, are these a beautiful hook!

Thanks again, Mark!

Bill - I used your wax to form the body of this fly. Before I formed the dubbing loop, I coated the thread with your wax and lightly dusted the thread with tan mole dubbing. The body has a small halo of fine mole hairs, which looks nice against the peacock herl. I think this technique has some potential.

[hankaye]

Ray, Howdy;

Awesome,

Hate that word, to over used but appropriate here.

hank

PS. the barb looks you're having thoughts of Capt. Ahab.......

[letumgo]

Yeah, the barbs are not conducive of catch-and-release fishing, but I dig the look of the curved barb. Sort of like a miniature salmon hook.

It is not a very pretty fly, but it looks quite "fishy" it the vice.

Design Note - I tried to go light on the amount of antron around the body. It is very easy to go overboard with this stuff and overwhelm the body of the fly. I wanted enough to capture a few air bubbles and give it an occasional twinkle. Getting the antron positioned 360° is a challenge. I had to futz with the fly for a while before I was happy with the antron-bubble.

[DUBBN]

That really is a cool looking hook. I like your interpretation of the Sparkle Pupa. The clear antron is extremely sparse and will be filled in nicely by the partridge. I have had an on going argument as to the merits of Lafontaines pattern. I have always maintained a Soft hackle triggers strikes better than his pattern, yet takes alot less effort to tie. Just an opinion mind you. You seem to have married the two techniques quite nicely.

[Soft-hackle]

Hank,
this is a classic hook, quite old in style. Mustad doesn't make them anymore, I don't think. The barb can be bent flat.

Mark

[kacbo]

I like that fly!

Ray, is that HMH vise?

[willowhead]

WOW! what a cool hook.....don't think i've ever seen that hook before. You fly is teriffic too Ray.........very well done. Fontaine gave me one of his Sparkle Pupa's once, right after he tyed it demonstrating at Somerset. i've since lost the fly but at least i was fishing it when i lost it. That guy was a GAS to watch tye, becuase not only was he such a good tyer, he was funny as hell. He was from Conneticut, so he really knew the east coast scene very well. If you don't have his book on the Beaverkill, get it. It's good one.

[tie2fish]

That is, as far as I know, a truly innovative way to incorporate mole with peacock herl; yet another new trick from one of our many talented tyers.

[kanutripr]

That hook is great but I really like the way you tied the hackle. It just looks like legs going in every direction.



Vicki

[DNicolson]

Here are a couple of sites in the UK that still sell up-eyed dry fly hooks.

http://www.fishingmegastore.com/kamasan ... l~292.html

http://www.tomcsaville.com/index.php?pa ... &Itemid=10