The Bead Head Spey Bugger

Having wanted to play around with Spey flies for Salmon and Steelhead for some time now I was pleasantly surprised last Christmas when my wife made me a present of a variety of Spey Hackles. After delving through Kent Helvie's great book on Steelhead Flies and tying several of those I started looking for other uses for Spey Hackle. The first non-traditional uses I found were for Salt Water Flies. I have several Bendbacks, a Whistleducer and a number of other Salt Water Flies that I've tied up using Spey Hackle that I've been experimenting with. Then the thought came to me to try a variation on the good old wooly bugger using Spey Hackle and the result you see below.
Pattern:

Hook: Tiemco 5262 (2X Nymph) or equivalent, # 8-10
Bead: Appropriate size for hook in color desired
Thread: To match Estaz or Chenille
Palmering: Spey Hackle in color desired
Body: Estaz or Chenille in color desired

Tying Instructions:

1. Slip the bead over the hook and position the hook in the vise.
2. Start the thread behind the bead and wrap to the bend of the hook.
3. Grasp the Spey Hackle by the tip and stroke the individual barbules away from the tip and towards the butt of the feather. Tie in the tip of the hackle at the bend of the hook with the butt of the feather pointing away from the head.
4. Cut about a 2" piece of Estaz (Crystal Chenille) or regular Chenille and tie it in at the bend of the hook. Wrap the thread forward to just behind the bead.
5. Wrap the Estaz or Chenille forward to just behind the bead. Take a couple of turns of thread to secure and clip off the excess material.
6. Palmer the Spey Hackle forward to just behind the bead. Take a couple of turns of thread (or more) to secure and clip off excess material.
7. Whip finish just behind the bead.

Variations:

1. Use different color beads including glass beads in a variety of colors.
2. Use different colors of Spey Hackle
3. Use different kinds and colors of Estaz & Chenille

Fishing the Fly:

Fish this baby just like you would a regular Wooly Bugger.

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