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How to Tie a Needlefish Fly for Barracuda

How to tie a needlefish fly for barracuda.
‘Cuda love needlefish. Photos: Kyle Shea.

We love fly fishing for barracuda, and we’re lucky to see a lot of them cruising our flats at Andros South. That’s why we recommend our guests keep a spare 9 or 10 weight rod locked and loaded in the boat for those times when a hefty ‘cuda shows up in between shots at bonefish.

Many fly patterns have been known to work for barracuda, from poppers to various baitfish imitations, but from our experience long, flashy, needlefish imitations seem to be the most effective in our neck of the woods.

So, today we present you with step by step tying instructions on how to tie one of our favorite barracuda patters – A variation of The Needlefish Fly popularized by the good folks at Orvis.

Enjoy!

Needlefish Fly for Barracuda – Tying Instructions

Materials:

  • Rear Hook: Daiichi 2546, Sz. 1
  • Front Hook: Daiichi 2546, Sz. 2/0
  • Wire: RIO Powerflex Wire Bite, 30 lb.
  • Thread: UTC 140 Denier, Chartreuse. 
  • Body: Pearl E-Z Body Braid, Small – Medium.
  • Eyes: 6.0 mm Fish Skull Living Eyes, ‘Earth’ Color. 
  • Head: Chartreuse Thread or Floss, Coated in Adhesive. 
How to tie a needlefish fly for barracuda.
Step 1: Attach approximately 8 inches of wire to a size 1 hook. We used 30 lb. nylon coated knottable wire here, but hard wire can be used as well. This will act as the trailer hook of the fly.
How to tie a needlefish fly for barracuda.
Step 2: Cut a 5-6 inch length of E-Z Body Braid, and poke the wire into the braid at roughly the 1/3 point. Thread the wire out the end of the braid until the shank of the hook rests inside the braid body as shown.
How to tie a needlefish fly for barracuda.
Step 3: Insert the point of a larger 2/0 hook into the front opening of the braid, and poke the hook point out through the bottom of the body so the hook is situated in the same direction as the rear hook.
How to tie a needlefish fly for barracuda.
Step 4: Fix the front hook into the vise, slide the braid and wire back out of the way, and attach your thread at the eye of the hook. Wrap thread in touching turns to approximately the hook point.
How to tie a needlefish fly for barracuda.
Step 5: Position wire on top of the shank and bind down with thread wraps to the eye of the hook.
How to tie a needlefish fly for barracuda.
Step 6: Add a light coat of super glue to the shank. Pass the wire through the eye of the hook and wrap thread back to the hook point, binding the bottom leg of wire on the underside of the shank. Trim excess wire.
How to tie a needlefish fly for barracuda.
Step 7: Slide the front of the braid body 1/3 of the way up the shank of the hook and catch in with thread. Build a smooth taper of thread from the braid to the shank of the hook, whip finish, and trim.
How to tie a needlefish fly for barracuda.
Step 8: Fix eyes with a small drop of super glue on each side of the braid.
How to tie a needlefish fly for barracuda.
Step 9: With a red permanent marker, mark a small stripe behind the eyes to give the appearance of gills. Using a green permanent maker, color the top half of the braid.
How to tie a needlefish fly for barracuda.
Notice how the green accent gives a lifelike contrast between the back and the belly of a needlefish.
How to tie a needlefish fly for barracuda.
Step 10: At the tail end of the braid, whip a small amount of chartreuse thread, tie off, and coat with super glue. This gives the appearance of a tail as well as keeps the braid from unraveling.
How to tie a needlefish fly for barracuda.
Step 11: Coat the head of the fly in 5-minute epoxy (or similar adhesive) to protect the thread wraps from teeth as well as provide a smooth taper to the head of the fly. Make sure to encapsulate the eyes in epoxy as well for added durability. Let dry and get to it!

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