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If the fish are cooperating I would always prefer to catch my bass or other native species on a surface fly.

Sometimes however you just can't convince them to come to the surface to take your fly but you know they are there because there still responding to your mates who are fishing on the "dark side" with sub surface lures.

At other times, bass in particular, do come to to the surface but rather than taking the fly they just slap it with their tail or make a half hearted inquiry and don't hook up.

These two scenarios can be pretty frustrating if all you have in your fishing arsenal is surface fly techniques. This fly is one of just a few wet flies that I carry in my native fish fly box that will take fish sub-surface when surface flies are just not working.

Not surprisingly it's got elements of a woolly bugger but importantly it has the bit of bling and movement that is so important to our predatory native species and particularly bass.

You can tie this fly in any colour combination to mimic the colour of some of the more popular lure colours that your mates that fish the "dark side" use so successfully.

Materials

Process

A	Most beads have a large opening at one end and a smaller opening at the other. Contrary to normal practice slide the first bead over the point of the hook large opening first. Then slide a propeller onto the hook with the flat side facing forward. To complete the materials for the propeller and housing slide the second bead over the point of the hook small opening first. Tie you thread in behind the eye and build up a collar of thread that is no wider than the diameter of the front bead and will add abase that will be tight for the front bead to slide over. Understanding hooks

B	Tie the thread off and trim the excess. Put a drop of super glue on the thread and force the front bead over the thread collar so that it sits hard up against the eye of the hook. Bring the propeller forward so that it sits snug up against the front bead. Tie your thread back in behind the propeller and wind it down the hook shank until above the point of the hook. Tie the thread off and trim the excess.

C	Put a drop of super glue on the thread just behind the propeller and slide the rear bead forward until it is close to the propeller but does not stop it from spinning freely.

D	Tie your thread back in directly behind the rear bead and then wind it back to the bend of the hook in touching turns. Tie in a woolly bugger tail about twice as long as the hook. It's important to have a reasonable amount of marabou in the tail as its the combination of the "keel effect" of the heavy stainless hook bend and bite and the marabou tail that stops the fly from spinning instead of just the propeller.

E	Use your thread to create a relatively uniform under-body for the fly between the bend of the hook and the rear bead. Bass, E.P's and other native species are hard hitters so I like to add a few drops of super glue to the under-body. Tie in a length of estaz chenille at the bend of the hook.

F	Wind the estaz chenille forward in touching turns to just behind the rear bead. Tie the estaz chenille off and trim the excess. Whip finish behind the rear bead and trim the excess thread. A drop or two of super glue over the whip finish completes the fly.

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