Comet
Description
The Comet is a traditional Pacific salmon and steelhead swing fly built around flash, contrast, and a sparse baitfish profile. This silver-body bucktail variant uses a red hackle-fiber tail, flat silver tinsel body, silver rib, sparse bucktail wing, red collar, and black head. Fish it on the swing for coho, chinook, and steelhead in medium to large rivers during spring and fall runs.
Materials
- hook: 3X Long Streamer Hook
- thread: Black 6/0 Thread
- head: Black Head Lacquer
- body: Flat Silver Tinsel
- wing: Natural Bucktail
- ribbing: Oval Silver Tinsel
- tail: Red Hackle Fibers
- collar: Red Saddle Hackle
Tying Instructions
- 1.
Secure a 3X Long Streamer Hook in the vise and start Black, 6/0 Thread two eye lengths behind the eye.
- 2.
Wrap a smooth thread base back to the bend.
- 3.
Tie in a short tail of Red Hackle Fibers at the bend, about half a hook shank long.
- 4.
Tie in Oval Silver Tinsel at the bend for the rib and leave it hanging to the far side of the hook.
- 5.
Tie in Flat Silver Tinsel at the bend and wrap the thread forward to two eye lengths behind the eye.
- 6.
Wrap the flat tinsel forward in touching turns to form a smooth silver body, then tie it off and trim the excess.
- 7.
Counter-wrap the oval tinsel forward in open turns over the silver body, tie it off, and trim the excess.
- 8.
Stack a sparse clump of Natural Bucktail and tie it on top of the shank so the wing reaches just past the tail.
- 9.
Tie in one Red Saddle Hackle by the tip, take one or two turns as a collar, and sweep the fibers back with thread.
- 10.
Build a small black head, whip finish, and apply Black Head Lacquer.