Dave’s Wet Pinky
 

This fly is quite simple to tie and the #1 shad fly on the American River.  From personal experience it also works well on the Yuba River and other rivers with good visibility.  The uniqueness of this fly is what sets it apart; it starts out white and turns pink when it gets wet.

This fly was introduced to me back in the late 80’s on the American River by Dave Howard, an avid shad fisherman.  If you have been around the scene for a number of years you realize that shad fishermen are not the most forthcoming when it comes to stream side information but that was not the case with Dave.  He always had time to help fellow anglers with mastering their casting and mending skills.  Before he left the angler on their own, Dave would tie on one of his shad flies.  Most of the time, within a few casts, the angler would hook up and guess what, it would be on Dave’s Wet Pinky. 

            Dressing

            Hook                           8 or 6 1197 n or g

            Thread                         Florescent Hot Orange Flat Waxed Nylon

            Tail                               White Marabou (original pattern)

            Under Body                 Florescent Orange Flat Waxed Nylon

            Body                            Fine or Medium White Chenille

            Rib                               Copper Wire (original pattern)

            Eyes                             Gold Barbell eyes – 1/8” and 3/16” respectively

        Note

        You can substitute various colors of Krystal Flash for the tail.

            Tying Instructions

            1.      Pinch down the barb on the hook.

            2.      Tie in the eyes slightly behind the hook eye.

            3.      Wrap the thread back to the bend of the hook.

            4.      Tie in a small amount of white marabou or 12 to 15 strands of Krystal flash.  Tie in           the copper wire and white chenille.

            5.      Wrap the tread up to the eyes.  Make sure you completely cover the hook shank with the thread.  To make a fuller body wrap
                     the shank with more thread.

            6.      Wrap the chenille to the eyes and tie off.

            7.      Counter warp the copper wire to the eyes and tie off.

            8.      Form the head of the fly with the thread.

It doesn’t get any simpler that this for tying an effective shad fly.