From Brain Storming to Prototype

Sometimes new patterns I create and test have been spawned in my head a day or two before the prototypes get tied and tested.  Sometimes it's weeks, or even months before I actually put materials to the hook.  That was the case with the Deer Hair Spook.  I had the idea in my head for a long time, finally ordered what I needed, and cranked out some flies to test.  Other designs don't sit in my mind long before they get put into reality.  It all depends on how much vise time I am getting and what else I want/need to tie.

Another idea that has been rattling around for a while was to create a weighted large single hook streamer on a 60 degree jig hook.  I had the hooks, Mustad 32786 BLN's, for a while from tying another pattern.  The idea really started when I bought pocket cones for the first time and started experimenting with powder painting them.  The final nudge I needed was seeing another streamer pattern online, tied by Dan Seaman of Bug Wild, using a 60 degree jig hook.  It was one of those "Oh yeah, I forgot about that one idea" moments.  Here's the recipe I ended up going with.

Hook - Mustad 32786 BLN size 2/0
Cone - large pocket cone, powder painted
Additional Weight - 13 wraps of .030 non lead
Thread - 6/0 for most of the fly, 200den GSP for the deer hair collars
Tail - magnum zonker strips, double bunny style
Flash - holographic Flashabou
Hot Spot - Arctic fox
Body - Ice Chenille/Estaz
Wing - marabou, top and bottom (contrasting colors)
Legs - 3 strands per side
Collar - deer hair

When the zonker strips are tied in for the tail, I do use a spot of fabric adhesive to "weld" the rabbit strips together, but only near the hook.  I do not glue the strips together past that point to allow them to move more freely.  The addition of the non-lead wraps is actually very important, but not so much for weight.  The hole in the pocket cone is quite a bit larger than the diameter of the hook wire.  Adding the wraps gives the cone something to "seat" onto that holds them in place.  You can also add a touch of glue or epoxy to where the cone meets the wraps to really lock them in place.  Here's a prepped hook/cone, ready to be tied.

The marabou top and bottom helps to add a bit of bulk to the body, and the hot spots of Arctic fox bleed through the marabou nicely.  You can't really see the Ice Chenille/Estaz body, but the real purpose of the body material is to help push the marabou out away from the shank a bit.  Wrapping the body tightly helps force that marabou out away from the shank.  Here's the end result of the tying effort.

I'm going to be heading to the Mad River in Western Ohio during the week after Christmas to streamer fish for brown trout, and plan to take a few of these with me to test.  If nothing else, I will see them in the water and get a good feel for how the pattern will perform.  I'm intending for this to be a bass streamer, but I think it can produce on any species that will attack some meat.