FLYLIFE^75Once you’ve filled the shank, whip
finish and trim your thread.
Next, you’ll need a sharp pair of scis-
sors. Carefully start trimming away,
cutting from the eyes toward the tail.
Start by cutting the bottom flat, expos-
ing the hook gape. Then work your
way around gradually — rotary vices
are great for this. After a rough cut,
comb it with a Velcro pad before giv-
ing a final trim. Strong, sharp scissors
like Dr Slick Hair Scissors are great
for this. Once you’ve neatened up
your masterpiece, put a drop of head
cement on the head and start dream-
ing of saratoga!
Many colour combinations will
work, but as they say, once you go
black, you never go back. Andy likes
a natural zonker tail and black body,
and I’m sure the bass are going to be
all over versions tied to imitate red-
fin perch. You can even mess around
with the shape of the head to imitate
frogs, mudeyes or small baitfish.
Being a fairly small fly, you can use
any standard outfit, and your fly-line
of choice will vary from floating to
sink-tip or intermediate. But if you are
going to fish for saratoga, don’t take
a knife to a gun fight — use some-
thing like a 9-weight so you don’t get
owned in the snags. Have a go!FLYLIFE^75FL- Lay a base of thread and tie in
your bead chain eyes just behind the
hook eye. This prevents you from
crowding the head later on. (A mono
weed guard can be tied in before the
eyes if required.)
2/3. Tie in a flat loop of
monofilament at the rear of the hook
shank so that it extends just beyond
the hook bend. - Tie in a length of Magnum
Zonker, about 2/3 times the shank
length — add a drop of Super Glue. - Tie in a collar of Mara Wool,
surrounding the tail. - Continue adding bunches of Mara
Wool, packing after each bunch,
until you reach the bead chain eyes. - Whip finish and trim. Start
trimming the bottom first, then work
your way around. - Add a drop of head cement and
tie another one!
ANDY’S TOGA DESTROYER
TYING NOTES3 45 67 81 2