Large muddlers are among the most effective pike fly patterns. They owe their extraordinary effectiveness to their unique action in the water. When the line is pulled, a properly tied muddler swings sharply from side to side. Individual deer hair strands are hollow tubes. After being tied and compressed with the leader thread, they lie perpendicular to the hook. The hair tubes trap a considerable amount of air inside, which, when used to construct unweighted flies, makes them float. By adding a small weight to the flies, we achieve zero buoyancy. When fishing with a slow-sinking line, we can suspend such a fly in the water column for a while. Heavier weights allow us to achieve various sinking rates, ranging from very slow to one where the fly reaches a depth of several meters within a few seconds.  As practice shows, the highest number of strikes occurs during the fly’s slow descent. To take advantage of this while fishing, we must focus on the proper weighting when tying the fly so that we can deliberately overcome the buoyancy of the hackle. We can use beads, cone heads, and weights shaped like dumbbells. All of these types are shown in the photo. It’s worth experimenting with the size of the weight.

LOAD TYPES

                     To create heads in contrasting, bright colors, we’ll use hair harvested from a deer’s belly. In stores that sell this product, it’s known as “Deer Belly Hair.” If you want to achieve calmer, more subdued colors, you should use fur sold as “Deer Body Hair.” The fur is available in a wide variety of colors.

                     We imitate the body and tail of our fly using synthetic or natural hair. For natural materials, it’s worth considering yak, Shetland sheep, goat, and llama hair; for synthetic materials, options include Wing Fiber, Big Fly Fiber, and Angel Hair. Both types of materials can be used on their own or combined. For example, it’s very popular to weave a few strands of Crystal Flash among dark strands of natural hair. Among the synthetic materials, we can mix in a few hairs from the backtail in a color that contrasts with the other materials.

                      To make a muddler head in the size we want, we need a flat-lying thread that won’t cut through the hair and that is as strong as possible. In practice, this means using Kevlar or Dyneema lines with a thickness of at least 6/0.

                    The average length of a pike fly, measured from the start of the hook eye to the tips of the materials, is between 15 and 20 centimeters. To tie such a fly, we’ll use a size 4/0 hook with a standard shank length. Examples of recommended models include: the special, barbless Partridge AD Swier Absolute Pike Hook CS45BN, or hooks with a slight barb: the Partridge John Holden Heavyweight Sea Greyshadow GRS4S, Daiichi 2720 Wide Gape Stinger Bass Hook.

                     The amount of space left for tying the head, including the knot that secures the wings, should be about 1.5 cm. In the example fly model shown in the photos, we used eyes with space to glue in the pupils.

                     We prepare the first tuft of hair by placing it in the Hair Stacker. This tool helps arrange the hair evenly, starting from its natural tips. We attach the hair to the hook at the point where the existing materials are tied, with the natural tips pointing toward the end of the fly, so that once it is tied, they form an even collar

                    To cover the entire circumference of the head, we need about 4 tufts, which we attach tightly next to each other. We secure each tuft with two or three wraps of thread, pulling it tight so that the ends of the hair stand up clearly.

                     We sweep the resulting tuft of hair toward the fly’s wings. We attach additional tufts of hair to the exposed part of the hook, gradually filling the space up to the crossbar of the hook eye.

                      At the point where the eyes are attached, we follow the same procedure, securing the hair above and below the crossbar connecting the two eyes. This is a good time to add a colored spot to the top of the head, which—especially on flies with more subdued colors—makes it easier to spot the fly while fishing.

                        Fill in the space remaining up to the eye of the hook with additional tufts. To complete the entire head of a fly tied on a size 4/0 hook, you’ll need about 12–13 tufts of hair.

                    After carefully tying off the thread and sealing the knot, we proceed to the initial shaping of the head. We can do this using sharp scissors or a razor blade. Trim the head from the hook eye toward the fly’s wings. Shape it until you achieve the desired effect, being careful not to cut the natural tips of the hair from the first tufts you attached.

                  When tying flies with a ball or cone head, it’s a bit easier to fill the space intended for the head completely. With this type of head, if you decide to add extra eyes, use quick-drying glue to attach them directly to the trimmed hair. You can achieve an interesting effect by preparing the area where the eye will be glued using a special heat gun.  

TEXT – ARTUR BANACHOWSKI

artur@lowisko-piaseczno.pl

FLY CONSTRUCTION AND PHOTOGRAPHY – NATALIA PATOKA

natalia@lowisko-piaseczno.pl