Nuke Egg Fly

Posted by Jeanne Kraimer - March 13, 2012

Nuke Egg

The Nuke Egg is one of the first egg fly patterns to be considered “advanced” – that is, one that goes beyond the single dimension and solid-looking Glo Bug. The veil of egg yarn over the nucleus is what gives the Nuke Egg its translucent appearance and separates this fly from so many other egg patterns.

The color combinations are endless, but some favorites are: Chartreuse over Flame, or Flame over Cerise – both attractors with realistic combinations including: Egg over Sockeye, Pink Lady over Shrimp Pink, Apricot Supreme over Steelhead Orange, Salmon Egg over chartreuse or everyone’s favorite, spring or fall: Oregon Cheese over Steelhead Orange.

Wet Nuke Egg

You can choose to use a variety of materials for the nucleus including: dubbing, chenille, Braids, or McFly Foam. By mixing this material up, you can create unique patterns with just the right color or the little sparkle you have been looking for.

Depending on water conditions, whether you are imitating steelhead or salmon eggs and the stage of the egg itself (how long they have been in the water), play around with how sparse you tie this pattern to achieve the right size as well as color and translucency. Notice how natural this fly looks when wet.

This pattern design is responsible for bringing a lot of fish to the net through the years -be sure to have a nice selection of your own in your fly box.

Nuke Egg Fly Recipe

Hook :          TMC 105 #6-10, TMC 2457 #8-12 Gamakatsu C14S #8-12
Thread:         Uni 6/0  – Lt. Cahill or color to match veil
Nucleus:        Egg Yarn – Steelhead  Orange
Veil:             Egg Yarn – Apricot Supreme

Tying Instructions

Step 1. Put hook in Vise and wrap a thread base from eye back to just above hook point.

Step 2. Take a very small amount of yarn for the nucleus – aprox. the diameter of your whip
finisher handle. Lay parallel to the hook shank and tie down with a few wraps in the center.

Step 3. Hold both ends of nucleus upward and trim very close to the hook shank – aprox. 1/8”.

Step 4. Take 1 inch of veil yarn – the amount/thickness should be aprox.
4 times the amount that of what you used for the nucleus and tie in so
yarn extends forward. Be sure to evenly surround the hook shank with yarn.

Step 5. Trim yarn so it is aprox. the length of the hook shank from the tie in point.

Step 6. Carefully manipulate the veil material backwards – around the thread – evenly surrounding the nucleus.

Step 7. Wrap thread a few times between the veil and the hook eye to make
sure veil wants to stay backwards covering the nucleus and then whip finish.

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Sucker Spawn Egg Fly

Posted by Jeanne Kraimer - March 10, 2012

This fly represents a clump of eggs released from either a walleye or a sucker, where it gets its name. It is easy to tie and looks very realistic when wet. Do know that if you tie it in oranges and in larger sizes to imitate steelhead or salmon eggs, it will tend to be fairly heavy and can easily drag a bit.

The material for the sucker spawn varies; some tiers choose to use angora yarn, small amounts of egg yarn, Aunt Lydia’s Sparkle Yarn to name just a few. Find what looks good to you and have some of these flies in your box. I use Needleloft yarn available at craft shops.

Sucker Spawn Recipe

Hook:      TMC 105 #6-10, Gamakatsu C14S #8 -12, TMC 2457 #8-12
Thread:    Uni 6/0 – Lt. Cahill
Body:       Needleloft in both yellow and light yellow

Tying Instructions

Step 1.Insert hook into vise and wrap a thread base from the hook eye to above the hook barb.

Step 2. Take about 5” of each color thread and separate the two strands, using one of each color.

Step 3. Lay the yarn parallel along the hook shank and wrap back towards the bend in the hook.

Step 4. Take one strand of yarn and twist in your fingers stopping just before the
material double overs onto itself, then fold over, to make a loop and tie down.

Step 5. Repeat with both strands/colors and vary it up a little for a realistic look.
(Notice how the different colors are on both sides of the hook shank?)

Step 6. Whip finish.

A complete Sucker Spawn Egg Pattern

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McFly Foam Egg

Posted by Jeanne Kraimer - March 8, 2012

The typical material for tying Glo Bugs is Glo Bug Yarn or Egg Yarn and many, including myself have found tying nice, round looking egg flies is difficult when using this material. In the mid-1990’s a new material, McFly Foam yarn, hit the market and tying nice, round eggs has been easier ever since. It’s available in huge array of colors and anglers can mix them up or incorporate dots very easily for a custom combination.

An advantage to tying these flies is most of the material sits above the hook shank without impeding the hook gape allowing you to use a little smaller hook while keeping the egg the focal point hiding the hook.

The primary reason why McFly material works so well is its amount of elasticity. The texture, however, is very “clingy” so if you have dry hands, dead skin and/or rough edges on your fingers you are about to learn the meaning of frustration. Try using a pumice stone to smooth those fingertips and you’ll find it’s easier to handle this material – especially when tying a couple dozen McFly Foam eggs.

There is pretty much every color variation available in McFly Foam to match the egg pattern you desire. Try mixing a few similar colors to achieve a mottled, but realistic egg imitation to accommodate the classic primary color with a dot.

McFly Foam Egg Recipe

Hook:           TMC 105 #6-10, TMC 2457 #8-12 (Scud Hook) or Gamakatsu C14S
Thread:         Danville Flymaster Plus – color to match main yarn color
Yarn:            McFly Foam – Oregon Cheese and Dark Red

Tying Instructions

Step 1. Insert hook into vise and make a thread wrap working from the hook eye
back to the hook point and the midway between the hook point and the hook eye.

Step 2. Cut egg yarn about 1 ½ inches long. The primary color should be a little less than the diameter
of a hot dog. If you don’t use enough yarn the fly won’t be as round as it should be. Use too
much and it will look a bit obtuse. The second color should be a little less than the diameter of a pencil.

Step 3. Lay the McFly Foam parallel on top of the hook with the secondary color on top and
wrap down with a few loose wraps midway on the yarn. Tighten the wraps and pull firmly with a
few more wraps being sure to wrap on top of one another. This is why we use a strong, flat thread.

Step 4. Pull the yarn upward and horizontally wrap the base of the yarn like
you would a post on a parachute dry fly. Make about 4 or five, tight wraps.

Step 5. Advance the thread to just in front of the yarn and whip finish.

Step 6. Trim the excess foam by pulling up on the yarn (not pictured) and then cut. This step
is crucial to the appearance of the fly and with a little experience you should be able to determine
the proper length. Try cutting the foam no more than half of the distance of the hook gape.

Step 7. After cutting, the foam looks domed not round. Take your
fingers and roll the material which will give you a rounded appearance.

Step 8. Your finished McFly Foam egg.

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