April 2, 2008


San Juan Carp Killer


hook: Size 6 Eagle Claw kahle or Mustad 37160
weight: 6/0 red glass bead
thread: 6/0 UNI, red
body: micro chenille, red
tail: marabou, red; krystal flash, red

Slide between 1 to 3 beads on the hook shank; place hook in vise Tie in your thread towards the rear of the hook, just above the hook bend. Tie in a small pinch of marabou, and 4 or 5 strands of krystal flash. Tie in the micro chenille. Whip finish, tie off and trim. Push the beads back toward the rear of the hook. Reattach thread about a third of the hook shank back from the eye. Pull the micro chenille forward, and tie in to the hook shank. Make around 6 turns of thread in front of the micro chenille to make it stand up. Whip finish and tie off. Melt the tip of the micro chenille using a lighter or other heat source. Only a little heat is necessary to melt the micro chenille, be careful. Optional: Use a Sharpie, or waterproof marker to put a dot on the micro chenille above the hook eye (towards the "head").

This fly pattern was from a fly swap I participated in. The contributor (Marc) borrowed this pattern/fly from a trout guide that also loves to fly fish for carp. He says the hook is the key. He's tried to use scud hooks, but has had much better hook up ratio with these mustads. Also add between 1 to 3 beads depending how deep the fly will be fished. Leaving a space for the beads to slide around, and click together is another important aspect of the tie.
There is much promise for this fly this season, as Marc has already hooked his first carp of the season using this fly. I hope to do the same.

2 comments:

  1. That is a great fly. It just moved to the top of my tying to-do list - thanks for putting it out there. Any thought on how critical the marabou is, as opposed to just tailing out he chenille? FYI - my wife bought me 400 of those exact beads from here hobby joint for ~$1.50.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I don't think I would tinker with the marabou; the fly was designed and tested by a local guide. I'd leave it. Also, the original was tied with UV krystal flash, but I didn't have any on hand so used the red flash instead. I think you could try different colors, based on how much flash you're looking for.

    As far as those beads are concerned, where do you think they came from? ;) a craft store special of course....

    ReplyDelete