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
