ACADEMYTHE

Take a look at the latest fly-tying materials: www.veniard.com

The Overcoat

Hook: Kamasan B175, size 10 Eyes: Olive or red dumbbell eyes, white floss and Power Silk

Tail: Black over light-olive marabou Flash: Green mosaic Body: Olive micro cactus

Overcoat: Black micro cactus Head: Firefox peacock Lite-Brite

This early season lure combines many effective characteristics of highly successful patterns.

The weight of the chain-bead eyes and the long tail give it a sinuous movement that trout find hard to resist. The colour combination lends itself to most water conditions and its bulk moves a bit of water when pulled at speed – great for making trout take notice.

Fish it on a floating line with long, slow pulls for the best results.

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Wind the floss behind the eyes; lay them on top of the hook shank, and secure with floss using figure-ofeight thread wraps. Add superglue.

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Attach the olive marabou to the shank; take several strands of green mosaic and secure with equal strands on either side of the tail.

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Take a bunch of black marabou and secure onto the shank. It should be the same length as the olive.

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Snip off about 10 inches of the black micro cactus. Fold over twice so there are four strands and secure.

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Attach the olive cactus at the rear and wind on up the shank, stopping behind the eyes.

Pull the black cactus up and over the body and secure behind the eye with the floss. Trim any waste.

Whip finish and trim the floss. Now attach the Power Silk and form a dubbing rope with the Lite-Brite.

Wind over the eye again using figure-of-eight thread wraps. Tidy up the head and whip finish.

www.totalflyfisher.com

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