Sunday, November 25, 2012

Fly Tying: Magic Dragon Streamer

What's with the name?  The length of the fly and the flowing movement it makes in the water reminded me of the flying dragon in The Neverending Story.  Admittedly the dragon is a bit creepy, but sometimes names have a tendency to stick.  This has been an excellent pattern.  It was killer this past summer and fall.  Almost all of the large browns I picked up this past fall came on this pattern.  It is a variation of both the Provo River Hooker by Collin Carlson and the Circus Peanut by Kelly Galloup.  I usually tie it in olive to mimic a large sculpin. It's 5-6 inches long when finished.  I have had success with it in black but usually for night fishing.  For that I make keep the tail really short (probably 1/4" beyond the tail-hook's bend. For the night pattern I also use little to no weight. 

The Magic Dragon streamer



Ingredients:

Hooks
-Streamer hook 4x shank, Size 2 (Choose your favorite brand)
-Gamakatsu Octopus hook, Size 1 (02410)

Eye
-Ibalz (Size depends on conditions/depth you will be fishing)  The ones in the video are tied with 1/4"
   Any other dumbell eye, or a sculpin helmet would work too.

Head
-Wool (Olive) or Barred Rabbit Strip (Olive) or a sculpin helmet.

Body
-Maribou (Olive, Cream, Brown or Black)
-Barred Rabbit Strip (Olive)
-Dubbing (Brite Blend Red)
-Sili Legs (Barred Olive/Green)
-Cactus Chenille (Olive)
-Polar UV Chenille (Olive)
-Beads (Glass or Troutbeads) Any dark color works. Glass balances the weight a bit better.

Pectoral Fins
-Pheasant Rump (Olive/Green)

Misc
-Mono or Beadalon for the articulation connection (I use 20lb P-line CXX mono)

The How To:



A few resulting goods...