 |
| This sand eel is
patterned after the sand
eel jiggy shown on the ASWF
site(www.aswf.org). It differs in that instead of tying the pattern
over a tungsten cone (or cone/bead combination), the tying is done over
a cone of wood cut from the tip of a dowel stick. Tying over the wood causes
the fly to swim without the jigging motion otherwise caused by the tungsten
cone. A dowel stick (3/16’s or ¼ inch) is sharpened in a pencil
sharpener. The sharp tip is cut off using a penknife. A range of sizes may
be cut to suit the size and profile of the sand eel you want to imitate.
Those tied here range in size from 2 inches tied on a size8 hook to eight
inches tied on a 3/0 hook. Long shank hooks are preferred but not mandatory.
The pattern may be tied with or without a slight bend in the shank. If you
do bend the shank, make sure enough room is left by the eye to accommodate
the length of the wood tip. Dowel sticks are readily available in any hardware
or lumber store and cost about 50 cents each (enough for many tips). |
Materials
Fishair in white and olive
Silver angel hair
Extra fine mono thread
Hooks size 8 to 3/0(size 4 tiemco 911s shown)
Eyes size 1 ½ to size 3(size 1 ½ used)
Dowel stick either 3/16’s or ¼ inch in diameter
Epoxy – 5 minute
|
Step
1 |
|
Sharpen the dowel stick. |
 |
Step
2 |
| I’ve
shown several hook sizes (3/0 on top 8 on bottom) and dowel tips sized for
each. In this instruction, I will use the middle hook which is a size 4
tiemco 911s. The tips are easily cut off with a sharp penknife. |
 |
Step
3 |
| I’ve
bent the hook slightly and allowed for enough room for the wood tip. |
 |
Step
4 |
| Starting at
the eye, wrap towards the bend to provide a base so the wood does not slip.
Hold the wood and wrap over it leaving a small space by the eye as shown. |
 |
Step
5 |
| Tie in a sparse
amount of white Fishair starting at the tip of the wood and wrap back over
the material to the end of the cone and back to the tip. Hold the Fishair
with your free hand so the material covers the lower side of the cone. No
material should be tied on the bottom to ensure the fly rides hook up and
minimize fouling. |
 |
Step
6 |
| Rotate the
vise and repeat the step on the other side. Again, note that no material
is tied on the bottom. |
 |
Step
7 |
| Tie in some
(again a sparse amount) silver angel hair just above the fishair and wrap
back to the end of the cone and forward. The angel hair should be slightly
longer then the white fishair. |
 |
Step
8 |
| Rotate the
vise and repeat on the other side. |
 |
Step
9 |
| Tie in a length of olive fishair
on top of the cone starting at the eye and wrap back to the end of the cone.
The olive fishair should be longer then the silver angel hair. Wrap forward
to the eye and back again to the end of the cone. Leave the thread at this
position. |
 |
Step
10 |
| Affix a size
1 ½ stickon silver eye to each side as shown, then wrap forward over
the eye to the eye and whip finish. The fine mono will hold the eyes in
place for the epoxy application but will not be visible afterwards. |
 |
Step
11 |
| Apply a
thin coat of epoxy.
Tip – hold under light to warm slightly and
apply with a bodkin. Rotate continuously till the epoxy hardens. The finished
fly is shown. |
 |
Step
12 |
| This shows a
variety of lengths and sizes of finished flies. |
 |
