How to Tie a Jiggly Pat’s

Producer: Tim Flagler

To me the Jiggly Pat’s has got it all. To begin with, it’s pretty much a Pat’s Rubber Legs – only one of the most effective flies ever. Then, it’s tied on a jig hook. Also, it has an extended body – and that extended body is articulated, so it can move freely – both side to side and up and down. Kind of remarkable how much goodness can be packed into one pattern.

The foundation for the rear segment is a size 12 Lightning Strike NH7. The ring eye and the length of the shank are the most important parts here. After getting the hook firmly secured in the jaws of your tying vise, load a bobbin with a spool of black UTC 140 Denier thread. Dark brown also looks good. Get the thread started on the hook shank behind the eye and, after taking a few wraps rearward, snip off the excess tag. Then, return your thread to behind the eye.

Variegated medium-sized black and coffee chenille is used for both the rear and front body segments. A card-width-and-a-half is enough for each. Once you’ve cut a length free from the card, strip just a little bit of fluff from one end to expose the string core. Give your bobbin a counterclockwise spin, so the first wrap of tying thread will want to jump rearward and catch the string. Continue binding the chenille to the top of the hook shank, all the way back to the start of the bend. Then return your tying thread forward to the initial tie-in point.

Small, black round rubber legs are used for both the tails and legs of the fly. I like to cut the rubber legs to about 5” in length as a group, then strip off individual strands.

For the tails, fold a single strand in half and grip it, like so, to form a half-inch long loop. Place the loop on top of the hook shank and take thread wraps to secure it first behind the eye, then down the shank to the start of the hook bend. Separate the strands to either side of the hook then lift the front loop up and snip it off close. Pull the chenille up then forward, between the tails, and bind it to the top of the hook shank. Advance your tying thread back to the initial tie-in point and start taking touching wraps with the chenille up the shank. When you reach your thread, use it to anchor the chenille then snip the excess off close. Take a few more wraps of tying thread to make sure the chenille is bound down well and to create a small head behind the eye.

Reach for your whip finish tool and use it to do a 4 or 5 turn whip finish, then seat the knot well and snip or cut your tying thread free. Lift up the tails and snip them off so they’re both about a full hook in length. They should continue to splay out nicely. Although not essential, I like to trim both the top and the bottom of this segment to give it a more flattened profile – and maybe add a little side taper down to the tails as well. Get hold of your head cement or here, Sally Hansen Hard as Nails, and apply an ample drop to the thread wraps at the head of the fly. It’s a real good idea to use a fine-tipped bodkin to make sure the eye is completely clear of material, thread and adhesive. Otherwise, the segment won’t move freely. Store the assembly in a safe place while the adhesive dries.

A Lightning Strike JF2 jig hook in size 10 is used for the front portion of the fly. This hook pairs nicely with a 5/32” black nickel slotted tungsten bead. Insert the point of the hook into the small hole on one of the beads. Then work the bead around to behind the hook eye. Get the assembly firmly secured in the jaws of your tying vise.

Using the same thread as on the rear segment, get it started on the hook shank at the back edge of the bead. After taking a few rearward wraps, wrap back up to the bead and snip off the excess tag.

.02 round lead-free wire is used to add weight and to help stabilize the bead on the hooks. With the wire still in the spool, insert the bitter end into the slot on the back of the bead and push forward to anchor the bead behind the hook eye. Take 5 or 6 tight turns of tying thread to lock the wire in place then take 5 or 6 rearward wraps with the wire behind your tying thread. With the wraps complete, secure the wire to the top of the hook shank with wraps of tying thread, as you wiggle the wire up and down to break it off. Wrap back over top of the wire wraps to further secure them and end with your tying thread at the back edge of the wire.

8 pound test Maxima Chameleon leader material is a good choice for connecting the fly’s two segments. Here, I’ve cut a 6” length free from the spool, then cut it in half. You need less than a 3” segment for the connection. Lay one end of the mono against the near side of the hook and, after a few thread wraps, pull it rearward so it abuts the wire wraps. Then, take tight wraps of tying thread to firmly bind the mono to the near side of the hook shank.

Get hold of the now dry rear segment you tied earlier and use a small pair of wire cutters to snip off everything below the end of the shank. Be careful when doing this, as that snipped-off piece of hook is very likely to become a dangerous projectile.

Locate the hook eye end and insert the monofilament tail of the front segment through the eye. Fold the line over and begin anchoring it to the top of the hook shank with thread wraps. Gently pull on the line to close the loop down. You want the loop to be fairly small but not so small as to restrict the movement of the rear portion of the fly. Once you’re happy with the loop size, take firm thread wraps to further anchor the mono to the shank. Snip the excess off even with the back edge of the wire wraps. Take nice tight thread wraps over top of everything to produce a relatively smooth and secure underbody on the fly. An ample amount of super glue, or here Fly Tyers Z-ment, applied to these wraps and allowed to sink in, followed by thread wraps over top, will absolutely ensure that nothing can come unraveled or pull free.

Snip off another card-width-and-a-half segment of chenille. And, as before, remove just a small amount of fluff from one end. Anchor that end behind the bead and bind the chenille to the top of the hook shank, all the way back to the base of the mono loop. Then wrap your thread forward to about the midpoint of the hook shank. Take touching wraps with the chenille forward until you reach your tying thread. Use the thread to firmly anchor the chenille. Continue taking thread wraps between the chenille and the back edge of the bead to create a relatively smooth area for tying down more rubber leg material.

As before, strip a single strand free and fold it in half. But here locate the midpoint of the doubled over strands. Place this midpoint against the near side of the hook, at the back edge of the bead, and take 3 or 4 rearward turns of tying thread to lightly secure it. This will allow you to pull one of the strands over to the far side of the hook shank and leave one against the near side.

Hackle pliers make wrapping the relatively short remaining length of chenille much easier. Take wraps with the chenille to fill in the entire area behind the bead then use wraps of tying thread to secure it. With the chenille locked down well, snip the excess off close. Take a few more wraps behind the bead then pull the rubber loop back and take a few wraps in front of it. With the loop still pulled back, pick up your whip finish tool and use it to do a 5 or 6 turn whip finish in back of the bead, then snip or cut your tying thread free. Pull the loop forward and trim the rearward-pointing rubber leg strands off even with the back end of the rear segment. Snip the loop and trim the resultant legs off so they’re a bit shorter than the rear legs.

On this portion of the fly, I like to trim the chenille on just on the underside of the hook shank to flatten the profile and stop it from blocking the hook gap. A drop of head cement applied to the thread wraps behind the bead will ensure they don’t come unraveled.

And that’s the Jiggly Pat’s – with a rear segment that’s free to move in all directions. Underwater, this movement along with that of the rubber legs makes the fly look especially enticing.