brittfly

It is easy to start an argument with a fly tier. Just ask if the fly he/she is tying is a fly which imitates some living organism or is it a concoction which will antagonise the fish into attacking it..... then disagree with whatever they say!! Saltwater fly tiers are rarely under the delusion that they are exactly imititating something like a stonefly or caddis pupa. Most saltwater flies are tied to create an illusion of a baitfish, just enough flash, the right colours and plenty of saltwash, bubbles and movement.

Britt is a Westcountry name for small fry which can often be seen driving past piers, rock outcrops and beaches pursued by ravening shoals of mackerel, garfish and occasionally bass. Often the shoals are mistaken for sandeel which early season they can be, but later in the year the shoals are most likely to be Britt which are herring and pilchard fry. They are shorter and much dumpier than sandeel, this fly is a fly that works when these fry shoals are about.
When wet, the fly becomes much slimmer to about the right proportions. It needs to be fished on an intermediate or sinking line and moved at a moderate to fast pace. Needless to say, it also works on rainbow trout, particularly backend when they are chasing fry.


	Using a 2/0 wire hook to keep the fly weight to a minimum. Take some Legartun XX-Strong thread up the hook tying in tail material of your choice and give it a coat of Sally Hansen nail varnish to set the turns of thread in place.
	Tear off a bunch of Ice Wing and fold it over to make a bundle. Tie the bundle in very firmly. A half hitch or two to firm things up.
	Finger pressure to move the bundle back over the bend of the hook, use a few turn to hold it there. move the tread up to where you want to place the next bundle. Use another half hitch or a dab of varnish to set the position.
	Grab another bundle, tying it in place very firmly. finish with a half hitch or two.
	Finger pressure to smooth that bundle back toward the bend of the hook and position the tread for the next bundle.
	Tie the next bundle in place and finish the turns very firmly. At this point the fly will look awful. Worry not all will be revealed!!
	At this point put in place a whip finish, maybe just a couple of turns.
	Take a strong dubbing needle and begin to pick out the bundles. You will need to be quite firm with the needle to break out the loops of Ice Wing.
	Pick at the loops until you have every one of them broken.
	Take a Firm toothbrush and begin to brush the Ice Wing back over the hook.
	Tie in a backing material of your choice.
	Proceed to give the body and wing a hard brushing to move the materials into place.
	Lo and Behold the fly begins to emerge from the chaos.
	Depending on how long you want the fly to be. Use a pair of Thinning Scissors to taper the fly to the size and shape that you want.
	Nearly there.
	Use a pair of epoxy eyes with either a pearl or silver back and a black pupil. I load the back of the eye with a blob of epoxy resin ensuring that the resin from both eyes meet at the shank of the hook so that the epoxy penetrates right through the material.
	Some red applied from a felt tip marker gives the illusion of gill rakers showing. A drop of varnish on the head and the fly is done. Next step go fishing!!
	If you feel the need to embellish it is easy to tie in several different colours to add to the illusion. It does look more of a finished fly I must confess.
	Close up of the head showing the different colours tied in.
	Ready to "Rock and Roll".
	Lagartun XX-Strong thread.
	Hare Line Dubbing Ice Wing. I have a preference for the Pearl with a Green hue for body material.
	A multi coloured version tied as a Pike fly for a friend who has no salt in his veins!

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