We start with The Fly Shop’s Float ‘n Fly Bass Jig, a stripped-down bucktail jig built for suspending under a cork when bass go lethargic. From there, Paul Procter walks through his Twinkle Wing Spinner, a precise spent-mayfly imitation that uses a flash-laced wing to stay visible on low evening light. Charlie Craven follows with the Boat Drake, a high-floating dry with a grizzly-and-brown palmered thorax built to handle long drifts through pocket water. We close with Daryl Eakins’ Reservoir Dog from Fly Fish Food — a tungsten-headed streamer slim enough to throw on a 4-weight without beating yourself up.
Mixed bag, but every one of them earns a slot in the box. Pick your favorite, queue up the video, and get tying.
Float ‘n Fly Bass Jig
Jig Head: 1/16 oz or 1/8 oz round head jig (size 4 or 6 hook)
Thread: 140 denier or 6/0 power thread, chartreuse or white
Wing/Body: Premium bucktail, white and chartreuse
Flash: Pearl Krystal Flash
Adhesive: UV resin or head cement
Twinkle Wing Spinner
Hook: Fulling Mill Ultimate Dry Fly, sizes 14–18
Thread: Semperfli Nano Silk 12/0, olive or rusty brown
Tail: Coq de Leon fibers
Abdomen: Stripped peacock quill, dyed rusty brown
Wing: Fulling Mill Twinkle Wing
Thorax: Fine beaver or synthetic dubbing, rusty brown to match the abdomen
Boat Drake
Hook: Tiemco 200R or TMC 2312, sizes 10–14
Thread: Brown or tan 6/0 or 140 denier
Tail: Cleaned and stacked moose body hair
Abdomen: Yellowish-tan dubbing (Superfine or beaver)
Rib: Brown thread or copper wire
Wing: Natural deer hair, stacked
Hackle: One grizzly and one brown
Thorax: Dubbing to match the abdomen
Reservoir Dog
Hook: Firehole 811, size 8 or 10
Bead: 3.5mm slotted tungsten
Thread: 70 denier UTC, tan or olive
Tail: Wooly Bugger marabou
Flash: Flashabou or Krystal Flash
Rib: UV Chewee Skin, clear or tinted
Body: Ice Dub or squirrel dubbing
Legs: Small Sili Legs
Collar: CDC feather or marabou in a dubbing loop
