Shipman's Buzzer

Step by Step's

Step 1

Catch the thread onto the hookshank near the eye.

Step 2

Take a length of Antron and lay it onto the hookshank just in front of the eye. Run a few wraps of thread around the Antron to secure it in place.

Hold the Antron taught at a slight angle with your left hand and run the thread down the hookshank covering the antron as you go. At a position just before the hook point, catch in a length of medium pearl tinsel.

Step 4

Continue running the thread down to a position opposite the barb.

Step 5

Take a small bunch of seals fur, lay it onto the thread, then move the seals fur up and down the thread until its evenly spaced out. Once your happy with the seals fur, twist the rope of seals fur between the thumb and forth finger until a neat rope is created.

Step 6

Now wind the seals fur up the hookshank stopping about 5mm before the eye. If the body is too sparse then just run the seals fur back down and up the hookshank again.

Step 7

Wind the pearl tinsel in open turns up the hookshank, try to apply quite a bit of pressure to the tinsel when winding but not too much as the tinsel will turn from a pearl to blue colour. Tie off the tinsel at the eye under the antron breathers and trim waste.

Step 8

On this pattern I prefer to create a head just under the breathers which causes the breathers to sit up at an angle. I find this aids visibility of the fly in the water. Other people prefer the breathers to be flat and in-line horizontally with the tail, to do this just finish the fly covering over the breathers and whip finishing directly at the eye. Hold the antron at the tail end taught and trim the end with scissors, make sure you get all the fibres in one cut of the scissors, otherwise it could look un-even, repeat for the breathers at the front of the fly.

NB: For a more buggy effect, use a dubbing needle or piece of velcro to pick out some of the seals fur fibres. Be careful not to catch the pearl tinsel as it snaps very easily.