PATTERN:
Hook: Mustad 3906 #16 or equivalent
Thread: Black
Antennae: 2 Natural Goose Biots
Ribbing: 5X Tippet
Back: 1/8" wide strip of scud back or clear irredescent plastic
Weight: .015 dia. heavy soft wire (lead substitute)
Dubbing: Gray Hareline Dubbing or Gray-Olive Nymph Dubbing
TYING INSTRUCTIONS:
1. Start the thread at the front of hook and wind to the bend. Attach two
goose biots approx. hook gap in length forming the antennae or what looks
like a split tail.
2. Wind the thread to the front of the hook lashing one end of 3" of 5X
tippet material to the side of the hook. The other end should stick out the
back of the hook.
3. Wind the thread to the bend of the hook attaching one end of the 1/8"
wide plastic or scud back to the top of the hook with enough sticking out
the back of the hook to later be pulled forward to form the top shell of the
sowbug. At this point you have the two biots, the ribbing and the shell
material all sticking out the back of the hook with the thread at the bend.
4. Take about 2" of the wire and wrap it tightly around the center section
of the hook forming a tight spiral from approx. 1/16" forward of the bend to
1/16" back of the eye. This usually takes about 8 wraps of wire.
5. Wrap the wire with thread in a criss-cross fashion. When finished the
wire should be almost completely encased in the thread. Complete the
wrapping process with the thread at the bend of the hook. Apply head cement
to the thread encased wire and let it dry.
6. Using a non-serrated pliers or hemostat flatten the wire to form the
thin profile and wide back of the sowbug.
7. Apply the dubbing to the thread and wrap it around the flattened wire
dubbing forward to just behind the eye of the hook.
8. Grasp the 1/8" plastic and pull it forward over the top of the dubbing.
Secure it in place just behind the eye of the hook with a couple of turns of
thread. Trim off the excess sticking out over the eye of the hook.
9. Spiral the tippet ribbing forward in an open spiral over the top of the
dubbing and plastic to just behind the eye of the hook. Secure it in place
with a couple of turns of thread and trim off the excess.
10. Whip finish just behind the eye of the hook and cut the thread.
11. Pick out the dubbing just a little only on the sides of the body. Trim
any excess dubbing sticking out on the top or the bottom of the fly. This
forms the characteristic legs sticking out the side of the body and also
helps accentuate the thin profile and wide back and bottom.
FISHING THE FLY:
This is a slow water fly fished on a dead drift as close to the bottom as possible. It is usually fished with a strike indicator so that it drifts just above the bottom of a tailwater. When fished in a pond or lake it is often fished with a sinking line and then moved along slowly just above the bottom. It can also be fished in a pond or lake by allowing it the sink to the bottom and then using a series of slow short retrieves allowing it to again sink between each retrieve.
