Most of my tube flies would rarely deviate from the
standard ‘black-and-red’ or ‘black-and-blue,
as such, providing little inspiration to the progressive
tier. A pattern that may appear more captivating is a
snake-fly. Make no mistake; they are a formula that has
been around for many years, and for good reason. Tubes
fished at length can become cumbersome, to say the least.
Snake flies are a cure for this ailment, among others.
Light can refract and penetrate through the core of snake-flies,
similar to the translucency found on many young baitfish
and sandeels. Further to this, snake-flies manoeuvre
with a fish when taken, due to their non-rigid construction,
thus providing a securer hook-hold.
Any permutation normally adopted in your waddington
or tube-fly patterns would suit a snake-fly mount,
only inhibited by your own imagination. An array of
mylar tubing exist for the body, as is the case for
the winging material. Here I have included a permutation
that has been successful for me on many rivers across
the UK.
I have been
playing around with steel loops at the head of snake-flies
for some time now, as I didn’t fancy the idea of tying straight to the braid – especially
as I tie my flies on at night without a torch, and one false slip could ruin
the fly. Also, I think that the loops give the fly a bit more action. Something
that I found to be even better was the use of swivels instead of the loops,
the perfect solution because you get even more movement, durability, and some
additional weight in the head.
In addition,
I have added some shrink tubing by the hook and by
the swivel. I find these stiffen the body up slightly,
and give you a nice, straight body.
The following is one permutation that will work for
sea-trout, but feel free to add your own ingredients
as we go along.
The essentials; darning needle, 2x1cm shrink tubes (3mm
internal bore), 25cm section of braided mono, size 10
Partridge BMD double hook, size 12 swivel, super-glue
(doesn’t have to be waterproof as it will be covered
by the shrink-tubing). The Partridge BMD hooks are ideal
for these flies, and compliment the dressings well. They
are also my first choice for tube-fly patterns, cracking
hooks.
DRESSING:
Step 1
Start by threading the hook onto the braid, followed
by the needle.
Step 2
Looping back, puncture the braid with the needle,
passing it up the braid for about 3-4cm (depending
on what length you want the fly to be) before passing
the needle to the outside of the core.
Step 3
Pull the needle through, then take the needle
off the braid. You can then pull the loose end
until it sits snugly onto the hook.
Step 4
Repeat the process with the swivel.
Step 5
Pulling both loose ends tight to the hook and
swivel, the loose ends can then be cut snugly to
the body, taking care not to cut the body braid.
Step 6
The next step is to put on the 2 pieces of shrink-tubing.
If the tubes pass over the swivel easily, all the
better. However, if they don’t then it is
easier to loop some nylon through the eye of the
swivel and pass the two tubes over the nylon. You
can then exert some force onto the tubes, which
will help them pass over the swivel.
Step 7
With the two tubes on the mount, the next step
is to drop a small amount of super-glue onto the
mount. One small drop by the hook, and one small
drop by the swivel.
Step 8
The tubes are then passed over the glue and positioned.
When in position, pass the lighter over the tubes,
quickly! – If not, you will burn/melt the
mount.
Step 9
After shrinking both tubes, pull the mount straight
and hold. Upon cooling, which takes just a few
second, you will be left with a nice, straight
mount. At times, especially with the longer mounts,
you will find that the snakes hinge too much. To
cure this put a third piece of shrink tubing around
the middle of the amount, again with a drop of
glue. That’s the mount finished! I find it
easier to make a few at the same time, before continuing
to the tying stage.
Step 10
These flies can be slightly fiddly, as they are
predominantly tied by/in hand (literally). As such,
the next step is to set out all the materials you
are going to need for the fly. Here I have used
black raccoon fur for the wing, red rabbit under,
red pearly mylar body, jungle cock cheeks, red
mirage overwing, 6/0 fire orange thread.
Step 11
Firstly, measure and cut a sufficient amount of
mylar tubing for the body. Cut slightly more than
necessary, as it does tend to fray.
Step 12
Upon passing it over the mount, secure it near
the hook. This stage can be done in the vice, if
necessary. Tie off the thread and varnish. Always
varnish before doing the next step! If not, you
will end up with the materials getting in the way,
and getting stuck to the varnish. Quite often I
would do up to this point in batches, ready for
tying on the final ingredients.
Step
13
With the hook end sorted, we can now progress
to the swivel. Clamp the swivel in one hand and
tie with the other. Two critical tying techniques
will help you with this fly; pinch-and-loop,
and the half-hitch. The second stage is to secure
the mylar tubing at the swivel end. Before securing
the mylar, pull it taught. This will give you
a nice, slim body – just the way I like ‘em!
After securing and trimming the excess put a
couple of half hitches onto the head – this
will stop the thread bouncing off the swivel,
and will enable you to put the fly down whilst
you sort out the next material.
Step 14
Measure the wing to the appropriate length – just
past the hook-bend. Then pinch and loop before
tightening the thread onto the swivel and putting
a few tight turns to secure the wing. Repeat
this for the red mirage tinsel, leaving the fibres
longer than necessary and trimming after completing
the entire fly. Put on another couple of half-hitches
to secure.
Step 15
Turn the fly over, and repeat the above procedure
with the red rabbit as a false hackle. I tend
to tie this to half the length of the body, or
shorter.
After that, get the jungle cock eyes which are
ready prepared. Position them with a couple of
loose turns of thread before tying them in firmly.
Take the thread over the head, tidying up any
gaps or colours showing through – or you
can cheat by using coloured varnish at a later
date. Then whip-finish, and varnish. Job done!
The final article, side view.
The wet-look! As you can see, the fibres are
very fine and form quite a streamline wing and
false hackle when wet.
Due to their braided core, snake-flies carry little weight. This is both a hindrance
and a help. The lightweight construction equates to long lengths being fishable
without the casting becoming too much of a chore, or a ‘chuck-and-duck’ affair.
However, this lightweight construction does also render a shallow fishing depth,
dependant on line choice, of course. Lead strips can be passed through the core
of the braid before attaching the mylar tubing, this would add weight to the
body without losing the flexibility of the fly. However, a better solution would
be to fish the flies on a short leader with sinking or sink-tips lines. This
way you will keep the light, easy to cast fly, whilst getting down to the required
depth.
Steffan Jones runs a guiding service on the magical
sea-trout rivers of West-Wales, and has several packages
on offer. Contact him for further details: steffan@anglingworldwide.com
Most of my tube flies would rarely deviate from the
standard ‘black-and-red’ or ‘black-and-blue,
as such, providing little inspiration to the progressive
tier. A pattern that may appear more captivating is a
snake-fly. Make no mistake; they are a formula that has
been around for many years, and for good reason. Tubes
fished at length can become cumbersome, to say the least.
Snake flies are a cure for this ailment, among others.
Light can refract and penetrate through the core of snake-flies,
similar to the translucency found on many young baitfish
and sandeels. Further to this, snake-flies manoeuvre
with a fish when taken, due to their non-rigid construction,
thus providing a securer hook-hold. .jpg)
In addition,
I have added some shrink tubing by the hook and by
the swivel. I find these stiffen the body up slightly,
and give you a nice, straight body. .jpg)
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