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I tie these downsized version of my original articulated slow roller fly in sizes #1 and 1/0 sizes and fish them on my #8 weight fly rods with 20lb Maxima Ultra Green leaders. They are an absolute treat for native bass and all sorts of estuary and coastal species including bream, flathead, and mangrove jack and smaller pelagics including trevally and queenfish.

Bass seem to prefer a #1 pink version and an orange version is a great choice for mangrove jacks and Qantas colours create a good all round fly.

As a sub-surface fly these flies fish well on a floating line and as a mid-water fly they fish well on an intermediate line. In either case a slow retrieve will produce a subtle wobbling action which can be enhanced with occasional pauses.

If your fishing shallow water and targeting bottom predators such as flathead or fish just foraging around the bottom such as bream fish them on an intermediate or even a faster sink line and retrieve them with a short strip that allows the fly to scrap the bottom occasionally stirring up a puff of bottom material and then lifting the fly just a couple of inches and then dropping it back to the bottom before being repeated back to the boat, sandbar or bank.

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	Place you hook firmly in the vice. Wind the thread in touching turns to the bend of the hook.

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

D	Wind the estaz chenille forward in tight touching turns. Tie the estaz chenille off directly behind the eye of the hook and trim away the excess. Whip finish the fly body and apply a liberal coat of varnish or a couple of drops of super glue to the whip finish.

The second part for building an articulated fly is to attach the articulated shank and to dress that to represent the thorax and head that sits in front of the trailing hook.

Materials for articulated head

E	Slide an articulated shank through the eye of the hook. Fish Skull shanks have an offset eye. Make sure that when you slide the shank onto the hook that you position the offset eye so that it is facing up.

F	Start behind the eye of the shank wind the thread, in tight turns, back toward the rear eye of the shank. I like to do a couple of half hitches at this stage just to be sure that the shank sides are locked together.

G	Tie in a length of palmer chenille along the of the shank all the way back to the rear eye of the shank taking care not to go so far back that you inhibit the movement of the trailing hook.

H	Wind the palmer chenille forward taking 6 tight touching turns.

I	Tie the palmer chenille off and trim the excess away with a sharp blade.

J	With wet fingers stroke the palmer chenille back with your thumb and forefingers forming a skirt that disguises the join of the hook and the shank and lock that in with firm wraps of thread.

K	Tie in a length of estaz chenille directly in front of the palmer chenille skirt. Take the thread forward to just behind the front eye of the shank.

L	Rotate the fly 180 degrees and tie a flylipp in just far enough back from the eye of the hook to be able to attach the fly to your tippet. Turn the fly back upright and tie in a set of plastic bead chain eyes directly behind the front eye of the shank. Apply super glue to the tie in of the flylipp and the plastic bead chain eyes.

M	Wind the estaz chenille forward in tight touching turns to directly behind the bead chain eyes. Tie the estaz chenille off behind the plastic bead chain eyes.

N	Take the thread in front of the eyes and whip finish directly behind the eye of the hook Trim away the excess thread and put a drop of super glue on the whip fished thread. .

O	Take a No #1 lead shot, open up the split. Mix a very small amount of two part 5 minute epoxy and put just split in the lead shot. I use the 5 minute epoxy because UV epoxy does not stick well to the lead shot. With a pair of pliers position the lead shot in the middle of the leading edge of the flylipp and then use the pliers to pinch the lead shot closed so its locked into that position. Rotate the fly in the vice to ensure that any excess epoxy flows evenly around where the leaf shot is attached to the flylipp.

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