How to Tie the Hoh Bo Spey

Producer: tightlinevideo

The Hoh Bo Spey was developed by Spey casting and steelhead legend Charles St. Pierre. It’s one of those flies that has everything you need and nothing you don’t. It also is extremely adaptable in that it can be tied in a wide range of color combinations, sizes and, in some cases, with material substitutions.

Here, we’re going to tie a pretty standard Hoh Bo Spey using a 25mm Waddington shank as its foundation. Begin by getting the shank firmly secured in the jaws of your tying vise. A rotary vise, although not essential, makes the tying process a bit easier.

For thread, UTC 140 Denier in black is a good choice but you could also go with red or fluorescent orange as on Mr. St. Pierre’s original pattern. Get the thread started on the shank behind the eye and, after taking a few wraps rearward, snip off the excess tag. Continue taking tight wraps down the shank to evenly bind the two legs together. Make sure the rear loop is closed down as well. End with your tying thread at the base of the rear loop.

You have many choices for attaching a hook to the shank. I really like Berkley FireLine in a smoke color so I’ll snip a 6” length free from the spool. Here I’m using 30-pound but you can go heavier or lighter if you prefer. This particular Hoh Bo Spey is intended for king salmon so I’m going to use a nice big #2 Partridge Intruder hook.

Fold the FireLine in half and insert the two ends through the hook eye, going from back to front. Loop the FireLine around the bend of the hook then pull it tight to form a simple, handshake loop connection. With the hook point up, measure the FireLine so there’s just enough room for the hook to be removed from the loop after tie-in, if necessary. Use tight wraps of tying thread to bind the FireLine to the top of the Waddington shank, then feed the ends down through the shank eye, bring them around to the underside of the shank and bind them down there. End with your tying thread at the base of the rear loop. These hooks are exceedingly sharp and it’s a good idea to decrease the odds of impaling yourself while tying by taking protective measures such as a pencil eraser.

Pink UV Ice Dub is used to create a bright little butt on the fly. Pull a fairly ample clump free from the packet and set it aside within easy reach. Pull down on your bobbin to create a 3” long dubbing loop with your tying thread. Insert the dubbing into the loop then get hold of your favorite dubbing whirl and hook it into the bottom of the loop. Give the whirl a good clockwise spin, as if you’re looking down on it, to spin up the dubbing into a fuzzy rope. A toothbrush works well for fluffing the Ice Dub out.

I like to use plunger-style hackle pliers to get hold of the thread beneath the dubbing, as it’s much easier to wrap with it than it is to wrap with the dubbing whirl. Start taking wraps with the dubbing to build up a nice, little sphere at the back end of the fly, then take wraps of tying thread to secure what’s left of the dubbing loop. You can then snip the excess off close.

A single Guinea hen feather that has been dyed pink is the next material to be tied in, the longer, the better. Strip the lower fuzzy fibers free from both sides of the stem then strip off the fibers from the left side of the feather. Get hold of the feather’s tip and preen down the remaining fibers to isolate it. Lay the tip against the near side of the hook and take tight wraps of tying thread to secure it. End with your tying thread a little ways in front of the dubbing ball.

Purple UV Ice Dub is used to create the body of the fly. Pull an ample clump free from the packet then use it to produce a 3-4” long noodle on your tying thread. Start taking touching wraps with the noodle to build up the body of the fly. In the end, it should look something like this.

Get hold of the Guinea Hen’s bare stem with hackle pliers and begin making open spiral wraps with the feather up the shank—3, maybe 4 turns is all you usually get. Anchor the bare stem to the shank and snip the excess off close. You can then take a few more wraps to smooth out the tie-down area.

Black strung or Spey marabou gets tied in next, a single feather is all you need. Strip off all the lower, misshapen or miscolored fibers then isolate the tip by pulling the remaining lower fibers down. Snip the tip off while maintaining your grip on the lower fibers. Secure that end of the feather to the shank with tight wraps of tying thread. Then lift the feather up by its stem and begin preening the fibers rearward. You can use the back edge of your tying scissors to fold them back if you’d like. Just a little bit of saliva also works wonders. Two or three turns of the feather is all you need. Don’t worry if things get a bit wonky anchoring the stem, just pull back any wayward fibers and pin them down with wraps of tying thread.

All sorts of thin shiny materials can be used to add some flash to the Hoh Bo Spey. Here I’m using Holographic Fuchsia Tinsel from Semperfli. Pull and snip just 3 full-length strands free from the hank. Lay the midpoint of the strands diagonally against the near side of the hook and take thread wraps to secure them. Pull the forward-pointing portion of the fibers back and bring them over to the far side of the fly, but still on top of the fly. You can then get everything bound down well with wraps of tying thread. Trim the flash off so it extends just a little ways past the hook bend.

Six Lady Amherst fibers that have been dyed pink really help to enliven the Hoh Bo Spey. The tips of the fibers should extend to about the hook bend. The fibers should be tied in at pretty even intervals around the shank. Although it’s a bit time-consuming, I like to tie them in individually to get the placement right. Once you’ve got all six secured, go in with your tying scissors and snip the excess butt ends off as close as possible. Take thread wraps to cover the butt ends and build up a nicely shaped head on the fly.

Pick up your whip finish tool and use it to do a 5 or 6 turn, back to front whip finish, seat the knot well and snip your tying thread free. A drop of head cement, here Sally Hansen Hard as Nails, applied to the thread wraps all the way around will ensure they don’t come unraveled and neaten up the fly too. You can now safely remove whatever protection you used on the hook. A small fan works well for fluffing out and evenly distributing the materials around the shank. It also gives you an idea of what the fly is going to look like when it’s swung underwater.

And that’s the attractive, relatively easy-to-tie, and easy-to-cast Hoh Bo Spey.