A shrimpy-profile bonefish pattern yields results on a variety of other species.
By
John Frazier
Updated: December 19, 2012
About a quarter-inch from the eye of the hook, tie in dumbbell eyes using figure-eight wraps. Work the thread back to the bend of the hook.
Select a fairly sparse bundle of craft fur, cut it, and use the point of your scissors to weed out the underfur. Once the underfur has been removed, use a permanent marker to bar the tail. Next, tie in the tail on top of the shank. Now, tie in a red saddle hackle on top of the tie in the point of the tail. When it is secure, palmer it forward, and when you’ve reached the dumbbell eyes, tie off the feather. Use your fingers to separate the palmered hackle so that all the barbs are equally distributed on the sides of the shank.
Cut a small bundle of deer body hair and stack it in a hair stacker. Turn the hook over in the vise and position the hair clump just behind the dumbbell eyes. Put two loose wraps around the hair bundle and hook shank and cinch straight down so that the tapered ends and the butt ends flare. Use your fingers to pull the hair back and put a small dam of thread in front.
Cut another small bundle of deer body hair and position it in front of the dumbbell eyes. Once again put two loose wraps around the bundle and the hook shank. This time, instead of cinching straight down, you will want to spin the fibers all the way around the shank. To do this gradually tug on the thread, coaxing the hair to spin around the shank. When the hair has spun, cinch it into place. Use your fingers and pull all the fibers back and put a small dam of thread in front of the hair.
Using the sharpest scissors possible, trim the head into a wedgelike shape. Make sure to leave the tapered ends of hair from the first bundle intact. Also, avoid trimming the hackle collar to maintain a natural appearance.
