Tying
a Bass Peacock Conehead
By Richard
(Lips) Carter
The Bass Peacock Conehead has
a very distant ancestor, a fly of US origin. A few years ago
in one of the US fly fishing magazines I subscribe to, I saw
a picture of a fly that could be said to be remotely like it,
it probably planted the seed that eventually grew into this fly.
As usual I always seem to make a change here and there depending
on what species I may intend to target or materials I might be
into at the time or had in my tying cabinet. At the time getting
any sized coneheads let alone the larger sizes in Australia was
near impossible. So an email to the BASSPRO order internet address
was in required for some large coneheads along with a range of
large bead heads and quantities of small, medium to larger lead
dumbbell eyes (painted, plated and plain) - again items either
too expensive or unavailable in Australia at the time.
Most are now available in good
fly fishing dedicated stores. The expense is still a little over
the top, depending on the store. Some are charging over 40 cents
for one set of plated dumbbell lead eyes, when the same thing
ordered from a US mail order store will cost less than half,
if that. Even with postage and exchange rates added on. Large
coneheads are not that cheap either.
I first tied this pattern for
Bass and Yellowbelly of Somerset Dam in south east Queensland.
It proved very effective around the ample timber structure in
the upper reaches of Somerset Dam. This area because my open
canadian canoe didn't like the wide spaces in the bottom parts
of the dam due to the canoe sitting very low in the water. Too
many waves and you would spend all your time bailing instead
of casting. In this fly the spun and trimmed deer hair head and
collar behind the metal conehead provides a slightly negative
buoyancy to the weighted conehead. The peacock herl body provides
a subtle and natural flash and shimmer. While the marabou adds
motion and the metal conehead provides a little jig type action
and a bit of flash too.
I dislike spinning deer hair
as all the trimmed hair sitting in my lap or rubbish bin seems
such a waste (plus it is not my best tying skill). Add to this
the need to stack and spin your hair in the opposite direction
to normal (front to back the way I tie it anyway), it is lucky
this flies produces good results or I wouldn't bother with it.
I use wide gape, stinger type
hooks with this pattern mainly due to the cavernous mouths of
our native species as they give better hook up rates than shallow
gape hooks. Either a Mustad Bass Bug Stinger hook or Gamakatsu
B10S (trout stinger hook). 
Image: Stinger vs Stinger.
Although both of the above are
called stinger patterns the size rating is vastly different with
a size 6 Gamakatsu stinger (lower hook and to the right of above
image) being half the size of a size 6 Mustad Bass Bug Stinger
(top hook in the above image). As for favourite sizes, sizes
6 and 4 Gamakatsu being my favourite size in the hooks for Australian
bass. While for the larger natives like Cod and Golden Perch
(Yellowbelly) I mainly use the Mustad hook as it is made of a
milder steel, sizes 6 - 2 (size 2 for the cod). I find the Gamakatsu
hooks in the larger sizes a little too brittle for our native
species, who can at times really bulldozer their way back to
the snags taking any hook to its breaking point (not to mention
rods, line, leader and tippets). The Gamakatsu hooks, with their
higher carbon grade steel, also don't like being bounced off
trees and rocks. Once I was getting take after take but no hook
ups. After a while the light finally came on and I check the
hook, it was busted off at the bend. Talk about idiot fishing.
The moral of the story, you can use the Gamakatsu hook's but
check those hook points often if you are like me and bounce your
flies of structure every now and then due to poor casting accuracy.
Again as with all my flies, all hooks are debarded for ease of
catch and release (myself and the fish).
The Bass Peacock Conehead has
proven itself on the big three southern freshwater natives -
Murray Cod, Yellowbelly and Australian Bass. In the salt, school
Mulloway around bridge pylons. Even had a few small but audacious
bream take the larger sized flies meant for the schoolies and
their parents. Though I haven't had the opportunity to cast this
particular fly to them, I am sure barramundi and other tropical
species would be enticed by this pattern tied on the appropriate
type and sized hook. A good source of large coneheads are PILOT
BP-S model pens, the pens still work once you remove the metal
cone off the tip. Or at least no one in my office has complained
yet. I also have a mate with a metalwork lathe who turns me up
a few large brass, aluminium or stainless steel coneheads for
the mulloway and Cod flies in return for a fishing trip or two.
It can be tied in a variety of
sizes, shapes, and material colours. I mainly use the all black
version but I also tie other colour variations to match successful
bass lure colourations. Like the Mann's 10+ in Hot pink and Tiger
lure colours (green back, yellow sides with black dots and orange
belly) successfully used in my lure casting past. This fly is
a pure attractor pattern though could be taken for a baitfish,
leech or yabbie depending on your retrieval style and colour
combinations.
Now to tying the fly.
Materials List
Thread : Black - size 'G' Gurebrod.
Hook : Mustad or Gamakatsu Stinger hooks.
Conehead : Colour and size to suit hook and desired weight.
Tail : Black marabou.
Body : Peacock herl.
Collar : Spun black deer hair.
Head : Trimmed spun black deer hair.
Tying Sequence
1) Slide your conehead onto your hook and place the hook in the
vice.
2) Lay down a bed of thread on the rear half on the hook, advancing
thread to hook bend.
3) Tie in your marabou for the tail. Proportion it to be three
quarters to equal that of the hook shaft length.
4) Tie in 5 - 8 peacock herls, twist into a rope.
5) Wrap the half of the remaining hook shank with this herl rope.
Tie off with thread and trim excess herl.
6) Take a clump of deer flank hairs and holding it against the
top of the hook shank. Wrap it loosely (but still firmly) several
times with your thread.
7) While gradually releasing the pressure of your fingers, steadily
and firmly pull the thread tight causing the deer hair to rotate
around the hook shank. As the thread tightens if will cause the
hollow deer hair to flare.
8) Push this flared hair forward and toward the conehead, forcing
the conehead against the hook eye. I use my large tweezers for
this task. Wrap the hook shank a couple of times with thread
and then force this against the flared hair to keep it in place.
9) Repeat steps 6 to 8 till hook shank full up to the peacock
herl body. Tying each new clump of hair behind the one just pushed
forward against the conehead. Ensure the last clump you tie on
has the hair tips curving upwards and towards the rear of the
fly (that is the cut hair butts towards the hook eye).
10) Tie off your thread behind the spun deer hair. Trim excess
thread, add a drop of head cement to thread tie off point.
11) Some use a safety razor for the next step but I just use
some very good scissors (tips only). Whatever you use, start
at the conehead and trim the spun deer hair to the width or just
slight larger, than the conehead. All except for the last clump
of hair from Step 9, for this area trim the bottom of the deer
hair collar completely and most of the sides. Leaving only 20
-25 deer hair tips curving upwards and towards the rear of the
fly. This will form our fly's collar/wing.
You could at this point add some
quality head cement (penetrates better than chea head cement
or nail polish) to the trimmed deer hair for a little more durability.
Too much can effect sink rate (increase it). Avoid super glue
as I once place a little too much on a dalberg diver I was making
and it started to give a little smoke as it dissolved the deer
hairs.
As for their use, around structure
and along the edges of horizontal logs or limbs the fly is better
than dynamite. A great night time fly as it pushes a lot of water
and provides a good silhouette from below. A varied retrieve
with stops and pauses is best. As always no hard and fast rules,
use a stripping method you are confident with.
Only a month or so ago in Lake
St Clair and casting to the area around a recently collapse bank
which dropped off into 30+ feet of water, the fly was taken after
one strip, this after waiting for it to sink to down to the depth
the sounder was saying the fish were holding. It was only a small
bass, but it was the only one caught that we knew of that day
(image in Photo gallery). I was glad I had my long forceps for
getting to fly out of its throat. You can always tell how much
a fish likes a fly by how deep it takes your fly in. A very encouraging
gauge for a fish's opinion of your tying skills - the only true
fly tying judge out there on the water.
Finished Patterns
Hot Pink BPC
Tiger Lure BPC
Long casts, tight lines and fast
fish
Richard (LIPS) Carter