Zuddy's Sham Shad

So last year my friend Pat Cohen (www.rusuperfly.com) came out with some great products made from ultra suede... a thin but super tough suede material. He has all kinds of neat patterns from crayfish to hellgrammite shapes, including what he calls "Attractor Tails". They remind me of the mister twister rubber tails I fished as a kid. I knew I needed to experiment with them so I loaded up on all sizes and began to play. After a summer of experimenting with all sorts of combinations I ended up with what I call the "Sham Shad". Don't get me wrong, I still spent plenty of time last summer with a Zudbubbler on the end of my leader, but I have to admit I fished the Sham Shad way more than I care to tell. The action on this fly from the attractor tail coupled with deer hair head and huge mallard flank is unbelievable... and the bass agreed. The best days I had with it were in the clearest of water conditions and I fished it super slow with a twitch/pause retrieve. I mostly fished it on a floating line with intermediate leader, but an intermediate line is just as effective if not more. It's going to be hard to top this one going forward. It's a super simple tie, so give a try!

Step 1. Insert a TMC 8089 size 6 hook (or equivalent) in your vise. Using a gelspun thread such as GSP 100 tie on and work your way to the bend as shown here.

Step 2. Grab a size Medium Attractor Tail from the package. Tails are available at www.boneyardflygear.com on the Fly Gear page.

Step 3. Tie the tail on top of the hook so it lays horizontal as shown.

Step 4. Using the largest mallard flank you can find, tie in by the tip with the feather cupped toward the attractor tail. Strip back the fluff so you have a clean tie in place on the stem for the next step.

Step 5. Dub some white pearl Ice Dub onto your thread and wind forward, leaving yourself around 3/8" behind the hook eye for the deer hair head. If the dubbing is too tight, you can tease it a little so it looks like the photo above.

Step 6. Palmer the mallard flank forward through the Ice Dub and tie off.

Step 7. Tie in a clump of white deer hair (or bleached elk hair) on top of the hook (sculpin style), trim the bottom side flat if you wish. Whip finish and add a little Zap a Gap to the underside of the deer hair head. Simple as that!

Here's a photo of the finished fly from a slightly forward angle.

Visit my website for more tutorials, guide trip info and gear. www.zflyfishing.com

Thanks for your support! -Z