Tenkara Cast: Simple flies

One Response to Tenkara Cast: Simple flies

1. David says:

   September 14, 2015 at 19:16

   I haven’t read Morgan Lyle’s book. A couple of years back I discovered a description of the Hank O Hair fly in John Schullery’s book , Fly-Fishing Secrets of the Ancients. A couple of months ago I decided to tie one . Here is the description JS gave –

   “…About thirty years ago, a friend of mine from Utah showed me a local dry-fly pattern known as the Hank-O-Hair. It consisted entirely of a few deer hairs laid unevenly along a hook shank and lashed tight to the shank in the middle so that the hairs splayed out in all directions.”

   I tied it just as described, without before seeing any pictures of how others tied the fly. I wrapped the hook shank with brown thread, then lashed the deer hair in the middle, of the hook shank and in the middle of the deer hair, not making it look more like how an elk hair caddis is tied. But lashing down the hair completely in the middle. I have found it to be very effective fly, fish would often hit it as soon as it landed on the water. And it’s as easy to tie as an Ishigaki fly. Only two materials not including the hook.

   Later I found 3 online pdf files about how others tie the Hank O Hair. Wherein it looks more elk hair caddis like. The following link might be closer to what John Schullery had in mind since that is how others are tying it, over how I tied it. But I am completely happy with the results of how I tied mine. Here is how it was described in this 2002 recipe post.

   I like my version better, Lighter hair, tied in the middle of a hook shank wrapped with brown thread from hook eye to hook bend.
   Anyway I think it fits your theme of a simple fly. I’d post a picture of my version here but I don’t know how to.

   D

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