Gusto – sunburst variant

 

This is my variant of Peter Morse' Gusto fly and is one of my go to flies when targeting barramundi in Lake Awonga.

It's dressed on a #3/0 34007 stainless hook which is quite a heavy hook and that creates an effective "keel" effect. It has a long marabou tail and a dense hackle collar which creates plenty of currents around the fly that really get the marabou moving.

The overall length of the finished fly is around 10cm long.

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Hook Eyes Thread Tail Tail Flash Body Front hackle
Tiemco 34007 stainless in size #3/0 Spirit River 'real eyes' 7/32" My preference is white cotton Yellow marabou blood plume Sure Strike violet krystal flash - 6 strands FNF jelly chenille in Picricish colour One red saddle hackle and one grizzly hackle died deep red

Process

A
  1. Starting at a point a little back from the eye of the hook wrap the thread in tight touching turns down the front 1/5 of the hook shank.
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B
  1. Tie in your bead chain, dumb bell or real eyes on top of the hook shank half way along the thread base using figure 8 wraps. To tighten the connection wrap the thread around the base of the eyes on top of the hook shank. My preference is Spirit River 'real eyes' 7/32" with double pupils of black inside red.
  2. Continue winding the thread to directly above the point of the hook.
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C

    Making the tail is a 3 step process

  1. Select two matching blood plume marabou hackles and tie the first one in on top of the hook shank. Make sure that the marabou is tied in horizontal not vertical.
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D
  1. Select a couple of long strands of krystal flash and tie two along the front side with equal amounts projecting behind and in front of the fly.
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E
  1. Take the strands projecting in front of the fly over the shank of the fly and face then back down behind the fly and lock them in that position with a couple firm wraps of thread
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F
  1. Select the second blood plume marabou hackle and tie it in on top of the first blood plume marabou hack and the krystal flash.
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G
  1. Trim off an excess hackle butt and lock the tail made up of the first blood plume hackles, the krystal flash and the second blood plume hackle in place along the top of the hook shank to a position directly above the point of the hook.
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H
  1. Tie a length of FNF jelly chenille in on top of the hook shank directly above the point of the hook
  2. Take the thread forward half way between above the point of the hook and the back of the dumbbell eyes.
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I
  1. Wind the jelly chenille forward in tight touching turns to the thread./li>
  2. Tie the jelly chenille off at that position and trim away the excess.
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J

    This fly need a dense array of hackles that fill the remain free space on the hook shank so select hackles that have some fluffy barbules and a majority of hackle barbules that are about 1.5 times the gape of the hook. For this fly I have selected a red saddle hackle and a grizzly hackle that has been died red. Depending on the length of your hackles you may need up to 4 hackles.

  1. Tie the red saddle hackle in directly in front of the jelly chenille body.
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K
  1. Tie the grizzly hackle in directly in front of the first hackle.
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L
  1. Pull the grizzly hackle aside and wind the saddle hackle forward in uniformly spaced turns in the space between where it is tied in and just behind the dumbbell eyes.
  2. Lock the saddle hackle in behind the dumbbell eyes with a couple of firm wraps of thread.
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M
  1. Trim away the excess tip of the saddle hackle with a sharp blade.
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N
  1. Take up the second hackle and wind that forward through the saddle hackle in uniformly spaced turns.
  2. Lock the grizzly hackle in place between the saddle hackle and the dumbbell eyes with a couple of firm wraps of thread.
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O
  1. Trim away the excess tip of the grizzly hackle with a sharp blade.
  2. Build up a neat cone shaped beak in front of the dumbbell eyes.
  3. Trim away any excess thread.
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P
  1. Varnish the beak and the tie in of the dumbbell eyes with a couple of coats of red nail polish.
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Last Updated: April 28, 2018
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Categories: Big fish flies - temperate & tropical destinations, Flies, My fly boxes, Saltwater - tropical, Trout flies
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