Camaron del dios
| Hook | TMC 205-BL, size 12 |
| Thread | UNI nylon thread, white – 230 denier |
| Body | Clear craft lace – 1/16 inch diameter |
| Underbody | Krystal flash, pink |
| Legs | Marabou, orange |
| Head | Ice dubbing – UV gray |
Found the clear lace in a craft store, it’s thicker and cheaper than anything you’ll find in a fly shop. When tying on the thread, leave a six inch tag off the butt end to be used later when securing the marabou. Secure a six inch piece of lace on top the hook with about an inch of excess sticking out past the eye. Cinch it down hard along the top of the hook. Stop about four millimeters before the eye. Fold the excess in front back over top and tie it down tightly above the previous all the way back down. This gives you two thicknesses of lace, both stacked on top the hook. The folded-back end should be cut off short of the starting tie-in point, so snip excess at an angle when you get close so there’s a gradual ramp back there. Secure some Krystal flash at the back and wind the thread forward. Wrap the flash forward, securing it at the front. Spread a drop of super glue sparingly over the flash, which also makes the underlying thread almost transparent. Wind forward the trailing length of lace in nearly touching turns. Pull firmly so it’s tight, and secure it well after trimming the excess with a tapered cut near the eye. (Easier said than done.) Now the marabou. Cut about 20 strands off a marabou feather and wind the tag thread end forward, catching the marabou underneath on every other turn. Before pulling the thread tight each time, stick a needle between the body and the marabou to make a little arced tuft. The marabou will wave around like legs and the color is meant to simulate their orange egg sacs. Dub a small head and whip. Since nylon seems so slippery to me, I put a droplet of super glue on the whip too. This fly is intended to be significantly larger than the actual scud it represents, on the theory that the really big trout all think that shrimp keep getting smaller and smaller over the years. Finally here’s a juicy morsel that’s as big as they used to be. Yum. |
Mark Klemick
from Maryland, USA