Mike Decoteau's Fifth Element

Shank: 25mm black Senyo's Articulated Shank

Wire: Senyo's Standard Intruder Wire - Purple

Thread: 6/0 purple Uni-Thread

Weight (optional): Small Lead Eyes

Rear Dubbing Ball: UV Purple Ice Dub

Body: Flat Pearl Diamond Braid

Wing: White Fox Tail Hair

           Pink Mirage Flashabou

           Purple Arctic Fox Tail Hair

           Pink Angel Hair or Ice Wing

Collar: Shrimp Pink Laser Dub

           Golden Pheasant Tail Fibers

           Red Golden Pheasant Body Feather

Topping: Purple Haze Holographic Flash Fibers

Head: Black Stone Kaufmann SLF Blend

Cheeks: Jungle Cock (optional)

STEP 1: Tie onto the shank and secure the rear loop.

STEP 2: Cut a piece of wire approximately 3" long. Tie it in on either side of the shank allowing the tag ends to just pass the return eye. Lash down to the front of the rear loop, then fold the tag ends back underneath the shank and secure. Zap-A-Gap the connection point.

STEP 3: Tie in the lead weight on the underside of the shank as shown above. 

STEP 4: Dub a ball of UV Purple Ice Dub around the weight.

STEP 5: Tie in the Pearl Diamond Braid and take two or three wraps around the shank just to the end of the return eye. Tie it off and leave a 3/4" tag of the diamond braid sticking up. Separate the fibers with your scissors or bodkins as shown above.

STEP 6: Cut a bunch of white fox fur for the wing. Pull the smallest fibers from the bunch and discard. Pull the guard hairs out and stack on top of the bunch and tie the whole bunch in. Double over 6 strands of pink Mirage flashabou and tie in on top of the fox hair.

STEP 7: Cut a small bunch of purple fox tail hair. Remove the guard hairs from this bunch and discard. Tie in all the way around the shank as shown above. The butt ends should be sticking out beyond the eye.

STEP 8: Fold the butt ends back and tie ahead of them. Sculpt the butt ends around the wing  to eliminate the "chopped" look of the squarely cut ends. This will help create a little bulk in the head.

STEP 9: Fold and tie in a bunch of pink Angel Hair (or Ice Wing). 

STEP 10: Center tie clumps of Shrimp Pink Laser dub on the top and on the bottom of the shank. Advance the thread ahead of the clumps and make several wraps to hold the Laser Dub back.

STEP 11: Cut a number of long fibers from a golden pheasant tail and separate them into eight or nine parts consisting of two fibers a piece. Tie these in all the way around the shank. Double over four strands of Purple Haze Holographic Flash and tie in on top.

STEP 12: Tie in a red golden pheasant body feather by the tip and wrap around the shank creating a collar.

STEP 13: Center tie clumps of black stone Kaufmann SLF Blend at the head. Advance the thread ahead of the clumps and make several wraps.

STEP 14: Tie in the jungle cock nails on either side of the fly. Before cutting the butt ends, fold them back and tie over them to secure them in place and to prevent the nails from pulling out. Zap-A-Gap or lacquer the head and attach your favorite hook.

Fifth Elements tied without jungle cock. Large bead chain eyes are tied in front just behind the SLF Blend in place of the lead eyes in back.

A few different color combinations.

The prize…

If you have questions about this fly that were not addressed in the tutorial or are interested in ordering, please feel free to contact me at mdecoteau@gmail.com. More of my work can be viewed at:  https://www.facebook.com/redspotfly

Michael Decoteau

RedSpotFly

HMH Signature Tyer

Senyo's A.I. "Artificial Intelligence"

Fresh Lake Erie Steelhead caught on a silver/rainbow version of the A.I.

Shank: 25mm Black Senyo Steelhead Shank

Thread: Black 6/0

Eyes: Medium Silver Bead Chain

Wire: Black Senyo Intruder Wire

Hot Spot: Chartreuse Krystal Flash Chenille

Body: UV Silver Polar Chenille

Under wing #1: Natural Lady Amherst Tail feather

Under wing #2: Iceabou Silver Grey Ghost

Over wing #1: Rainbow and Clear Flashabou

Over wing #2: Silver Black Fleck Flashabou

Hackle: Natural Grizzly Schlappen

Collar: Natural Guinea

Eyes: Jungle Cock (optional)

Step #1: Place a 25mm Steelhead Shank from Flymen Fishing Company in your vise. Attach your thread and close both open loops with several wraps. Cut off a 6 inch piece of Black intruder wire and secure it to the shank with several thread wraps. Take the tag ends through the front loop and fold over the top of the shank. Again tie down securely with several thread wraps. Adding glue for strength is optional.

Step #2: Cut off a section of 4 attached bead chain eyes and secure them to the bottom of the shank where both wires from the front loop come together. Wind back to the rear of the shank and tie in a 1 inch piece of Chartreuse Krystal Flash Chenille. Make a couple wraps toward the front and secure with several thread wraps.

Step #3: Tie in a 3 inch piece of UV Silver Polar Chenille and palmer toward the rear of the bead chain and secure.

Step #4: Tie in about 12 strands of 2 inch long Natural Lady Amherst Tail Feather.

Step #5: Take 10 strands of Silver Grey Ghost Iceabou that is roughly 4 inches long, and center tie it on top of the Lady Amherst. Fold the Iceabou over the top and secure with several thread wraps.  

Step #6: Tie in 12- 15 strands each of both Clear and Rainbow Flashabou.

Step #7: Tie in 12 strands of Silver Black Fleck Flashabou over the top.

Step #8: Palmer a 5-7 inch long piece of Natural Grizzly Schlappen both behind and in front of the bead chain.

Step #9: Palmer a nice collar with Natural Guinea feather.

Final: Add a set of Jungle Cock Eyes. This is optional... Your A.I. pattern should finish out around 4 inches.

Happy tying and fishing everyone!!!

Mike Decoteau's Evil Twin Brother

With the cooler temperatures rolling in now at the end of September, it is difficult not to think of the fish that we love to chase at this time of year and the rivers that hold them. A number of  new materials that have been recently released, products developed through the collaborative efforts of Greg Senyo, Flymen Fishing Co., and Hareline Dubbin, have inspired me to spin up a few flies for fall. I have enjoyed mixing and matching the various wire colors with the shank colors. The Evil Twin Brother has been tied in chartreuse, orange, purple, and emerald.

Shank: 25mm black Senyo's Articulated Shank
Wire: Senyo's Standard Intruder Wire - gray
Thread: 6/0 white for the body, then 8/0 purple at the head
Dubbing: Steelie Blue Ice Dub
Body: Purple diamond braid
Rib: Blue Ultra Wire size BR
Body Hackle: Natural Guinea
Wing: Purple and black arctic fox
Sides: Lady Amherst center tail fibers dyed blue
Collar: Burnt Spey Hackle - black
Topping: Lady Amherst center tail fibers natural
Cheeks: Jungle Cock nails

STEP 1: Tie on and secure the rear portion of the shank.

STEP 2: Cut a 3" piece of the intruder wire and attach it on either side of the shank, forming a loop in the back that is equal to the overall length of the shank. Wrap forward until you reach the end of the return eye. Fold the tag ends of the wire backward underneath the body and tie them down. This will prevent the loop from coming loose when fighting a fish. Hit these wraps with a spot of Zap-A-Gap.

STEP 3: Dub a ball of Ice Dub at the rear of the shank, then tie in the Ultra Wire and the diamond braid.

STEP 4: Wrap the diamond braid forward 2-3 turns until you have covered about half of the exposed thread. Secure this with your thread, but do not cut off the tag end of the diamond braid at this point. Prepare the natural guinea feather and tie in by the tip at this point. Advance the thread forward.

STEP 5: Wrap the diamond braid forward two more wraps ahead of the tie in point of the guinea. Tie off and clip the tag end. Fold the guinea feather and wrap forward 3 turns. Secure with thread and clip the butt of the quill. Reverse wrap the Ultra Wire forward, working it through the guinea collar. Tie the wire off and snap off the tag end. Stroke the body hackle downward. Switch to the purple thread at this point.

STEP 6: Select a small clump of purple arctic fox tail hair (the longest you can find). Remove most of the guard hairs and all of the short fuzz from the base. Tie this in. Select a slightly longer clump of black fox tail hair and repeat. The wing should be about the same length or just slightly longer than the end of the hook (you can hold a hook up to the loop to determine length if need be).

STEP 7: On either side of the hook, tie in the blue lady amherst sections. These are comprised of three fibers a piece and should be tied in on the sides of the fly (not on top). If you are lucky enough to have a right and left center tail feather, clip sections from each feather and position the natural curve appropriately. If not, you can clip both sections from the same side of one feather and work one of the sections back and forth to change the curve of the fibers. The fibers are attached to one another similar to velcro, and can be reattached to one another if they begin to separate.

STEP 8: Tie in the burnt spey hackle by the tips, fold the hackle and wrap forward. Tie this off and trim the butt end of the quill.

STEP 9: Tie in the natural lady amherst tail fibers as a topping. These are two separate sections comprised of two fibers a piece.

STEP 10: Tie in the jungle cock cheeks on either side of the fly. Leave the butt ends of the nails long when tying in, then fold backward and tie over them. This will prevent them from pulling out when fishing. Whip finish, lacquer the head, attach a stinger hook of your choice, and go swing…

If you have questions about this fly that were not addressed in the tutorial or are interested in ordering, please feel free to contact me at mdecoteau@gmail.com. More of my work can be viewed at:  https://www.facebook.com/redspotfly

Mike Decoteau
RedSpotFly
HMH Signature Tier