Fly of the Month
November 2024
The Larry Fly
Created by one of our esteemed members, Larry Hummel, this fly is pure genius in its simplicity and astounding in its effectiveness. I was skeptical at first with the wild claims of their unique effectiveness, but it has become a proven fish catcher under a wide range of circumstances. Respecting Larry’s creative license and not publishing his pattern, it is time to let his secret out… He generously gives them away like candy as well as dispensing instructions on how to fish them. The Larry Fly is no longer a secret anyway.
Hook: TMC 100 #18
Bead: Copper or Gold 3/32” or 5/64”
Thread: 6/0 Danville Camel Brown (Color #47 if you can find it) or Olive
Tail: Pheasant Tail Fibers
Body: Tying Thread
Place Bead on the hook and secure hook in the vise.
Start thread behind the bead and wrap to the hook bend.
Tie in 5 or 6 pheasant tail fibers for the tail – about 1 ½ to 2X the hook length - and wrap butt ends down to behind the bead. Trim excess. (Yes, the tail is unreasonably long, but it works). Use the tying thread to build a smooth tapered body from the tail to the bead. Whip finish the thread and trim.
That’s it…
Very simple to tie and you can really churn out a bunch of them at a time. The secret is in the fishing…
Don’t over-think it. Use a long 7X tippet off the end of your tapered leader. Cast it out under as small of an indicator as you can see, and just let it hang out doing its thing. I don’t fish this with any other fly as a dropper or anything fancy. Just this fly at the end of a long tippet under a small indicator fished totally dead drift. Thank you for sharing, Larry!
Note: The flies pictured were tied by Mel Bagley. I believe he has wrapped Stretch Magic over the thread to make them more durable. That’s always an option, but I don’t mess with the original – unless Larry has modified his – and then I will do as Larry does.