Tying the Humungus
Related Flies :-
STEP 1 : Take a length of silver chain bead and clip a pair of the eyes off the chain using some wire clippers or pliers. Start the thread on the hook near the eye and secure the chain bead eyes around 5mm from the eye. Use a figure of eight securing method. ie. Over the hookshank right to left then under the bead, back over the hookshank, right to left, under the bead, right to left etc, then reverse direction.
STEP 2 : Once the bead eyes are secure and in position, catch in a length of silver flash attack behind the eyes and secure with thread down the hookshank to a position opposite the barb.
STEP 3 : Take a bunch of marabou for the tail and prepare it for tying in. (See the techniques section for preparing the marabou)
STEP 4 : Catch in the marabou and secure to the hookshank, making sure that the body is kept uniform. I prefer the Marabou tail to be slightly longer than the silver flash attack, others prefer the flash attack to be longer than the tail. Its down to your personal preference.
STEP 5 : Catch in a length of fine silver wire making sure that its secured to the underside of the hookshank.
STEP 6 : Now catch in a length of silver diamond chenille (Fritz) by stripping a small amount of fritz fibres from the end so the centre core is left bare. Tie the core in and continue to wind the thread up to the eye.
STEP 7 : Wind the chenille up the hookshank until you reach the eyes. The easiest way to wind chenille / fritz is to perform one wrap of chenille / fritz around the hook shank, then wet your fingers and stroke the chenille / fritz fibres back towards the hook bend, then another wrap of chenille / fritz, wet fingers, stroke back and repeat. At the eyes secure the chenille / fritz with thread. Do not trim the waste yet.
Step 8 : Catch in a grizzle hackle behind the eyes with barbs just longer than the hook gape.
Step 9 : Wind the hackle down the hookshank in open and even turns. When you reach the lower end of the hookshank, take hold of the grizzle hackle with your left hand using finger and thumb or hackle pliers and hold the silver wire with your right hand. Keep the hackle taught horizontally and wind a rib with the wire back up the hookshank trapping the palmered hackle stem in as you go. It helps if you move the tinsel from side to side as you wind on the rib, this prevents having as many hackle fibres trapped under the winding. If you still find that too many hackle fibres are trapped , just use a dubbing needle to pick the trapped fibres out.
Step 10 : Secure the wire with thread at the eyes. To trim the waste wire, rock it from side to side until it snaps.
Step 11 : The final step is to bring the thread over the top of the bead eyes. Now pull the chenille / fritz over the top of the bead eyes and secure with thread. trim any waste chenille / fritz.
Final : Perform a whip finish, trim waste and varnish the thread.