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This is a variation of my very successful articulated swimmer and is a great fly when targeting barra in Lake Awoonga and other barra impoundments on those quiet days when the barramundi are sulking and you need a fly that is going to be in their face for a relatively long time but still active.

I only tie my articulated slow roller in two colours.

• Qantas colours is my favourite and this fly and its cousin the articulated swimmer, dressed in Qantas colours, have accounted for species from barra to bream with heaps of other species in between.
• Brown bomber inspired colours are also a good option for this fly. I think barra take this fly mistaking it for a juvenile catfish but if big catfish are about they will grab it also.

Tied on a #3/0 hook this fly is 12cm long.

I fish this fly on a #10 weight outfit with a clear intermediate line and a 30lb Maxima Ultragreen leader that is just a foot (30cm) or so shorter than the rod. The slightly shorter leader helps keep the fly out of the water when false casting ... if the fly hits the water when casting more often that not the bib generally digs in and the cast is over.

Focus on slow twitchy retrieves with various length pauses. Hits typically occur when you think the fly couldn't be moved any slower.

An alternative retrieve is to count the fly down to the depth where you think fish are or may be holding and give one to three quick rips of the fly and then let the fly just sit there for what can seem like an inordinate amount of time and then repeat the process mixing up the number of fast strips. I think barra take the fly mistaking it for an injured or sick fish on its last legs.

 
Building an articulated fly is basically a two part process with the first step being the tying of the trailing hook fly.

Materials for trailing hook

Process

A	Wind the thread in touching turns to the bend of the hook.

C	I don't like the Krystal flash tied under the tail, on top of the tail or either side of the tail and prefer it partially hidden in the tail so tie in 6 to 8 strands of gold Krystal flash on top of the first half of the tail and tease that Krystal flash out a little so flashes of the Krystal flash will be revealed as the fly swims.

D	Tie in the second half of the tail material completing the tail. Take the thread just forward of where the completed marabou tail is tied in.

E	Tie a length of FNF chenille along the top of the hook shank. Take the thread forward to just behind the eye of the hook.

F	Wind the FNF chenille forward in tight touching turns. This is the same material used to make blobs and it ties in better if you wet it and stroke the fibres back between each wrap of the FMH chenille. Tie the FNF chenille off directly behind the eye of the hook and trim away the excess. Whip finish the fly body and trim the thread away. I generally put just a little UV varnish over the whip finish to complete the trailing part of this fly.

 
The second part for building an articulated fly is to attach the articulated head to the eye of the trailing hook and dress the articulated shank.

Materials for articulated head

G	Slide an articulated shank through the eye of the hook. Some Fish Skull shanks have an upturned eye. These are the ones that I prefer as it makes it so much either to tie the completed fly onto you tippet. When using shanks with upturned eyes take care that you slide the shank onto the hook so that you position the upturned eye so that it is facing up. Now with the trailing hook connected to the articulated shank lock the fly into your vice by catching it at the back of the articulated shank. Pull the trailing hook out of the way and with a rubber bank lock the marabou tail out of the way with a rubber band as shown.

H	In the photo above you will see that there is a sligh gap in the shank. Wind your thread in tigh touching turns back along the shank closing that gap all the way to the rear eye of the shank. Tie in a length of palmer chenille.

I	Wind the palmer chenille forward taking 4 touching turns. Tie the palmer chenille off and trim the excess away with a sharp blade. Stroke the palmer chenille back with your thumb and forefingers forming a skirt that disguises the join of the hook and the shank. Wind the thread forward in touching turns to the eye of the shank.

J	Rotate your vice so that you have access to the underside of the hook. Position the fly lip so it is square to the hook and is just far enough forward to provide good access to the eye of the hook so that it can easily be connected to your tippet. Lock the lipp in position along the full length of the stem of the lipp with tight wraps of thread. To ensure that your fly swims properly it's important to ensure that the lip is horizontal and square to the articulated shank. Sometimes you do have to adjust the articulated shank with pliers to get this step right.

K	Rotate your vice so that the fly is the correct way up with the lipp facing down. Wind the thread forward to behind the eye of the shank.

L	You can see that the plastic bead chain that I used for this fly was black and because I wanted red eyes that I have pained the first and fourth bead with red nail polish.

M	With a pair of needle nose pliers squash off the second and third bead so that you have a set of eyes the right width apart.

N	Cut the prepared eyes off the bead chain and using a couple of figure of 8 wraps of thread tie them on top of the hook just a little back from the eye of the hook. You will need that space to tie off the vody material and to whip finish the thread. Wind the thread two thirds of the way down the length of the shank. Carefully check that the lipp and the eyes are in the correct position and square to the book shank and add a couple of drops of UV varnish through the thread to the lipp to ensure that the lipp and eyes are permanently locked into position.

O	Tie a length of FNF chenille.

P	Tie the FNF chenille in along the top of the hook shank until it encroaches just a little on the front of the palmer chenille skirt. Take the thread forward along the articulated shank all the way to just in front of where the eyes are tied in. Wet the FNF chenille and taking care to stroke all the fibres of the FNF chenille back between each turn wind it forward in tight touching turns all the way forward taking just one final wrap of the FNF chenille in front of the plastic bead chain eyes. Tie the FNF chenille off directly behind the front eye of the shank and trim the excess away using a sharp blade. Whip finish behind the front eye of the shank. Trim away the excess thread and put a drop of UV varnish on the whip finished thread.

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