An Alaskan flycaster wouldn't be caught dead without an arsenal of imitation egg patterns in his or her vest. And with little doubt that collection will include a significant number of variations, sizes, and colors to meet a wide variety of conditions in the field. But despite the numerous derivations of this pattern, there always seems to be room for another original. And this one will be a WINNER in anyone's book!
During the planning phase for an expedition to Yakutat's world famous Situk River, Brad encountered a problem with these soft rubber eggs being stripped from the hook during many earlier fish battles. A solution had to be found which would provide more durability and yet retain the realism of this pattern.
A brainstorming session began, via email dialog, between Brad and the fishing buddy who would come up from Utah and join him on the trip. Todd Petersen, a fly tyer and fisher himself, suggested that some sort of washer should be added which would secure the egg to the hook in a way that would prevent strip-offs.
A little more brainstorming and then the idea for using a common clothing sequin as the appropriate disk came to mind. The addition of this pearlescent, semi-translucent "washer" added a cool imitation of the oil globule on real eggs as well as made this fly extremely durable. With the many colors available for sequins, the tyer can add a wide variety of color touches to this egg pattern; perhaps even going where no tyer has gone before.
Between the real-life look and the realistic feel of these eggs, there is little doubt the advantage is in the hands of the flyfisherman. Trout, char, Dolly Varden, grayling, steelhead and whitefish will find the texture of this pattern so real they'll hang on for that extra split second, giving the angler an added edge. And the nice thing about LuhrJensen Egg Bumpers is they come in several realistic colors and sizes to create an assortment for any condition. A definite 'must have' pattern for the discerning angler.
TYING:
- With a sharp pair of fine point scissors, carefully trim a single egg from the artificial egg clusters.
- Tie an overhand knot tightly in one end of a short piece of 30 # monofilament pulling on both ends to make the knot firm.
- Slip a plastic washer (sequin) onto the monofilament sliding it against knot.
- Push the end of the mono (non knot end) through the egg, then pull the entire piece through until the plastic washer and knot rest on the egg.
- Apply a thread base to the hook shank halfway between the eye and the start of the bend.
- Lay the monofilament with the egg attached on top of the hook shank with the excess extending forward past the eye. Apply 3 - 4 firm wraps in front of the eye then pull on the loose end of the mono drawing the egg toward the shank. Pull until the egg rests atop the shank then tie down using several firm wraps between the eye and the egg.
- Whip finish and trim excess mono.
I started tying this pattern cutting a small round washer from a clear plastic fly hook box, then found that a sequin in a pearlescent finish worked perfectly and had an attractive sheen. You can purchase 3000 of these at Wal-mart in the sewing dept. for around $1.09.
Pattern by Brad Hanson
Photos by B. Hanson ©1999
