Different Twist on Bluegill Flies

These last few evenings I have experimented with a different technique for forming the body on a bluegill fly.  Has it been done before?  Probably, but I haven't seen it and it was new to me.  I think the technique could be applied to patterns for other species, also.  What I did was tie in three strands of rubber leg material, twist it into a "rope," and wrap it.  I really liked the effect and end result.  It's a grubby, mottled looking body and the taper can be manipulated by either tension on the legs while wrapping or the underbody of the fly.  I chose tension.  Using barred centipede style legs, the barring produces a cool mottled effect.  Here's a look at the body of one bug before I added the soft hackle.

I tied just a pair of different test patterns.  The first was a larger, slightly more complex bug that I think the larger local bluegills and hybrid sunfish will enjoy.  The second was a simpler soft hackle pattern on a much shorter shank hook for a more bite-size pattern.  Here are the recipes and photos of both.

Hook - DaiRiki 280 Size 10

Thread - 6/0

Bead - 3/32" brass

Weight - 6 wraps .020 non lead

Tag/Tail - Lazer Dub and rubber legs

Body - three strands rubber legs, twisted and wrapped

Collar - deer hair tips
Legs - rubber legs
Head - Ice Dub

Hook - DaiRiki 135 Size 10

Thread - 6/0

Bead - 3/32" brass

Tag - Lazer Dub 

Body - three strands rubber legs, twisted and wrapped

Head - Ice Dub
Hackle - India Hen soft hackle

I wanted both to be lightly weighted, essentially just enough to break the surface and slowly sink the fly.  I added the 6 wraps of .020 on the larger bug to help sink the sparse deer hair collar.  Although they are both tied on size 10 hooks, the different hook styles produce very different sized flies.  The 280 is a 2XL "hopper" hook, the 135 a short shank "scud" style hook.  If the weather cooperates, I might try these out this weekend.  If the weather doesn't cooperate, I'll have to wait for a thaw!