MFF Archiveac11

White
by Tom Helgeson

White isn’t original. A strip of white rabbit fur is wrapped around the shank of the hook. Up front there’s a muddler head — a couple clumps of white deer hair spun behind the barbell weight, one in front. If you’re feeling fancy, you can tie in a couple translucent rubber legs in; mostly I don’t feel like being that fancy.

It started on the Big Horn River. Three of us had a guide. Quite frankly he wasn’t much of a guide. Kind of quiet and I don’t think he liked fishing much, just the paycheck. He took us here and there on the river and we caught fish, but in those days on that river most everyone did. Just before dark, we set the boat up on a sandbar.

“Throw a streamer out there,” the guide said, pointing. We tied on streamers and threw them “out there.” One of us caught a fish, but I don’t remember which one it was. What I do remember is watching the muddler I had tied late the night before the trip flutter and undulate in the water. Very fishy, I thought.

I tied more of those strip muddlers and took them to Alaska during late summer of the next year. I caught silvers (coho salmon) and char and thought it was a pretty good fly. Just recently I began fly fishing for steelhead on Kodiak Island’s Karluk River with a few good friends and a fine outfitter who lives in the town of Kodiak, Dan Busch.

On a trip with Dan two years ago I brought some of the white strip streamers along. Three or four days into the trip I tied one on and waded into the river to see if I could fool a steelhead. Dan asked what I was using before I was even using it.

“It’s white,” I said.

“I can see that,” he said. “What is it?’’

“Just some rabbit fur wrapped around and a muddler head.”

I tossed the streamer into the river and a steelhead of maybe 29 inches grabbed it.

“Hmmm, probably thought it was flesh from a salmon, like a Flesh Fly.”

The idea of explaining the success of the fly that easily bothered me.

“It White, that’s all,” I said to Dan and waded off.

To the top of the next column

Last summer I fished White for smallmouth on the St. Croix River near my home. They came crashing after it. The magic, if there is any, is in getting this particular streamer down to the fish fast. The barbell eyes do that.

And, then, it’s White.

Here’s how to tie it.

The White

Hook: TMC 3761 or equivalent. Hook needs to be strong and have a wide gap.
Thread: White, of course. Yellow is fine.
Weight: Orvis Deep Eyes, nickel, medium or large. White also can be tied without weight, for stripping on or near the surface.

Body: Rabbit strip, white, about 3” long, tapered from a front of approximately 1/8” to 1/4” at the end.

Wing: 4 or 5 strands of pearlescent Flashabou (that’s close to white).

Head: Deer hair, white.

Instructions:

Tie in the barbell weight behind the eye approximately 1/4” from the eye of the hook. Secure with head cement. Tie in rabbit strip approximately 1/4” from bend of hook. Wrap strip towards barbell weight, stopping 1/8” behind weight. Secure with several wraps of thread. Tie in Flashabou. Tie in clump of deer hair behind barbell, flair. Tie in clump of deer hair under hook and behind barbell, flair. Tie in another club on top; wrap thread forward of barbell. Tie in deer hair clump, spin and tie off. Trim deer hair to desired muddler shape.

Fish White across and down. Vary retrieve. If anyone asks what you’re using, say, “White” softly and move away. It’s really not a very sexy fly.