Bibio Hopper

[Tuppsincomprehensible]

The fly is a hybrid incorporating Bibio and hopper. The Bibio is a great traditional Irish loch or louch style fly. I am unaware of the origins of the hopper. Fished as top dropper or by itself as a single offering in a big wave it can be deadly in its day.

 

Tying Materials

 

Hook: Gamakatsu Executive 110 Size 14

Thread: Black UTC70

Rib: UTC oval silver tinsel

Body: Black seals fur/ orange 'hot spot' hares ear dyed orange or poly dub/ black seals fur

Legs: 6 Dyed black barbs from a cock pheasant centre tail

Hackle: Black cock

 

Tying Method

 

Step 1: Secure the hook in the vice with the point protruding.

 

Step 2: Catch in the thread, trim the tag end. Catch in a length of silver tinsel and thread back to shank end.

 

Step 3: pinch out a small amount of black seals fur or sub. Form a slim dubbing rope.

 

Step 4: Wind the black dubbing to form a short back end body. Pinch out a small amount of orange dyed hares mask or poly dub and form more dubbing rope. This will form the 'hot spot'.

 

Step 5: Wind the orange hot spot and then form more black dubbing rope as described in step 3.

 

Step 6: Finish wind the body using the black dubbing.

 

Step 7: Form a rib by winding the silver tinsel in open turns.

 

Step 8: From a dyed black cock pheasant centre tail select and knot 6 barbs. I prefer to knot 2 groups of 2 barbs and 2 groups of 1 barb. This is purely a personal choice and ratio is not important but there should be an even number of barbs used.

 

Step 9: Divide up the pheasant fibres into 2 even numbered groups and tie them into the body as legs. The legs should be parallel to the body or angled slightly below horizontal.

 

Step 10: Select a hackle from a black cock cape. The fibre length should be approximately 1 to 1-1/2 times the gape of the hook.

 

Tying continues in part 2

[Tuppsincomprehensible]

Bibio Hopper Part 2

 

Step 11: Prepare the hackle by stripping the fibres from the stalk base. Tie it in and wind a throat hackle before trimming off the waste hackle end.

 

Step 12: Whip finish, trim off and of course a spot of varnish seals the head.

 

Step 13: Fore and aft and dare I say it what a 'cute' little derriere