Craft Fur Bass Fly

 

    This is a pattern I came up with for smallmouth bass on the John Day river. We were catching tons of bass in the 10"-12" range with pink and chartreuse clouser minnows made of craft fur, but I wanted a minnow pattern that was bigger and would suspend a little. So based off other patterns I know how to tie and some new materials I wanted to mess around with this is what I came up with. It has a bigger profile than the clouser's we had success with and will somewhat suspend on the strip depending on how much weight is added. The pink dubbing body under the craft fur brush creates an inner glow to the fly which I think is appealing as well. Plus craft fur moves awesome in the water! We fish these on sink tip lines, stripping across the current or swinging, but you could fish it on a floating line as well it just depends on how deep you want or need to get the fly to reach the fish.

Hook: Gamakastu B10S #4

Thread: Chartreuse 70 Ultra Thread

Tail: Chartreuse Extra Select Craft Fur

Weight: .027 Lead

Hackle: Grizzly Cape

Dubbing: Hot Pink STS Dub

Brush: 3" EP Craft Fur Brush

Eyes: Red Stick on Eyes

Insert your hook in the vice. For this tutorial I used a Gamakatsu B10S size 4. But feel free to use any type of hook you have or need for your fishery. I prefer a normal or shorter shank hook for this fly though.

Wrap tightly some lead wire around the shank. For this fly I used .027 lead wire, but any size will work. For the amount of lead wire, on this fly I kept it a little shorter than the hook gap. But you can use more or less wire depending on your needs and how much you want the fly to sink.

Slide the wrapped wire down over the bend of the hook. I do this so it acts as a keel and keeps the fly upright when fishing. Attach your thread and secure the wire in place. I used red on this fly to add the illusion of blood or gills, but the color choice is up to you. I used black on the flies we used on the river and it worked just fine. Just be sure to not secure your wire too far down the bend of the hook so it doesn't interfere with hook sets and keeping fish hooked. My rule of thumb is no farther down than half the bend.

Once your lead wire is fully covered add a little glue for durability and whip finish. I like to use brush on lock tight super glue. But once again any super glue would work.

Attach new tying thread. Use what ever color you want the nose of your fly to be. I used chartreuse on this pattern. Once your thread is attached wrap back to the lead wire.

Select a generous clump of craft fur. I use a clump about as thick as my finger. Remove all the under fur and attach to the hook. I like to wrap all the way up to about an eye length distance from the hook eye to add a little more bulk to the body of the fly.

Select two small hackles from a cape, I prefer grizzly for a barring effect. I used chartreuse on this pattern. But choose your feathers to match your fly however you would like. Secure each hackle on the sides of the fly slightly shorter than the craft fur tail. Tie them in so the curvature of the feather faces in toward the craft fur.

Wrap your thread back to the tie in point of the craft fur. Create a dubbing loop and insert your dubbing. I prefer to keep my bodies on the thinner side and when I spin my loop, I don't spin it too tight because I like the dubbing to be kinda scraggly. Color is up to you, I prefer a brighter color of some kind to create that inner glow to the fly.

Wrap your dubbing noodle forward to form the body. Stroke the fibers back with each wrap and be sure not to leave gaps between wraps. Be sure to leave enough room at the head of the fly to wrap your craft fur brush. The craft fur brushes will have a wire core so room is needed.

Attach your craft fur brush and secure with thread wraps.  

Wrap your craft fur brush forward to the eye of the hook. Be sure to stroke the fibers back toward the tail of the fly as your wrap. The number of wraps will determine how thick and full your fly is. About 6-7 wraps is usually enough for my needs. Secure with thread wraps and cut off any excess brush.

Pick out the craft fur brush with your bodkin to release any trapped fibers. Then stroke all the fibers reward. I use an old tooth brush to comb my fibers rearward. Whip finish and remove your thread.

Glue on eyes of your choice. I used red on this fly. But size and color are up to you. I used a bigger size eye on this fly for more of a shad look. For glue, a gel glue works the best for attaching eyes. I use lock tight gel super glue. For durability I also either put a drop of glue on top of the fly between the eyes or I put some UV Loon Thick resin on the top between the eyes. Now your done, go fish! Good luck!