Silicone Surf Candy - tying method

So what was the number one fly for me in the last few outings – the Silicone Surf Candy

A very simple fly to tie (and mould!)

tails tied on - 3 tail materials from top - Flash'n'Slinky, goat, bucktail
no silicone applied yet

I use several different tail materials but my favourite would be the white goat hair (middle on in image on the right).

But I used a variety of synthetics and naturals depending on what I have available

The greatest component of this fly is the silicone as it created a fly that doesn’t sink as fast as the conventional epoxy coated surf candy

I also feel it has a better feel in the predator's mouth as it crunches through the nail polish shell into the silicone underneath - just like s predator biting through a fish's scales into the softer flesh underneath of a real baitfish.

If you look back over the recent fishing report blogs and this fly has been THE FLY most times for trevally (Brassie, Giant, Fringe Finned, and Golden), Mackerel, and Queenfish. Plus plenty of reef species – jacks, stripies, snappers etc.

Like I said very, very simple to tie – with a bit of moulding of the silicone the factor that most might have trouble with but easy once you have a bit of practice.

I usually tie in batches of 20-40 to maximise my tying – tie on material to every hook before applying silicone to any individual fly. Once silicone on each fly and partly dried add eyes and gills, then nail polish

Recipe –

                   Hook:                                o'shaughnessy hooky

                   Thread:                              what ever type – I use white mostly

                   Tail:                                  bucktail, goat hair, Flash’n’slinky  or what ever

                   Under body:                       Holographic ribbon flash 

                   Over body:                         Clear Silicone                
                   Eyes:                                 Prism eyes black on sliver

                   Gills:                                 Red marker pen

                   Finish:                               Clear nail polish

Tying Method

• Step one lay down a bed of thread hook eye to hook bend
• At hook bend tie in tail material this about ¾ in length of the length of the hook shank when using a long shank hook, if using a short shank hook this tail material should be equal to hook length
• Tie in the ribbon of holographic material at hook bend
• Advance thread to hook eye
• Wrap hook shank with holographic ribbon, tie off behind hook eye
• Tie off thread

• Dip fingers into mixture of water and 20 or so drops of detergent. avoid over use of this mixture as it may stop the silicone sticking to the hook shank and holographic material
• Take a dollop of clear silicone and mould evenly around hook shank between hook eye and hook bend. 

Goat hair tail on left, Flash'n'Slinky tailed version on right - no gills yet

• Set aside an hour or two to dry – at least almost dry to touch
• Add on prism eyes
• Set aside till dry and semi hard
• Draw on gills with red permanent marker
• Allow this to dry for a few hours – as when applying nail polish it can run if brushes too much
• Give a couple of layers of nail polish to top and sides

That's it - Go fishing

Great fly, easy to tie – catches every thing!!!!

     So go tie 20 or 40 and get 'em into the water so things in salt water can eat them and make your flyline sing through the water!!!

You can vary the size depending on the hook size and length, while the thickness and shape depends on hook gap size and your artistic prowess

For larger versions you will need to build up body thickness with other materials like string, before wrapping with holographic ribbon. Then again apply a thin even layer of silicone over these materials. With black, green and blue and other coloured permanent marker pens you can be quite creative with your flies.

Enjoy – tie a few of them, then go SWOFFING!!!!

The Stig, 

Postscript: Am off to fish the harbour on Friday (tomorrow) with this fly - the fly will work great but I don't know how I will go as I am still sore from all the SWOFFING I have been doing over the last two weeks - my shoulders are tight, my back is sore, my wrist is aching from old sporting injury inflamed by too much casting, I have tennis elbow (a swelling of the tendon where is connects to the bone - I think?) - either from all the casting I have been doing or from the fencing I did four weeks ago - but probably both! Worse still, no matter who I tell this sad story of body soreness to, nobody seems to have sympathy for me - is it just because I am fly fishing too much lately??