 FLY
OF THE MONTH
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Ice
Pupa
By Tom Popernack
My
name is Tom Popernack, and I would like to submit
a fly pattern for
consideration into your "Fly of the Month".
This is a caddis pupa pattern
that has been developing over the last three years, and has become quite
effective for me. It is very simple to tie, and can be adapted to almost
every color and size of caddis. This pattern has accounted for trout, Great
Lakes steelhead and salmon, as well as bass and panfish in both lakes and rivers.
The Ice Dub produces a very interesting "halo effect" and it does
an excellent job of attracting the fishes' attention. This pupa pattern has
out fished my other patterns by ten-fold since I've started using the Ice Dub,
and I'm sure it will be
effective for others as well.
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Materials List: |
Hooks: |
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Weight: |
Optional |
Thread: |
Black
or Dark Brown Uni-Thread, 8/0 |
Body: |
Ice
Dub, color to match naturals |
Ribbing: |
Ultra
Wire, Brassie for sizes 8-16,
Small for sizes 18-24 |
Legs: |
Natural
or Bleached
Hungarian Partridge Fibers |
Collar: |
Ice
Dub, color to match natural |
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Tying
instructions: |
Step
1:
If
you are weighting this pattern, choose a weight
wire equal to the
hook wire size. Lay the weight base, allowing for 1 1/2 hook eye distance at
the front, and wrap back to about the hook barb at the rear. Attach the
ribbing wire so it lays along the top of the hook shank. Build up the thread
trapping the weight to produce a smooth, tapering underbody.
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Photo
and fly by Tom Popernack
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Step
2:
Apply
the Ice Dub for the body, making it fairly tight
on the
thread, and building a gradual taper. Build the
body so it produces a "shoulder" at
the front of the weight. Next wrap the ribbing wire, but this is important....DO
NOT COUNTER WRAP THE WIRE!!! You'll want the dubbing to work loose and fray
as you fish it. |
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Step
3:
Take
a dubbing teaser or pick and rough up the body, stroking
rearward on the abdomen. This produces the "halo
effect" and traps air in the fibers.
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Step
4:
Select
a well marked Hungarian Partridge feather, tie this in
by the
tip and wrap at least two times. The fibers should reach to the rear edge of
the body. Try to trap as many fibers on the bottom half of the body as possible.
On patterns smaller than 16, it will probably be easier to tie in a throat style
hackle, and spread the fibers as you tighten the thread. |
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Step
5:
Now
that your legs are in place, dub
a collar of Ice Dub to match the natural, and build a nicely tapered collar,
stroking the fibers of the dubbing rearward as you wrap. Whip finish and use
your dubbing teaser to rough up the collar a little, and your finished!!!! |
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Some
of my more effective color combinations have been: (Listed
as
Body/Collar) Olive/Peacock, Rusty Brown/ Black, Light Yellow/Cinnamon, and
Pearl/Rusty Brown.
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A
Kamloops rainbow I caught this past spring
on the Ice Pupa in the Lester River, in Duluth.
Tom
about himself:
I'm
41 years old and living in Duluth,
Minnesota. I've been fly fishing and tying since
I was 12. I grew up in Ohio, and my Dad started
me trout fishing in Pennsylvania, where he was raised.
I currently run a part time fly tying business with
my wife Lena, called Sable River Flyworks. My favorite
fish are trout, salmon and steelhead, bass and northerns.
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