The
Silicone Hackle Prawn
By Richard
Carter
The Silicone Hackle Prawn is
a fly developed by myself during a computer contract in Whyalla,
South Australia - as you can see I concentrated really hard on
my computer work. This fly was developed after finding standard
epoxy and hot glue prawn patterns too heavy and hard. On the
other side of the equation I found hackle style prawn flies too
light and in my opinion not the right feel to the fish when they
clamp down on the fly increasing the chances of fly rejection.
Common estuary prawns are see through creatures, soft to touch
with a semi hard shell. A few blood vessels, prominent eyes,
feelers and internal organs as the main points of reference.
I wanted the new fly to have some of these features.
So the Silicone Hackle Prawn
pattern was developed by combining some properties of two other
flies - the Hackle prawn and The epoxy prawn. I dislike flies
a with high proportion of the materials being epoxy, as it can
greatly effect sink rates and doesn't feel like anything the
fish might usually feed on, unless rocks or bi-valve shellfish
are on the menu. Plus to get the shape right you have to do one
fly at time by hand until the shape is right and sets. Drying
machines are great for light coatings or small heads, but I haven't
yet found or made one that dries flies with large amounts of
epoxy in the shape desired. The Hackle Prawn - one of the Whisper
Fly series**, for permit and bones, though fine for what it was
designed for, did not meet the 'feel in the mouth' criteria of
my saltwater 'match the hatch' fly design ethics and theories.
I mainly use the long shank stainless
hook of Mustad for this pattern - 34011. As this forged hook
has the strength required at the times when large bream want
back to their structure and you have to put the brakes on hard.
You don't want a hook opening up when this happens. Most of the
species I target with this pattern, have a fair set of dentures
(mangrove jack, bream and snapper) or have heaps of muscle to
get back to their home (trevally and mulloway), so you want a
hook that will last the distance.
The main material of clear silicone
will give you a firm but soft body. It provides a neutral buoyancy
that helps the fly suspend under the surface, just like the natural
bait, without sinking like a rock as in the case of epoxy based
flies.
Since its initial testing and
tweaking period many species have been taken on the pattern.
The Silicone Hackle Prawn has proven itself on saltwater species
such as bonito, bream, mangrove jack, flathead, many trevally
species, whiting, Australian salmon, tailer, snapper and mulloway.
I have even caught garfish on a small floating version in a bread
berley trail. I am sure in large sizes it would tempt our northern
sportfish species like barramundi and threadfin salmon. Have
also tied some size 8 version for trout and a little larger for
native species who maybe focusing on shrimp around weed beds,
no luck yet but that won't stop me trying again.
It can be tied in a variety of
sizes and colours to match the local prawn sub-species. The materials
to make the fly are readily available: Clear Silicone can be
found at any hardware store, the eyes are flower stamens available
at good craft stores, everything else is common saltwater materials
readily available The Mustad hooks are hard to find at times
as hook styles and availability are not as good as in the US,
most of our Australian fly shops are still catching up and without
the volume of turnover US stores have, so just ask them to get
a box of the hooks in for you. Still most long shank hooks will
do the job at a pinch all depends on your target species.
Materials List
Thread : 6/0 to 3/0 white Uni-thread.
Hook : Mustad 34011 - sizes 2 & 4.
(I have tied this fly in sizes as large as 4/0 when targeting
the large snapper near Whyalla SA and in the Spencer Gulf, just
like a large 3 - 4 inch king prawn.)
Feelers : White bucktail.
Antennae : A few strands of pearl Krystalflash.
Eyes : Black flower stamens for dried or silk flower arrangements,
or black or dark green glass/plastic beads on mono stalks, even
burnt mono dipped in black paint will do the job.
Legs : 2 - 4 white cock hackles, though if you can afford
those long genetic saddle hackles, just one hackle will do the
job.
Body : Clear Silicone.
Carapace : A very light layer of five minute epoxy, or
4 or 5 layers of clear nail polish.
Tying Sequence
1) Bend hook to form
belly curve in shaft of hook.
2) Tie a bed of thread starting from hook bend to start of hook
eye.
3) Take a bunch of bucktail twice length of hook (15 -20 hairs),
tie in hair butts at hook eye.
4) Holding tips high and ensuring bucktail stays on tops of shaft
wrap bucktail with thread for full length of shaft. Take thread
back toward hook eye by about 10mm.
5) Tie in a few lengths of Pearl Krystalflash, trimming to 5
- 10mm longer than bucktail. Tie in eyes and splay outwards with
a few careful thread placements.
6) Tie in cock hackle at hook bend.
7) Then use hackle pliers to wrap hackle around hook shaft. Ensure
wraps very close to one another. As required add another hackle
till shaft is full.
8) Tie off thread.
9) Trim top and sides of palmered hackles, if desired trimmed
bottom at an angle from hook eye to hook point
10) The fly should look like this when looking along hook shaft
from hook eye.
11) Wetting fingers in a container of water and dishwashing liquid,
form a cone shaped lump of Silicone.
12) Press into top of hook shaft.
13) Ensure the silicone is pressed into the hook shank, thread
and trimmed cock hackle.
14) There should be a little excess at head, by pinching &
pulling this lump upwards and forwards from the hook bend you
should be able to form a tapering body with a spike at the head
of the fly.
15) Or just trim and shape as desired with wet scissors to the
desired shape.
16) As silicone begins to set (5 - 10 minutes or so), wet your
dubbing needle and form segments in body, 3 or 4 will do by pressing
the needle into body top and sides. You have to keep wetting
your needle with the water-dishwashing liquid mixture to stop
silicone sticking to needle.
17) After silicone has partly cured (0.5 - 1+ hour depending
on room temperature) mix a little five minute epoxy. Cover silicone
with a very thin coating of epoxy or apply several layers of
nail polish.
18) Allow 24 hours or more for silicone to set completely before
use.
After a few attempts this body
can be achieved quick easily. Don't worry about your poor attempts
the fish will still eat them too even if they don't look right
to you - save them for those rough structure areas like oyster
beds and barnacle encrusted rocks. The pattern has subtle motion
and all the key traits of the real thing. Right shape, right
size, right feel, dominant eyes and plenty of "eat me"
when stripped correctly.
Optional weed guard be added or tie fly with hook riding up but
in step 1 bend hook the opposite way and open hook gape. Also
add a strip of lead to the hook shank to encourage the hook point
to ride up.
Variations include but not limited to - Injecting air bubbles
into silicone to form sub-surface version. Add in a glass rattle
for a dirty water version. Another version is to tie on feelers,
eyes and flash then covering shank with chartreuse or pink LUMO
tubing or beads then tying rest of the pattern over this. Then
flashing finished fly with cheap camera flash for night work.
Lots of possibilities, lots of fun. I am particularly found of
the up riding hook and the grizzle hackle variations of the original.
Finished Patterns
Short shank version
Glass rattle version
Glow in the dark
version (LUMO tube also avail. in green)
Grizzle hackle
version
Egg sack version
Up riding hook
version (lead strip on hook shank)
Fishing Notes
The pattern can be fished on
intermediate, sink tip, floating or sinking lines. Regardless
the fly line you use, the fly must be in the fish's strike zone.
I cast it along the edges of weed beds and rock walls. Depending
on the species a little minced prawn to establish a berley trail
can entice the fish an aggressive mood into (which works extremely
well on bream).
Shock tippet can be used but
really depends on targeted species and terrain or structure you
are casting around but this is a cheap easy to make fly so losing
a few shouldn't break the bank. I normally do not use a shock
tippet, as if I hook up to fish, I am happy - just crush the
barbs of your hooks so the fly falls out readily when you get
broken off. Most times I fish just a straight 1- 2 metre four
kilo leader with a 17lb butt section a metre long. Retrieval
methods are a personal choice, but I use a short strip, pause,
short strip, pause method.
Enjoy the pattern, it has given
me the 'first of' a few species. When the prawns are running,
this is the fly I tie on, plus if the bream are not taking anything
else they will take these (if induced by a little minced prawn
at times).
** Fly Tyer 1997 Autumn Vol3Num3
P58 'Whisper Flies" by Leonard M Wright Jnr.
Copyright ©1999
Richard Carter
