Written by Mike Gentry

This month's fly is a puzzle to me.  I haven't seen it in the fly pattern books and don't recall finding it in the fly shops either.  I know that it made its way into my fly box when I was fooling around improvising at my vise one afternoon before a lake fishing trip and thought it looked fishy.  I know that other tyers also have discovered it because I've seen them use it.  If it has a name, I don't know it.  I only know that it works.  It is very easy to tie, and very versatile.

Materials:

Hook:                           Tiemco 2457, Sizes 14-18

Thread:                        Black, brown or red 8/0

Ribbing:                       Fine silver or brown wire

Beadhead:                   Small brown bead

Flashing:                     Pearl or crystal flashabou

1.  Slide the beadhead to the eye of the hook, mount the hook in the vise, and secure the beadhead with a number of turns of thread.

2.  Place a length of ribbing wire on top of the hook with the front of the wire touching the thread wrapping behind the beadhead, and wind a single layer of thread tightly (no gaps between thread wraps) backward, securing the wire on top of the hook, back to about halfway through the curve of the hook, and then wind tightly (again, no gaps in the winds) back to just behind the beadhead.

3.  Wind the ribbing forward to just behind the beadhead, tie off and trim.

4. Place two pieces of flashabou on top of the hook parallel to the hook shank (with an inch or so behind the hook eye and the same length forward of the eye), secure with two turns of thread, pull the forward portions back and tie down with a number of turns of thread so that the covering thread builds up evenly to the back of the beadhead. Finish with three tight half hitches and trim the thread close.

5.  Trim the four flashabou strands off about half the length of the hook, and put a small drop of head cement on the thread behind the beadhead, being careful not to cement the flashabou strand together.

This is a remarkable versatile fly.  I've used it with great success in the shallow "feeding trough' edges of lakes with a slow hand twist retrieve, and it has worked equally well dead-drifted on spring creeks and tailwaters from Montana to Argentina.  I use a silver wire for ribbing on black and red bodied patterns, and copper wire for brown bodied ties.  This patter is a must.  Whenever I fish where there is a midge hatch (and that is virtually anywhere), I may forget my American Express card but I never leave home without my Amorphous Midge.