This colorful fly is an almost neutral density pike pattern that fishes in, or just below the surface. It is excellent for summer pike fishing in shallow waters.
This is an almost neutral density pike pattern that, unlike deer hair streamers (which float), or e.g. the Valeur pattern (which has a fairly rapid descent rate) fishes in, or just below the surface.
Good for summer pike fishing in shallow waters, such as the Dutch polder areas or shallow lakes. Bucktail does not absorb much water, so although fairly large, this is not an overly difficult pattern to cast. The articulated nature of the pattern, (it consisting of two halves separated by a length of fly line) gives it two advantages:
1) Better casting - more flexible.
2) Better holding - less shank leverage.
Bucktail does make for an intensively mobile pattern while fished in short strip retrieves, veritably pulsating with life. Vary the overall retrieve rate with weather/water temperature, with faster retrieves at higher temps.
Create the tail from three short clumps of the crinkly hair, tied in all around the shank. Comb out well. Make a veil around this tail with two clumps of bucktail, not stacked, one tied on top of the shank, the other on the underside. Spin the thread tightly before tying in bucktail, so that the thread will really dig into the hairs. The unstacked bucktail should not extend beyond the crinkly hair. Clip and cover the butts, and make a nice head with the red chenille. Make a whip finish and remove the hook from the vice.
Put the front hook in the vice, attach the tying thread and clip the fly line to size; end in a shallow angle. The length should be such that there will be about a shank length (trailer hook) of fly line between the two hooks. Attach the line to the top of the front hook, wrapping tightly, but making sure the trailer hook rides point up, and does not twist. Coat with flexament. Make a red chenille butt, to help spread the bucktail. Make a largish bucktail wing on the front hook, with two clumps of stacked bucktail. The wing should extend to about half the trailer´s length. For a relatively short front hook, like the Gamakatsu F314, one wing is enough.
For longer hooks, a second wing will be needed, having its own clump of chenille to spread it. Taper the butts of the bucktail, and cover with tying thread. Leave about 21.5-2 cm for the head, which is make from Fritz wrapped in tight turns forward. Make sure you stroke the Fritz fibers back after each turn, to make a neat-looking, and dense head. Neat looking is to please yourself, and your fellow tiers ;-) ; dense is to create more water displacement so as to catch more pike...
