Deneki Outdoors Fishing Lodges

Alaska | The Bahamas | Chile

Mr. Hankey – Tying Instructions

Mr. Hankey Mouse Fly for Trout
Squeek, squeek. Photos: Kyle Shea.

We have less than a month before we kick off our Alaska season and that means it won’t be long before we’ll be chucking big, gaudy, mouse patterns for our resident rainbow trout.

Mousing is by far our favorite way to target trout in our neck of the woods and one of our go-to patterns is the Mr. Hankey, developed on the banks of the Kanektok by Alaska West alum, Jeff Hickman.

The Mr. Hankey incorporates just about everything we like in a mouse pattern; it rides true, features a small up-riding hook for safer hook sets, and swims with a low profile in the water. But don’t take our word for it, read about it from the designer himself, here.

Some of you have asked for more detailed tying instructions for the Mr. Hankey, so today we offer you just that. Enjoy!

Mr. Hankey – Tying Instructions

Materials:

  • Thread: UTC 140 – Tan or Black
  • Shank: Any Long Shanked Up-Eye Hook
  • Stinger Hook: Owner SSW – Size 4
  • Stinger Loop: 30 lb. Fireline or 25 lb. Maxima Chameleon
  • Tail: Natural Zonker Cut Bunny Hide Trimmed of Fur
  • Body: Natural Crosscut Bunny Strip
  • Back: 1/8″ (3 mm) Closed Cell Foam Trimmed to Shape
  • Legs: Round Rubber Legs
  • Whiskers: Pearl Krystal Flash
How to tie the Mr. Hankey mouse fly for trout
Step 1: Start thread at the eye of the hook and advance in touching turns to the hook point.
How to tie the Mr. Hankey mouse fly for trout
Step 2: Tie in a stinger loop long enough to loop up and over a size 4 Owner SSW stinger hook. Cover loop material with forward wraps of thread, double over, wrap back to hook point, and coat with super glue for added security. We used 30 lb. fireline for our stinger loop, but the original pattern calls for 25 lb. Maxima Chameleon.
How to tie the Mr. Hankey mouse fly for trout
Step 3: Trim fur from a natural zonker cut rabbit strip and tie in as a tail.
How to tie the Mr. Hankey mouse fly for trout
Step 4: Catch in a natural crosscut rabbit strip at the tail. Wrap forward to the middle of the hook shank and tie off.  Note: DON”T trim rabbit strip.
How to tie the Mr. Hankey mouse fly for trout
Step 5: Pre-cut 1/8″ (3 mm) foam to shape. Note: Ears will be trimmed once the fly is complete
How to tie the Mr. Hankey mouse fly for trout
Step 6: Tie in foam onto the top of the shank. Note: Make sure to make several loose wraps of thread before cinching down to avoid cutting foam.
How to tie the Mr. Hankey mouse fly for trout
Step 7: Tie in 2-4 rubber legs on each side of the body. Trim to length.
How to tie the Mr. Hankey mouse fly for trout
Step 8: Continue wrapping rabbit strip forward to the front of the fly. Tie off, trim, and build a nice head. This will help the ears to stand up when finished.
How to tie the Mr. Hankey mouse fly for trout
Step 9: Bind down foam at the front of the fly. Once again, be sure to lay down a good base of thread wraps before tightening to avoid cutting foam.
How to tie the Mr. Hankey mouse fly for trout
Step 10: Double over 4 stands of pearl Krystal Flash and tie in on top of foam using criss-cross wraps of thread. Trim to length to cause whiskers to flare (Scroll down to top view for a better look at whiskers).
How to tie the Mr. Hankey mouse fly for trout
Step 11: Pull back foam lip, build a clean head, whip finish, and cement.
How to tie the Mr. Hankey mouse fly for trout
Step 12: Trim ‘ears’ to shape. Tip: Make a single cut down the center of the ears FIRST and round off corners with as few cuts as possible.
How to tie the Mr. Hankey mouse fly for trout
Step 13: Attach stinger hook (sz. 4 Owner SSW) to loop by looping through the eye of the hook. Cut the bend of the hook from the original shank off as close to the stinger loop as possible, and get fishing!

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