Volume 7,  Issue 3                                                              March   2006

The James Wood Bucktail
Fly and Text by Joe Cornwall
Photography and Video Production by Jim Stuard

Harry Murray wrote about the James Wood Bucktail in his seminal work Fly Fishing For Smallmouth Bass.  In that book, Murray tells the story of the fly’s introduction to the world of fresh water fishing.  The James Wood was originally called the Perinchief Bonefish Fly, and was created to fool those gray ghosts of the tropical flats.  Murray had tied a supply of these for a trip to the Bahamas, a trip which was later cancelled.  With a box full of flies and no bonefish nearby, Murray tried the fly out on the Shenandoah’s smallmouth bass population.  Mr. Bronze approved. 

Later, Murray was teaching students in his fly fishing school how to tie this fly.  At that time, the freshwater adaptation had no name.  One of the students commented that the fly used the same colors as his high school; James Wood High.

The James Wood may not look like a small sunfish to you and I, but I am convinced that is what predators take it to be.  The JW is at its very best early in the summer when the bluegills are on their beds.  I like to fish this fly along the edges of spawning flats and tight up against weed beds.  Takes are typically very strong; they are anything but subtle!

The JW is a great fly for largemouth bass as well as the bronze river battlers.  What may come as a surprise is that the JW is also a great bluegill fly.  Small male bluegills, called sneakers, sometimes drift into spawning sites to surreptitiously fertilize the eggs of unprotected females.  Aggressive bull males will hit the JW with a vengeance!

Fish the James Wood on a floating line in two to five feet of water where the bottom is gravel covered by soft mud.  It should be allowed to sink slowly and worked in short, staccato six-inch strips, much like the stop-and-go motion of a small sunfish.  For best results, use a leader of eight to ten feet culminating with a 3X or 4X tippet.  Use a non-slip mono loop knot to allow the fly maximum motion.

The James Wood is a great fly to have in your arsenal.  Its not a common fly, in all my years I don’t think I’ve ever seen another angler use this pattern.  Easy to tie and with an ability to consistently produce good fish, I can’t imagine why that’s so.  Perhaps this article will help remedy that situation!

MATERIALS

Hook – Mustad Signature 3366 Bass Hook, sizes 4 to 8
Thread – Black 6/0 (140 denier)
Body – Medium yellow chenille.
Hackle – Fine, white bucktail

Head – Blue medium chenille
 

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TYING STEPS

1. Mount the hook in the vise and start your thread just behind the eye. Here I’m using a size 6 Mustad 3366.  You can use any standard wet fly hook. Wrap the thread back to a point just over the bard of the hook
2. Tie in yellow chenille for the body.
3. You want the body to end at the 2/3 point of the hook shank..
4. Wrap a neat chenille body and tie off the yellow chenille
5. Cut a bunch of fine white bucktail about ½ the thickness of a number 2 pencil.  Stack the hair to even the tips.
6. Tie the bucktail in a veil the surround 360 degrees of the fly.    The back of the bucktail should extend just past the bend of the hook.  You don’t want this fly heavily dressed!  Less is more!
7. Trim the butt ends of the bucktail and advance the thread to a point just behind the eye.  Tie in a length of blue chenille and wrap a thick blue head. The chenille head should be about twice the thickness of the yellow body.  You can use a larger size chenille, or use multiple layers as I’ve done in the accompanying photos.
8. Wrap a neat thread head, whip finish and cement. The fly is ready to fish! Till next time, tight lines and soft water…