The Yallerhammer

The version given here is a modern adaptation of the classic nymph/wet version of the fly. Yallerhammers are one of those flies from the Great Smoky Mountains that have been around so long that everyone who ties it has a slightly different variation. This pattern is designed to be tied with materials that are generally available to flyfishermen throughout the world.

PATTERN:

Hook: Mustad 9761 or 2X Nymph Hook # 4-14
Thread: Black
Weight: "Lead" wire or substitute
Palmered Ribbing: Yellow Dyed Grizzly Hackle
Body: 2-5 strands of Peacock Herl depending upon size of hook

TYING INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Start the thread just behind the eye and wrap to the bend of the hook.
2. Wrap 6-10 turns of "lead" wire around the hook centering the turns on the shank.
3. Use the tying thread to form a tapered "cigar shaped" underbody securing the "lead" in place while forming the body.
4. Tie in the Yellow Dyed Grizzly Hackle by it's tip at the bend of the hook letting it hang.
5. Tie in the strands of Peacock Herl at the bend of the hook and let them hang.
6. Twist the Peacock Herl with the tying thread and wrap it forward to just behind the eye of the hook. Take a couple of turns of thread to secure it in place and trim off the excess herl.
7. Palmer the Yellow Dyed Grizzly Hackle forward in an open spiral to just behind the eye of the hook. Take a couple of turns of thread to secure it in place and trim off the excess hackle.
8. Whip finish and trim off the excess thread.

FISHING THE FLY:

The Yallerhammer can be fished like any other weighted nymph, but is most effective when some motion is imparted to the fly either by the current in the stream or by the fisherman. In the small swift streams of the Smokies this is usually no problem, but if you are fishing it in calmer waters you should think of it more like a wooly bugger that is fished slowly or a wet fly on which you are using a slow retrieve. It is a very good fly for getting down into deep holes where the big ones are hiding out. In addition to being effective on trout it is also a deadly panfish fly.


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