To me, SQUID are the most fascinating baits! They are found everywhere there is salt water and are favorites
to all predator fish. From Striped Bass to Marlin the
cephalopods are hunted with the intensity of a little
leaguer seeking a hot dog at his first big league ball
game.

With about as perfect a shape that could only happen through divine intervention, the squid is fast and elusive and cunning. Can move in forward or back motions in an instant, or squirt an ink bomb for defense is only secondary to its intelligence. A master of camouflage, these critters promote many possible interpretations for the fly designer.

A LOOK AT PHYSICAL
CHARACTERISTICS OF THE SQUID

They range in sizes from a couple of inches to the 2 footers. (Of course there are bigger ones but to the fly designer, up to two feet is should cover it!) Even as the sizes change, nothing else does! The shape remains uniform and sleek. The eyes are dominant and oversized and the body is longer than the legs. BUT, what color is a squid? The answer may be “any or all” , however, over the years of many experienced anglers, colors from white, brown, tan, orange, pink or red seem to have taken hold and are used most often. The best color being a personal preference and subject to change, I’ll focus on the obvious physical features previously mentioned. A stealth profile allows for smooth and efficient running. A squid possesses NO bumps or drastic changes in its profile. Once the profile starts, its lines are a perfect, natural taper.

The “eyes” have it! No other bait has such a more dominant feature than the eyes of a squid. They are oversized and draw immediate attention. Nothing says squid better than a large eye towards the rear of a fly. A Deceiver is a Deceiver until an eye is placed near the rear and then it becomes a squid imitation!

“DESIGN FEATURES” OF
THE FEATHER FLEYE SQUID

Too often, fly designers make beautiful squid flies only to have improper placement of the eyes. This is mostly due an inability to easily place the eyes in the pattern. They
restrict the eye placement to somewhere on the hook shank, or try elaborate and time consuming techniques to get the job done. Sometimes the eyes are too heavy and include glues that destroy the natural silhouette of the fly. The Feather Fleye employs a method of utilizing heavy mono as an extension of the hook shank where a stick-on eye is placed, back to back, on a flattened section of the mono, and secured at the proper distance from the hook bend for proper eye proportion. It is light, durable, and very easy. The eyes will be seen from both sides through the bucktail portion. Another feature of the Feather Fleye Squid is the use of feathers along the 4-X long shank hook. These feathers are tied in in such a manner as to mimic the taper of a squid’s body. I do this by using smaller and smaller feathers as I move up the hook shank while tying them in at 360 degree applications. I bridge each application with a webby saddle hackle of only 4 or 5 turns palmered, then proceed till the hook shank is filled. I can combine colors or stay with one but the result is a textured body that has a special presence in the water.

Tying the FEATHER FLEYE SQUID

ceph·a·lo·pod - Any of various marine mollusks of the class Cephalopoda, such as the octopus, squid, cuttlefish, or nautilus, having a large head, large eyes, prehensile tentacles, and, in most species, an ink sac containing a dark fluid used for protection or defense. ---Back---

BT - Bucktail ---Back---