{{start}}

Matching the hatch is the key to catching pelagics such as Queenfish, Tuna and Australian salmon on fly.

These unweighted flies are like candy to pelagic fish because they closely match the form and function of a lot of naturals they are targeting.

I always tie the bottom 3/4 of the fly in white and then apply either olive, chartreuse or pink superhair for the top 1/4 of the body of the fly. The olive is my go-to colour and catches all manner of pelagics and the chartreuse is a great alternative for queenfish whilst long tail tuna are partial to the pink.

In the smaller sizes this is a great estuary fly for tarpon and smaller pelagics and in the bigger sizes it's like a candy for big queenfish and tuna.

Materials

Process - example below is #2/0

A	Wind the thread in touching turns from the eye of the hook to the bend of the hook. Understanding hooks

B	Catch in a length of holographic tinsel. Wind the holographic tinsel forward 2/3 of the way up the hook shank. Tie the holographic tinsel off.

C	Trim away the excess holographic tinsel with a sharp blade. Take the thread forward 3/4 of the way up the hook shank. Do a couple of half hitches of the Denier thread just to make sure that the holographic tinsel is locked in tight. Half hitches by hand Apply a thin coat of UV epoxy over the holographic tinsel and cure that with a UV troch.

• I build the body for this fly in three stages. For a size #2/0 fly the body for this fly is made up of four clumps of superhair each as thick as a match stick. For a smaller and larger flies reduce or increase the size of the clumps of superhair proportionally.

• The first 3 clumps are always white and the fourth clump is always coloured.

• I always tie these flies with a body made up of superhair and krystal flash that extends 1.25 times the length of the hook behind the back of the hook. You can always trim them back a little on the water if needed. So 1/0# is tied 67mm long overall, #2/0 is 76 mm long overall, #3/0 is 84 mm long overall and #4/0 is 92 mm long overall. The 92 mm version in olive is a great barra fly also for around snags if tied with a weed guard.

• Note also that I have an elastic band as a length guide on my vice.

D	Tie in the first clump of white superhair in above the shank of the hook just in front of the thread. Managing synthetic fibres Tie 5 lengths of pearl krystal flash in on top of the superhair in the same position. Do a couple more half hitches of the Denier thread just to make sure that the the first quarter of the body is locked in tight.

E	Repeat the steps in D to tie in the second clump of superhair and 5 more strands of pearl krystal flash.

F	Tie in the third clump of white superhair directly on top of the first two clumps of super hair. No krystal flash is required on top of this final clump of white superhair

G	Tie in the clump of coloured superhair directly on top of the first three clumps of white super hair.

H	Tie a single strand of Flashabou Magnum 1/32" gold along each side of the fly over the intersection of the white and coloured superhair. Whip finish behind the eye of the hook and trim away the excess thread. Affix a stick on on each side of the fly 3/4 of the way up the hook shank.

I	Mix up a small amount of 5 minute epoxy and using a tooth pick apply a thin coat from just behind the eyes of the fly, over the stick on eyes and over the whip finish of the thread. Working with epoxy I like to hold the body material of the fly rigid with my left hand as I do that. Rotate the fly until the epoxy has gone off so as to ensure an symmetrical shaped head. The final step is to trim the the coloured superhair and the white super hair back at around 45% to where they meet at the lateral line.

{{end}}