Powder Coating

Heres a quick tip for powder coating bead chain eyes to the color you want.

Bloody Butcher

Bloody Butcher

Hook - Mustad 9672, #4-6

Tying Thread - Black Nymo - Size "A"

Tail - Scarlet & Yellow Hackle Fibers

Body - Peacock Herl

Hackle - Scarlet & Yellow Saddles, Palmered

Rib - Fine Gold Wire

Wing - Gray Squirrel

Head - Peacock or Ostrich Herl, Full

Tying Note

The scarlet and yellow body hackles should be "doubled" or "blended" together prior to tying in by the tips at the tail end of the fly, and then wound on as a single hackle, wet-fly style, over the peacock herl body.

The process of doubling, setting, or bending a hackle, as it is variously described, is quite easily accomplished by putting a hackle plier over an upright post and then catching the hackle tip or tips in the hackle plier jaws, which leaves both hands free. The butt end of the quill is held with the right hand and the hackle fibers are folded over from the butt to tip with the left hand.

                                                        Montana Trout Flies - George F. Grant

Bloody Butcher

Tail - Crimson red hackle barbs. 

Body - Dubbed with gray rabbit fur. 

Hackle - Yellow and crimson red mixed and tied palmer-style over the body. 

Wing - Gray squirrel tail tied over the body. 

The Bloody Butcher originated as a wet fly in England in 1838 and you might say that it has been butchered ever since. This is a steelhead version that has been in use for more than fifty years.

 Fish Flies: The Encyclopedia of the Fly Tier's Art - Terry Hellekson

Crazy Goof

Per the recipe in the book

Crazy Goof

Hook - Mustad 9671 size 6-8

Thread - Black - heavy size "c" - .008

Under body - Yellow chenille or wool

Over body - Natural deer body hair

Ribbing - Heavy black tying thread (crisscrossed)

Hackle - Grizzly - tied full but not dry fly style

(Size "c" thread is probably no longer available, so use whatever thread you like)

Tying note

Deer hair back and tail are an integral unit. Tie in the hair at forward body termination as for wing and then tie down to bend with open spirals of heavy black tying thread.

Take 3-4 turns of thread at tail to secure and cause the tail hair to flare. Return the thread to shoulder in criss-crossing pattern with previous winds. Give turns of thread at tail several coats of lacquer.

History (from the book)

Legend has it that this fly was the creation of an amateur fly tyer in the Bozeman, Montana area and this could well be for it is very popular on the Gallatin River.

Dan Bailey of Livingston, Montana was tying a similar fly as early as 1940, calling it the "Yellow-Bodied Grayback" and still carries it in his current catalog (remember this is in a book from 1972).

There are several similar patterns, such as the Horner Deer Hair, the Goofus Bug and the Humpy. Which is a variation of the other is a moot question, but the fact remains that they are all basically the same and all are excellent.

Most of the above-mentioned deer hair patterns are tied with upright hair wings and in comparatively small sizes as they are essentially dry flies. The "Crazy Goof" on the other hand, is one of the very best flies to use when big hoppers are being blown on the water and is probably at its best when it is used in a large size.

The name of the fly is not at all appropriate as the dressing is extremely sane. The coloration is moderate and the liberal use of deer hair makes it a good floater.

Thats it from the book.

Montana Trout Flies by George F. Grant has a copyright of 1972 so some of the tying threads called out in the book are probably no longer made or hard to acquire. I guess that if one looks hard enough you could find some spool of "nymo" thread.

The heaviest I tie with is 6/0 so that's what I used for the fly in the photo.

Happy Tying