Zipper Fry

Invicta Flies - Zipper Fry

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Hook: Mustad 3665A, #6

Thread: Uni-Thread 6/0, olive

Body: Sparkle Braid, olive-pearl

Throat: white Arctic fox tail, red marabou

Wing: peacock herl, olive marabou

Sides: olive grizzly saddle hackles

Head: Loon's Hard Head, clear

Eyes: 2mm Prismatic stick-on, gold

Tying Instructions:

1) Cover the front half of the shank with the tying thread, ending at the halfway mark. Tie in the Sparkle Braid, wrapping forward over it for a smooth underbody to three or four hook-eye widths behind eye. Wrap the Sparkle Braid to the thread, tie off, clip the excess.

2) Bring the thread to the eye. Tie in a very sparse clump of Arctic fox tail (white) on the underside of the shank so the tips extend forward past the hook eye. Measure to ensure that once folded back, the tips do not quite reach the hook bend.

3) Tie in a small, uneven clump of red marabou in a similar fashion, making the length so that the tips extend to about the middle of the wrapped body.

4) Select six peacock herls with unbroken tips. Measure for length (about one and a half hook gaps beyond back of hook) and tie in on top of shank, tips pointing forward beyond hook eye.

5) On top of the peacock herl, tie in a clump of olive marabou the same length, again pointing forward.

6) Clip any excess materials and cover all exposed butts. On each side tie in one saddle hackle so they angle upwards slightly. Carefully whip finish the thread in this area, clip the thread, and cement the thread wraps.

7) Stroke all the forward pointing materials back and secure with copper wire in the area of the wrapped body. Pull the materials tight- the rounded head will form itself later. Some manipulation of the materials will be necessary to acheive the proper look: the marabou should lay between the saddles, the peacock herl centered on top of the marabou; the fox tail should remain on the underside of the shank, with the red marabou center beneath it (some of the marabou may not be long enough to lash down with the wire).

8) With your needle, apply a small "bead" of the clear Loon's Hard Head all the way around the shank just behind the eye. "Pull" the resin back, coating the materials from the hook eye to the beginning of the Sparkle braid. Add only enough if necessary to cover the materials in this area. In about 15 to 20 minutes, remove the wire and make sure the Hard Head is just dry enough to hold the materials in place. If this is not the case, reattach the wire. If all is well, you can pull up or down on the materials to shape the head (like a torpedo). Allow some time for this to dry...a couple hours is usually safe.

9) When the Hard Head has dried, it will have shrunk a little, soaking into the materials and constricting. This is fine- the nature of the Hard Head will magnifiy the colors of the underlying materials when the second coat is applied, making it look fuller. Apply 2mm eyes to each side.

10) Apply a good second coat over the eyes and the entire head area. Hand rotate the fly for a few minutes to prevent sagging, then set aside to dry.

NOTES: For variations, change the colors of the marabou, Sparkle Braid, and saddle hackle (keep this grizzly, however, for the "zipper" look!). Gold Sparkle Braid with brown marabou and brown grizzly saddle is also nice.


	Invicta Flies - Zipper Fry Fly Patterns ~ Helpful Information ~ Waters (photos) ~ Your Input ~ Home Hook: Mustad 3665A, #6 Thread: Uni-Thread 6/0, olive Body: Sparkle Braid, olive-pearl Throat: white Arctic fox tail, red marabou Wing: peacock herl, olive marabou Sides: olive grizzly saddle hackles Head: Loon's Hard Head, clear Eyes: 2mm Prismatic stick-on, gold Tying Instructions: 1) Cover the front half of the shank with the tying thread, ending at the halfway mark. Tie in the Sparkle Braid, wrapping forward over it for a smooth underbody to three or four hook-eye widths behind eye. Wrap the Sparkle Braid to the thread, tie off, clip the excess. 2) Bring the thread to the eye. Tie in a very sparse clump of Arctic fox tail (white) on the underside of the shank so the tips extend forward past the hook eye. Measure to ensure that once folded back, the tips do not quite reach the hook bend. 3) Tie in a small, uneven clump of red marabou in a similar fashion, making the length so that the tips extend to about the middle of the wrapped body. 4) Select six peacock herls with unbroken tips. Measure for length (about one and a half hook gaps beyond back of hook) and tie in on top of shank, tips pointing forward beyond hook eye. 5) On top of the peacock herl, tie in a clump of olive marabou the same length, again pointing forward. 6) Clip any excess materials and cover all exposed butts. On each side tie in one saddle hackle so they angle upwards slightly. Carefully whip finish the thread in this area, clip the thread, and cement the thread wraps. 7) Stroke all the forward pointing materials back and secure with copper wire in the area of the wrapped body. Pull the materials tight- the rounded head will form itself later. Some manipulation of the materials will be necessary to acheive the proper look: the marabou should lay between the saddles, the peacock herl centered on top of the marabou; the fox tail should remain on the underside of the shank, with the red marabou center beneath it (some of the marabou may not be long enough to lash down with the wire). 8) With your needle, apply a small "bead" of the clear Loon's Hard Head all the way around the shank just behind the eye. "Pull" the resin back, coating the materials from the hook eye to the beginning of the Sparkle braid. Add only enough if necessary to cover the materials in this area. In about 15 to 20 minutes, remove the wire and make sure the Hard Head is just dry enough to hold the materials in place. If this is not the case, reattach the wire. If all is well, you can pull up or down on the materials to shape the head (like a torpedo). Allow some time for this to dry...a couple hours is usually safe. 9) When the Hard Head has dried, it will have shrunk a little, soaking into the materials and constricting. This is fine- the nature of the Hard Head will magnifiy the colors of the underlying materials when the second coat is applied, making it look fuller. Apply 2mm eyes to each side. 10) Apply a good second coat over the eyes and the entire head area. Hand rotate the fly for a few minutes to prevent sagging, then set aside to dry. NOTES: For variations, change the colors of the marabou, Sparkle Braid, and saddle hackle (keep this grizzly, however, for the "zipper" look!). Gold Sparkle Braid with brown marabou and brown grizzly saddle is also nice.