Fly of the Month

WPLJ (White P_ & Lemon Juice) Fly
(with apologies to Frank Zappa)

Looking into my fly box recently, I realised there were no attractor streamers, so the search for a suitable pattern was on. The best candidate IMHO was the Mickey Finn, and thus I started tying.

Looking at the fly, I realised that there is not much movement in bucktail, so the next logical step was to substitute the deer hair with marabou. It looked pretty good, but I was still noy satisfied with the fly, more movement was required and it needed a bead head to get some depth. In the next sequence, sequins were added, to create some turbulence in front of the fly. Turbulence alone can be a fish attractor, so turbulence and movement must make a killer fly.



This was the result, and the next weekend when things were really slow at Lakenvlei, I hauled out the MMMF (modified marabou mickey finn) and proceeded to catch a good number of fish, when others were not doing well at all. The fly moves best on a steady retrieve, so the best method was a fast figure-of-eight retrieve.

What also worked (watch out, because here comes heresy) was just letting the fly follow the boat as the wind drifted it. Trawling! There, I said it. I trawled a fly because it works.
Sinking line, small drogue, and Bob's your enemy.

On the way home I ws thinking about making the same pattern in baitfish colours, as it is the time of year that there are fingerlings in the water. Hence the colour combination of white & yellow.
And the name? Its quite wierd, but I have to give credit to the Frank Zappa song that was playing while I was thinking about the fly, White P___ & Lemon Juice

The WPLJ

Step by step tying instructions are here

Book of the Month

Fly Tying Tip of the Month

The Tag Team What to do with those plastic T tags you get when you get new clothes..


For making parachute flies, tie them onto the hook as shown.
Build your fly normally, then use the plastic post to tie on the parachute.
It is sturdy and floats.


For flies with glass bead eyes, slip the beads onto the 'horns' of the T.
Melt the ends of the T with a lighter (carefully, and be ready to blow out a flame) till they form a ball, then stop. If the ball is big enough to stop the bead falling off, leave it as is. If a bit small, then flatten with your finger while it is still hot. In this case I coloured the flat plastic to match the bead.
You then have a useful handle, which you tie to the hook shank before securing the eyes with a figure-of-eight. Trim the handle off when finished.