by Rick Luitich, NMT Secretary
From the February 2020 newsletter
Using the super hair on this annelid adds a couple of steps that have proven to be more than worth the trouble. Real midges and annelids have a slime coat on them that the super hair imitates superbly. I’ve tried using UV resin to mimic the slime coat but have found that the resin will pop off when hit by a trout’s tooth or the resin will get cloudy after a period of time. The super hair has proven itself to be both durable and it retains the illusion of a slime coat over time.
Materials
Hook – Size 22 Tiemco 2488H
Under body thread – red 70 denier ultra thread
Body – Spirit River UV2 super hair red
Procedure
- Place the hook in the vise and start your thread one eye length behind the eye of the hook. It is imperative to keep your thread wraps touching and smooth throughout the tying of this fly. Once your thread is secure to the hook shank, tie in three (3) strands of the red super hair and continue wrapping back all the way to the middle of the hook bend while holding the super hair in the other hand (out of the way).
- Now wrap your thread back up the hook to where you started using touching and smooth wraps. Then advance all three strands of super hair to your tie in point with smooth touching wraps and secure the super hair with your thread before cutting it off as close to the hook as you can.
- Finish by creating a thread head just behind the eye of the hook and using a 3 to 4 turn whip finish before cutting off the thread. You can add a drop of your favorite head cement to complete the fly.