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FLY OF THE MONTH CONTEST
MARCH 2011

BEAD HEAD MARABOU WORM

MARTY BARTHOLOMEW

The marabou worm is a simple concept. This fly represents a technique that creates a certain action that trout recognize as a live, edible food source. There are two types of worms that trout feed on. One is the aquatic worm called an annelid; the other would be of the terrestrial type, basically an earth worm that gets washed into the stream. One can be a constant food source while the other is a sporadic food source. The trigger of these worms is the way they tumble in the water to make this happen the fly has to be weighted in a certain way. The head of the fly has to sink and the tail needs to float. The head sinks to the bottom where the current is very slow, while the tail rises up into the faster currents. This causes the fly to summersault as it drifts. It is very important to maintain a very good dead drift to produce this action.

Hook – Nymph 2x long, size #12-#16
Mustad #r72 or TMC # 5262
Thread – 8/0 or 6/0, color to match marabou.
BEAD– Metal bead, gold or black.
TAIL – marabou, orange, tan, gray, brown.red, brown, black.
TAIL FLOAT – 1/8 inch. Diameter foam disc.
Wapsi #pfp1001 white foam cylinders 1/8” and you can use a permanent marker to change the color.
BODY- Marabou, same as tail.
Use a better quality works best. Try plume marabou but good blood marabou will work also.

HOW TO TIE

1. Debarb the hook.  Put bead head on – Start thread behind bead head then take any dubbing material and put just a wrap or two on the shank behind the bead, Now push the dubbing into the gap you have between the bead and the hook shank or instead build a small dam of thread in front of the hook behind the hook eye- Whip-finish and clip thread. Then put some zap-a-gap on the thread dam and slip the bead foreword onto the dam and glue. Then retie thread behind the bead.
2. Lay a thread base on the shank of the hook to just before the hooks bend.
3. Now you need to make up the tail.  Its best to make up a dozen or so ahead of time in order to make things go faster. Cut a piece of 1/8 inch foam about 1/8 inch wide then use your larger diameter shaft bodkin and poke a hole all the way thru the center then select a marabou feather and strip off the cruddy stuff and leave about ¼ inch of bare shaft to put your float on. Now take your float disc off your bodkin and slip the marabou feather shaft into the disc’s hole and pull it thru about a hooks shank length. Now do 11 more tails before you go further.
4. Put some zap-a-gap on the thread base then tie in your marabou tail – The float disc should be just a little bit behind the hook bend.
5. Take another marabou feather and strip it like the other and tie in at the back of the body (Just in front of the hooks bend). Wrap marabou and the thread together to make a rope and wrap foreword to the bead
6. Tie off – whip finish – put a little head cement on the thread behind the bead.
7. Behind the float disc (about one hook shank length) put a drop of zap-a-gap on the marabou and then slip the float disc over it and you’re done.

Simple right?

If you tie this fly then fish it, please give me some feedback on how well it worked for you.  Or for any other questions, please contact me.

Now tie up a couple dozen and go fishin!

But save your best one for the March meeting.

CARL WUEBBEN    >)))))))(‘>