Wednesday, May 2, 2012

Zuddy's Chicken and Ice



As I sit at my vise this morning, it is early May and it is raining super hard... this gets me excited for big brown trout on big streamers! Anytime the water level is going up and getting dirty is a great time to throw some meat at our beloved predators, the brown trout. Over the past several years, the pattern below has become one of my favorite streamers for trout. I have also used it successfully for steelhead and bass when tied in other colors. As with most of my patterns, it's a simple and quick tie.

Step 1: Start with a Daiichi 2461 hook, size 1. I prefer white thread (uni 6/0 works well). Tie in some fibers from a white and black jailhouse marabou feather for the tail.

Step 2: Tie in a clump of Olive Ice Dub and advance the thread forward a bit.

Step 3: Tie in a clump of Copper Ice Dub and again advance the thread forward.

Step 4: Tie in another clump of Olive Ice Dub

Step 5: Prepare a Jailhouse Marabou feather by stripping off the bottom half as shown. Tie in the feather by the tip in front of your last Ice Dub clump. Dub some Olive Ice Dub onto the thread and wrap almost to the front of the hook.

Step 6: Palmer the marabou feather forward through the Ice Dub. It helps to moisten the feathers.

Step 7: Tie in a generous amount of copper flashabou on the top of the fly and finish.

Capt. Matt Zudweg guides for Feenstra Guide Service on Michigan's Muskegon River and also owns BoneYard Fly Gear. www.boneyardflygear.com