 | Better Bendback |
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Bend back flies have always been one of my favorite type of fly to use for many different species that inhabit our coastal Florida waters. This pattern was inspired by the need for a durable, versatile and almost completely weedless baitfish imitation that is easy to tie with most types of synthetic fibers.
The fluorocarbon wrapping over the flash does two things. It protects the flash from damage and it adds just enough weight to the shank of the hook that the fly will sink slowly but will not float at the surface. The added weight will gently drag the fly down, right into the face of the fish.
One little trick I use is to wrap some thin lead wire onto the shank of the hook to give the fly even more weight. The flash is wrapped over the lead wire, then the fluorocarbon is wrapped last. This fly can be tied in any color combination and is most effective for Snook off the beaches and around dock lights. |
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Tying a Better Bendback
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1) Bend the hook slightly as shown using two pairs of pliers. Do not put too much of a deep bend into the hook as this will hamper the hook set. Just a slight bend is all that is needed with the way this fly is tied. |  |
2) Tie mono thread onto the hook shank. Be sure to stop winding the thread just at the bend in the shank that you made in step one. |  |
3) Tie in fluorocarbon and wind thread all the way to the hook bend. Be sure that the fluorocarbon runs straight and true to the back of the hook shank. Wind the thread all the way back to the hook eye. |  |
4) A better detailed picture of how step #3 should look just before you wind the thread all the way back to the hook eye. Notice that the Fluorocarbon is running straight along the back of the hook. |  |
5) Tie in six strands of flashabou at the head/eye of the hook. Wind the thread securely so the flash does not slip loose in the next step. |  |
6) Wind the flashabou down the hook shank as shown and then wrap it all the way back to where you originally tie it in at the eye of the hook. Wind a few times with thread then add cement to the entire area covered by the flash. Be sure cement is spread evenly and let dry for a minute. |  |
7) Now the delicate part. Wind the fluorocarbon tightly and evenly with no spaces in between the wraps all the way to just about the eye of the hook. It is very important that you take your time with this step. Once at the eye, take a pair of hemostats and clap them to the end of the fluorocarbon. Let the hemostats hang off the side of the bench. This will keep the fluorocarbon from unravelling in the next step. |  |
8) Secure the fluorocarbon at the point shown. Wrap the thread around and in a figure eight method, just like you are securing eyes onto the shank of a hook tying a Clouser Minnow. After this is done, apply Zap-A-Gap to the entire area, top, sides and bottom, covered by the fluorocarbon. Let cement penetrate and cure. Crack a beer and wait at least one minute before going on to the next step. |  |
9) Detail of where I park the tag end of the fluorocarbon mentioned in step 7. The waste catcher on my vice come in handy for this purpose. |  |
10) Carefully trim the tag/loose end of the fluorocarbon from the hook using a sharp razor blade. Be careful not to nick the thread with the blade and watch those fingers! |  |
11) Assemble your slinky fiber. The kind I like to use are the Steve Farrar Blends. It has Gliss-N-Glow already blended in the hank. This gives the fly a very life like apparence in the water and flashes in the light just like the real thing. I get the fiber from The Bears Den. |  |
12) Wind the thread all the way back on the hook shank as shown, about mid way down. Take a sparse clump of the white slinky fiber and tie it onto the shank directly in the middle of the clump. This is very important as tying the fibers in this method will make your fly indestructible. This method will be used throughout the rest of the fiber tying sequence of this fly. |  |
13) Fold back the white slinky fiber and wrap the thread a few times to secure. Be sure not to wrap the thread too far back. Wrap the thread to the front of the bundle you have just tied in. Now you are ready for the next bundle of fiber. This tying method will be very familiar to those that know how to tie EP Minnows. |  |
14) Wrap in grey slinky fiber in the same manner as in step 12. Be sure that the fiber is wrapped from the center of the bunch. |  |
15) Fold back grey fibers and wrap a few times with the thread as mentioned in step 13. Repeat step 14 and this step once more with a sparse clump of the grey slinky fiber. |  |
16) Tie in a sparse clump of the Steve Farrar blend "Wild Olive" slinky fiber at the center of the clump as shown. Wrap a few times with thread. |  |
17) Fold back and wrap the wild olive wing as shown. You will now notice that the fly has a full, broad profile, just like a real Sardine. Whip finish head and add a little Zap-A-Gap. Now to stick on the eyes. |  |
18) The eyes are 3.5mm dome stick on holographic. The glue is Super Glue Control Gel. I have found nothing better than the Control Gel to stick eyes onto flies with. One they are stuck on, it is almost impossible to knock the eyes off. |  |
19) Place small dollop of glue in the general location of the first clump of fiber you first tied in in step #13. Place the eye in the glue and gently press with the back end of a bodkin. Hold it there for 10 seconds, repeat on the opposite side. The eyes glued in this manner do two things. Lock all the threads good and secure and help maintain the broad profile of the fly. Once the glue is set, remove from the vice and trim the fibers, tapered just like you would an EP Minnow. Go to the beach and throw it at some Snook! |  |
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