Fly of the Month

Bob Ireton brings together his experience in fly fishing, aquatic entomology, and knowledge of fly tying techniques and materials, to design and tie durable and effective flies.


   Volume 3,  Issue 9                                                              September  2002

 MICKEY FINN STREAMER

Fly and Text by Bob Ireton
Photography by Bob Kimsey and Bob Ireton

Bucktails were at one time a separate category of flies. Now they seem to have evolved into a category of streamers. The 1932 Wm. Mills and Sons catalog had it simply listed as a red and yellow bucktail. In 1936, returning home from Canada after an extremely successful fishing trip as a direct result of this fly, Gregory Clark christened this same fly 'The Assassin'. A couple of days later, the fly would be renamed by Clark, and would since remain, the 'Mickey Finn Streamer'.

Tiers have freely substituted wing fibers other than bucktail to meet fishing conditions, or to take advantage of readily available materials. The technical aspects of the 'Bucktail' pattern remain the same, only the materials with which the fly is dressed are different.

MATERIALS

Hook - TMC 300, Orvis 1511, Daiichi 2340 Size 4-10

Thread - Black, 6/0

Rib - Fine oval silver tinsel

Body - Flat silver tinsel

Wing - Yellow, red, and yellow bucktail, from bottom to top

TYING STEPS

1 - Place the hook properly in vice. Pinch down barb, if desired. Lay on a good thread base from one hook eye space behind eye rearward to a point above hook barb. Half hitch. Tie in the oval ribbing material. Half hitch. Now bring the thread forward, and stop at the starting point. Half hitch.

Mickey 1.jpg (29893 bytes)
2 - Tie in the flat tinsel for the body. Half hitch.

Mickey 2.jpg (48226 bytes)
3 - Palmer the flat tinsel rearward to the end of the thread base, and back over itself, stopping one hook eye space behind eye of hook. Tie off , trim, and half hitch. Now palmer the oval tinsel forward over the body to form the ribbing. Tie off, trim, and half hitch. Mickey 3.jpg (34660 bytes)
4 - Cut a small clump of the yellow bucktail. Stack or align the tips of the hair, and tie in behind hook eye so length is approximately 1 1/2 times the hook shank. Trim butts, and add several more wraps of thread over trimmed portion of butts. Half hitch, and add some head cement to the thread to lock in the deer hair. Mickey 4.jpg (53557 bytes)
5 - Follow step 4 with a clump of red bucktail.

Mickey 5.jpg (74288 bytes)
6 - Now add the yellow top layer of bucktail as previous steps. Form a nice head, half hitch, and whip finish. Now cover the thread with a good covering of head cement.

Mickey 6.jpg (66414 bytes)

 

The Buckeye United Fly Fishers, Inc is a non-profit corporation organized under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code, incorporated in the State of Ohio for the preservation, conservation and wise use of our fishing waters and game fish; and to assist in the protection and improvement of our natural resources