Tying Tuesday: Pretty in Pink

Last weekend, I was fishing the Upper Connecticut River in Pittsburg, New Hampshire, with Bill Bernhardt of Points North Outfitters, and one of our top producing patterns was the Roza’s Pink Pheasant Tail. This got me thinking about other pink patterns, and—lo and behold!—several such patterns showed up on YouTube this week. We kick things off with a cool stonefly from Jorge G. Huertes of Universal Fly Fishing. It’s a sexy little pattern that will float well and be quite visible on the water. Next up is the aforementioned Roza’s Pink, created by Luboš Roza, a two time Youth Fly Fishing World Champion and World Champion. He’s also a Fulling Mill signature tier. I can attest to the pattern’s effectiveness, as I caught browns, rainbows, brookies, and landlocked salmon on it—all in the same day.

The Oops All Berries Leech from Avid Max is named for a flavor of Cap’n Crunch breakfast cereal, and it looks just as tasty. The hook-up orientation means you can fish it near the bottom without fear of snagging. Finally, anglers who fish the Northeast for stripers and tuna will want to tie up some Squid Kinky Muddlers by Michael Ozkaya of LIFliesMike. The way he ties the first part of the pattern directly onto 40-pound mono before he even puts a hook in the vise in ingenious.

Foam Stonefly
Hook: Standard dry-fly hook, sizes 8-12.
Thread: Olive, 6/0 or 140-denier.
Adhesive #1: Head cement.
Tails: Pink and black barred round-rubber legs.
Body: Tan foam, 1mm (rear edge colored with a red marker).
Head: Tan foam, 1mm.
Wing: Deer hair.
Legs: White and black barred round-rubber legs.
Adhesive #2: Head cement.
Sighter: Fluorescent pink Parapost Yarn.
Collar: Olive squirrel dubbing.

Roza’s Pink Pheasant Tail
Hook: Barbless jig hook (here a Fulling Mill 5045), sizes 12-20.
Bead: Pink tungsten slotted bead, size to match hook.
Adhesive #1: Superglue.
Thread: Fluorescent orange, 10/0.
Tail: Pheasant tail fibers.
Flask back: Opal Mirage Flashabou.
Rib: Red wire, small.
Body: Pheasant tail fibers.
Adhesive #2: Superglue.
Adhesive #3: UV resin.
Collar: Peacock black Ice Dub.

Oops All Berries
Hook: Barbless jig hook (here a Fulling Mill 5045), size 12.
Bead: Mettalic red tungsten offset bead (here an Umpqua Jig Bomb).
Thread: Black Nano Silk, 100-denier.
Tail: Purple pine-squirrel Zonker strip.
Flash: Purple Krystal Flash.
Body: Boysenberry Arizona Mega Seal.
Tools: Dubbing brush.

Squid Kinky Muddler
Tail base: 40-pound-test hard monofilament.
Thread #1: White flat waxed nylon, 210-denier.
Tentacle base: Pink Grande Estaz.
Tentacles #1: White Chinese saddle hackle, dotted with a black Sharpie.
Tentacles #2: Orange and tan saddle hackles.
Tentacles #3: White, tan, and pink marabou fibers.
Body transition: Pink Grande Estaz.
Adhesive #1: Superglue.
Eyes: Stick-on eyes, 1/2-inch.
Hook: Owner Aki, 6/0.
???: White, tan, and pink marabou fibers.
Belly White marabou fibers.
Adhesive #2: Superglue.
Body/head: A mixture of white, tan, and Slinky Fiber, and white, pink, tan, and olive Steve Farrar SF Blend.
Thread #2: Monofilament thread.
Adhesive #3: Superglue.
Spots: Black Sharpie.
Adhesive #4: Liquid Fusion glue.
Tool: Dubbing brush.