The Flash Taco – Fly Tying Friday

This pattern is a spin-off of the Original Fish Taco, with a few changes to the materials and color schemes. This pattern takes a little practice to get right, but after a few flies one often finds the right way of working the materials. The color possibilities here and absolutely endless! Have fun and tie something creative to entice some aggressive post-spawn Steelhead this Spring!

Lets Start with the Materials

  1. Senyo 25mm Articulated Shank
  2. Dubbing
  3. Saddle Hackle (Color of Choice)
  4. Flashabou (Color of choice)
  5. Schlappen (Color of Choice)
  6. Optional- Guinea Feather or Lady Amherst Center Tail Feather

Step 1:

Apply a generous thread base and tie in your intruder trailer wire. Here is a 5” section of Senyo Black Intruder Wire, available online at Orvis.com. Apply a dab of glue to the thread once you double back the wire for added security and to ensure the wire will never slip.

Step 2:

Tie in a dubbing ball at the rear of the shank. Brush lightly to spread the dubbing for added flair.

Step 3:

Tie in your saddle hackle of choice and prepare your dubbing body. Here, I matched the dubbing body to the rest of the color profile to keep a consistent bright pattern.

Step 4:

Build a solid body, winding the dubbing to roughly a ¼” behind the eye of the shank. Next, wrap your saddle hackle forward and create a small collar with an additional 2-3 wraps of hackle before tying off.

Step 5:

Select 12-15 strands of Flashabou and cut at roughly 7” in length. Wrap the Flashabou around the loose thread and place on the top of the Senyo shank. Gently spread the Flashabou fibers over the top half of the shank so they spread evenly. Turn the shank over and repeat the process.

Step 6:

Secure a good, solid Schlappen feather and strip the fluffy ends off. Tie in about half-way up the feather to eliminate the short fibers by the tip. Wrap 4-5 times up the shank to give the fly some shoulders and create awesome movement!

Step 7 (Optional):

Once the Schlappen is tied down and secure, either tie in a Guinea feather of choice or 6-8 fibers of Amherst Pheasant Tail. Create a clean head, whip finish and cement!
Again, this pattern has endless color combinations! The original pattern, the Fish Taco, calls for Ostrich to be used instead of Flashabou! Having both options in your box in a wide array of colors will surely grab any Steelhead’s attention this Winter and Spring! Once you get cranking this fly is relatively easy to tie, just takes some patience and a little practice working with the Flashabou! Happy Fly Tying Friday!

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