"White Rabbit"
Hook: 2220 Daiichi size 6
Thread: 6/0 orange uni-thread
Tail: 1/4 inch white zonker
Body: White ultra-chenille
Hackle: silver hackle flash
Collar: mallard flank natural
Head: Lt. Olive ice dub

Great Bug for all gamefishes. Tie in any color combo you find effective. Rabbit tail gives tantalizing motion fish can't resist. Try this pattern in larger sizes 2-4 for swinging and you will be pleasantly surprised. Other great color combos are white/chart, olive/orange, black/chart, black/purple, purple/orange, purple/silver.

Lay down thread base

Tie in rabbit above hook shank

Tie in hackle flash and then ultra-chenille.

Wrap chenille forward leaving about 1/4 inch to hook eye.

Wrap hackle flash forward.

Tie off hackle flash.

Tie in mallard flank at tip and palmer forward.

Tie off mallard flank.

Medium clump olive ice dub over eye of hook and tie down with three wraps of thread.

Pull back remainder of ice dub, tie down, whip finish and done.

Blue ice dub is sweet as well.

Good luck.

"Goblin"

Hook: Daiichi 2220 sz 2-4
Tail: Wooly Bugger Marabou Olive, black crystal flash
Body: Olive Polar Chenille
Throat: Orange Finn Ra coon
Collar: Mallard Flank Natural
Rubber Legs Olive
Mirage Flashabou Opal/Copper Blend

Tie in Marabou Tail with 3-5 strands Crystal flash on each side.
Tie In Polar Chenille.(sorry but lost a couple photos)

Wrap polar chenille forward leaving roughly 1/4 inch of space to hook eye.

Tie in small clump of orange Finn raccoon for throat to give contrast.

Tie In Mallard flank at tip, palmer forward.

Tie off mallard flank.

Tie in 4 rubber legs, two legs each side about 45 degrees off center each side top of hook.

Tie in at center on top of hook Med size clump, about 8-14 strands flashabou.

Fold back flashabou laying forward and tie off. Starting to look good.

One small to med size clump olive sculpin wool tied in at on far side of hook again about 45 degrees off center.

Tie in second clump on near side 45 degrees off center.

Pull back sculpin wool evenly around hook eye and tie off and whip finish.

Yes it's supposed to look like this. Using sharp scissors and using hook eye as a guide trim sculpin wool to triangle tapered head. Take small cuts as it is easy to cut more but hard to put back on.

What finished head should look like.

Tell me they aren't gonna destroy that. I call it the Goblin because it's both a sculpin and Goby imitation which makes it doubly effective. Steelhead, brown trout, and smallmouth go crazy over this one. Good luck and i hope no one is swinging this one ahead of you.

Estaz Egg
Hook: Daiichi 2571 sz 6
Thread: uni thread 8/0 orange
Body: Medium Estaz
Bead(optional): 5/32 gold

Bead is on hook and hook is in vise. Tie in Estaz above hook point and wrap thread forward to bead.

Wrap estaz forward to bead and tie off.

Whip finish and done. Fish catchers don't come any easier to tie than this. Proven colors are Peach, Chartreuse, Pink, Orange. This is a favorite guide fly because you can crank them out in record time and they catch fish, what else is there to say.

"Blue Bait"
Hook: Daichi 2220 sz4-10
Bead: 5/32 gold or med cone
Thread: Uni thread 6/0 white
Tail: Grizzly Marabou
Body: Blue Estaz
Hackle: Grizzly

This is simply another wooly bugger variation tied in a very effective color scheme. Steelhead seem to pounce on this pattern any time of year in any water condition but excels in slightly stained water combined with a sunny day. For darker days try black, Olive, or Purple.

Place bead on hook, lay down thread base and tie in tail. Tail length should be as long as hook shank.
Tie in Grizzly hackle at the tip.

Tie in estaz.

Wrap estaz forward, Tie off, followed by hackle.

Done deal. Don't be afraid to try in any combination that works for you. The key is the grizzly hackle tail and grizzly hackle which give this fly nice contrast to catch the fishes eye. I'm a big fan of olive, and purple estaz bodies as well.

"Invasive Species"
Hook: Daiichi 2220 sz 6
Thread: Uni-thread 6/0 orange
Tail: Grizzly Marabou
Body: Medium Olive Chenille, Chartreuse Hackle flash
Collar: Mallard Flank Natural
Head: Pink Ice Dub

Lay down thread base and tie in Marabou tail(Usually 2-3 feathers)

Tie in hackle flash then Chenille.

Wrap Chenille forward leaving about 1/4 inch of space to eye.

Wrap in Hackle flash and tie off behind chenille.

Tie in mallard flank, palmer forward

Tie off mallard

Small clump of ice dub, slide over hook eye so half in front of hook eye and half behind. Two wraps to tie in place, slide ice dub in front of hook eye back behind eye.

Tie off ice dub. whip finish and your done.

This fly has proven very effective the last few years for steelhead whether swung or dead drifted. Other deadly color combos include silver/chart, black/chart purple/pink.
Good luck and make sure you give this one a try.

Rubber Leg Crystal Zonker

Hook: Daiichi 2220 Sz 4
Eyes: Painted Dumbell Eyes
Thread: Black 3/0
Body: Olive Estaz
Tail/Wing: Chartreuse Zonker
Legs: Chartreuse Crazy Legs

Lay thread base and attach dumbbell eyes on top of hook shank. Secure dumbbell eyes with numerous diagonal cross wraps in both directions. Further secure dumbbell eyes with several figure-8 wraps.

Wrap thread back on shank to point above barb and tie in 5 inch piece of estaz.

Advance thread to 1/3 point on hook shank. Wrap estaz up hook shank to same point as thread. Secure estaz at this point on hook shank with 2-3 wraps of thread. Tie in 4 crazy legs on each side of hook shank just behind dumbbell eyes. Advance thread in front of dumbbell eyes.

Wrap estaz one time behind crazy legs and one time in front of legs behind the dumbbell eyes.

Wrap estaz one time diagonally around dumbbell eyes and pull estaz over the top of the hook shank near eye of the hook.

Secure estaz on top of hook just in front of dumbbell eyes.

Invert fly in vice jaws. Peirce zonker strip with point of hook with rabbit fur facing up. Pull zonker strip tight against estaz body. Pull zonker strip over estaz body and secure immediately in front of dumbbell eyes. Trim excess zonker near eye of hook and build tapered thread head.

Whip finish or half-hitch thread to tie off and fly is complete.

The rubber leg crystal zonker fishes great for a variety of species. This time of year we fish them primarily for largemouth and smallmouth bass, but this fly has taken a number of large trout, white bass, pike, and even sheephead out on Lake Erie. Other color combinations include chartreuse and purple, white and olive, black on black, and orange and brown. The fly will swim hook point up and can be swung, stripped, or jigged.

Clouser Minnow

Hook: Daiichi 2220 sz 4-10
Thread: Red 140 UltraThread
Head: Red Dumbell Eyes
Body: Pearl Sparkle Braid
Top Wing: White Bucktail
Bottom Wing: Contrasting color Bucktail (shown with Chartreuse)

Lay thread base on hook. Wrap thread back to approximately the 2/3 point on the hook shank. Create small ball of thread at approximately the 1/3 point on the hook shank. The dumbell eyes will rest against this thread ball in the next step.

Attach dumbell eyes such that they sit against the front of the thread ball created in the previous step. Attach eyes by making numerous wraps of thread across dumbell eyes in both directions. Continue with figure-eight wraps until dumbell eyes are secure. Optional: add drop of head cement for extra security of dumbell eyes.

Tie in 3 inch piece of pearl sparkle braid. Wrap thread back to 2/3 point on shank.

Advance thread in front of dumbell eyes. Select small clump of white bucktail and attach to top of shank immediately in front of dumbell eyes with progressively tighter wraps of thread. Once secure, clip excess bucktail.

Tie down bucktail on top of shank immediately behind dumbell eyes with 3-4 tight wraps of thread.

With bucktail on top of shank, wrap sparkle braid forward, creating a tapered body. Secure sparkle braid immediately behind dumbell eyes with several tight wraps of thread. Trim excess sparkle braid.

The remaining steps can be easier to tie with the hook in the vice point up, however this is personal preference and may be tied either hook up or hook down. Tie in a small clump of pearl krystal flash in front of dumbell eyes on side of shank opposite from white bucktail and trim excess.

Tie in small clump of chartreuse bucktail immediately in front of dumbell eyes on side of shank opposite from white bucktail. Secure with increasingly tight wraps of thread. Trim excess bucktail.

Wrap thread numerous times to cover any exposed bucktail tips. Build smoothly tapered thread head. Whip finish or half-hitch to tie off.

Apply head cement to thread head and fly is ready to go fishing!

This is one of our favorite flies for smallmouth bass in any of our local Lake Erie tribs. The lead dumbell eyes give the fly a nice jigging action that fish cannot seem to resist. The fly rides hook point up to minimize snagging on river bottom. Works great in a variety of colors, favorites include white and chartreuse, white and olive, white and blue, yellow and chartreuse, and yellow and brown. Strip it, drift it, or swing it, this fly is a classic smallmouth producer.