Articulated and stinger-style flies are all the rage these days, and for good reason, they work!
Flies designed with a ‘trailer’ hook offer a number advantages over classic long-shank style hooks. First and foremost, the addition of a trailer hook allows for the use of shorter shanked hooks that are far less likely to lever-out of the fish’s mouth during the fight. Also, because the size of the fly is no longer dependent on the length of the hook shank, articulated and stinger-style flies are able to move much more freely in the water, providing more action to the fly. Furthermore, because the hook is positioned at the very back of the fly, short strikes are far less common.
We love articulated and stinger style flies, and we tie our share of them for everything from salmon and steelhead to trout. However, anyone who has tied an articulated streamer (one in which the trailer hook cannot be removed from the fly) knows that that tiny hook at the back of the fly can be a pain to tie around.. Literally!
We’ve stuck dozens of stinger hooks in our fingers over the years, and after a while we wised up. So, today we’re coming at you with a super simple tying tip. Cover your stinger hook with a pencil eraser. Simply stick it on to the hook point of your stinger hook (make sure to cover the barb as well), and voila! No more sticking yourself while stroking errant marabou fibers towards the back of the fly.
More Fly Tying Tips
We’ve been using this technique for years, except instead of a pencil eraser, we use Rainy’s Flies & Supplies’ 3/4-inch Popper Foam. Slice off a 1/4-inch round, divide that into quarters and use each quarter as you would the pencil eraser. Rainy’s foam is denser and will last longer than the eraser method. One package of 5 popper foam cylinders will last a lifetime for most do-it-yourself-ers.
Good call Mark! Thanks for the tip, we’ll make sure to give it a try. Thanks for weighing in!
I really like that pattern, what’s it called and do you have a recipe?
Hey Mark,
We sure do! We call it the Foxy Leech by Stuart Foxall. Here’s the step by step tying instructions by Stu himself. Enjoy!
Perfect….Thanks!!