Tying Tutorial: The Jig Candy

Sometimes I have too many fly ideas rolling around in my head and I forget one for a while.  A few months ago, surfing YouTube at lunch, I came across the following version of the famous Surf Candy, tied by Matt Wirt: 

It wasn't the first time I had seen this video.  I had tied this pattern just like this a few years back for a saltwater trip and really liked this style of fly.  The thought crossed my mind several times that this fly, in smaller sizes, could be deadly on warmwater fish near me.  Flash forward to a few months back when I discovered Ripple Ice Fiber, and I thought the Ripple Ice could make one deadly Surf Candy.  Several weeks later, I remembered the fly at the vise and made a last-second change to the fly by utilizing my new favorite hook.  The DoIt Molds Wacky Jig hook had been producing really well for me this year, so it made sense to use it on this fly, as well.  The end result looked like this:

This fly is extremely simple and requires very few materials.  The tying process is not too difficult, either, and the fly has proven to be very durable.  The recipe is as follows:

Hook - DoIt Molds Wacky Jig hook (size 6)

Thread - mono

Belly - Ripple Ice Fiber

Weight/Rattle - 3mm glass rattle

Back - contrasting color of Ripple Ice Fiber

Coating - Loon UV (Thick or even Knot Sense)

Eyes - 4mm 3D eyes

Top Coating - Hard as Hull or Sally Hansen's Hard as Nails

Begin by starting your mono thread on the shank.  Avoid wraps on the jig bend at this point.  The mono thread is important because it will virtually disappear when coated with UV cure products.

Tie in a liberal clump of Ripple Ice Fiber by the butts to the top (which will be the belly side) of the hook.  Here, I use pearl Ripple Ice.  Stop your thread wraps at the 30* bend in the hook.  It takes a generous amount of material because you'll be covering the rattle with it.  The material should extend out over the hook eye several inches.

Next, the trickiest part, tie in the rattle.  I use plenty of tight thread wraps to secure the rattle, all along its length.  There's typically a "fat" end, and I make that to the rear of the fly.  Rattles will tend to want to roll a bit to one side, but anchoring it well with thread wraps all along its length will keep it in place.

Fold the white Ripple Ice back over the rattle and tie it in with a few wraps of thread.  Try to be sure the material is spread evenly over the rattle.  Sometimes it can want to end up mostly on one side if you're not careful.

Tie in a more sparse clump of a contrasting color of Ripple Ice (olive, here) by the butts, with the material extending out over the hook eye.  Advance your thread to just in front of the rattle on the jig bend of the hook.  Make a secure whip finish and cut your thread.

To secure the Ripple Ice over the back, instead of using thread, I use the UV Knot Sense.  Fold the material back, evenly disperse it around the hook point, and smear in some UV cure to each side.  I use as little as possible to coat the sides of the fly, one side at a time, and cure it with a UV torch.  You can then add UV cure wherever you need it to lightly coat the fly in a smooth plate of clear armor.

Next, add the eyes to each side.  I like to use Loon Thin to "tack" the eyes in place so they don't move for the final coating.

Now take several seconds to thoroughly cure the fly's UV coating with your UV torch.

Finally, trim the tail to the desired length.  I also like to angle the cut shallower to the belly to taper the tail a bit.  The final step is to coat the body in either Hard as Hull or Sally Hansen's Hard as Nails to really make this thing bullet-proof.  I put the finish on thick and use a drying wheel to evenly cure it.

This may seem like a lot of work for a simple fly, but it really does go fast.  UV cure products speed it up.  Adding that UV coating over the glass rattle and mono thread gives the fly a very translucent look, much like small baitfish.  This fly has fished really well for me this fall and will be a staple in my boxes for next year.  It's durable, has a great slow sink rate, and the fish really respond well to it.