Claret Bumble

FIREY BROWN · Claret Bumble

Hi All

the Claret Bumble,, this is probably another of the very famous Kingsmill Moore flies that every angler should have in their fly box,, it is without doubt one of the best flies ever invented for fishing on the Loughs of Western Ireland...i would not be anywhere without this fly ! ! it is probably best fished as a top or middle dropper and would be rarely off my cast

hook: kanazan B175 sizes 8 to 12
thread: Black UNI 8.0
rib: Oval Gold (fine or medium depending on hook size)
tail: Golden Pheasant Tippet
body: Claret dubbing
hackles: Black & Medium Claret (palmered together)
shoulder hackle: Blue Jay

Step 1
place the hook in the vice and make eight turns of thread

Step 2
take a Blue Jay feather as shown

Step 3
pull the fibers until they are straight and trim them
from the main stem

Step 4
place the fibers on the hook with the tips facing forward
and tie in

Step 5
tie in the oval gold rib

Step 6
stop at the bend and trim the waste

Step 7
tie in a small bunch of Golden Pheasant Tippet to form the
tail and trim the waste then return to the bend of the hook

Step 8
make a rope of Claret dubbing and begin to wind on in touching
turns to form the body

Step 9
stop a few millimeters behind the Blue Jay

Step 10
prepare one Black and one Medium Claret hackle of
similar proportion by stripping away the fluffy fibers

Step 11
place one on top of the other and tie in behind the Blue Jay
with two or three turns of thread and trim the waste

Step 12
wind BOTH hackles together (you may need to use hackle pliers)
until you reach the bend,,,you should aim for around 4/5 turns then
wind the rib back through the hackles to secure them and trim the waste

Step 13
trim off the waste hackles at the bend,,you should now have
something like this....it looks a little untidy at this stage but the next
step will sort everything out

Step 14
take all the fibers of Blue Jay between your index finger and thumb
and pull backwards ready to build a nice head of black thread

Step 15
the fly has now taken shape and all that remains is to whip finish and
Varnish,,you wouldn`t want all that good work to fall apart Laughing