The Trouble-free Turck Tarantula Tutorial

[bulltrout]

Turck Tarantula (Originated by Guy Turck as tied by Andrew Burla)

 

Excerpt taken from Fly Fishing International's Fly Of The Month Fly Files, June 1998:

 

"The Turck Tarantula is a productive fly for Southern Alberta's trout streams. At first glance, it appears to be more of an attractor pattern than anything else, however, depending on the size and color, it can be used to imitate a variety of trout foods including: grasshoppers, stoneflies and caddisflies. It incorporates features that are found on several other effective trout flies. These include the Madame X-style rubber legs, deer hair Muddler Minnow-style head and the wing style used on the popular Trude patterns. The white calftail wing makes it easy to see on the waters surface and the deer hair head provides good flotation. It is particularily effective on streams that contain cutthroat trout such as the Oldman, Castle and their tributaries, as well as the Elk and other rivers in Southeastern British Columbia.

 

Fishing Technique - This fly is usually fished on the surface using a dead drift. It can also be twitched during the drift to imitate a struggling insect. Another effective method is to "drown" the fly at the end of the drift and fish it submerged, stripping it back against the current similar to a streamer."

 

Materials

 

Hook: TMC 200R #4-12

Thread: Dark Brown A+ Mono-Thread

Tail: Amherst or Golden Pheasant Tippet

Body: Hare's Ear Plus Dubbin

Underwing: Krystal Flash

Overwing: Calf Tail

Collar: Deer Hair

Legs: Black Rubber

Head: Deer Hair

 

Tying Steps

 

1. Attach tying thread.

 

2. Tie in pheasant tippet 1/3 of the shank length long.

 

3. Dub a smooth tapered body to the 1/3 point from the eye.

 

4. Loop 3 strands of Krystal Flash around the thread and tie in directly in front of the dubbing. Clip the flash to the 1/2 tail length.

 

5. Clip, clean and stack a small amount of calf tail and tie in slightly shorter than equal to the tail.

 

6. Trim calf tail or calf tail butts on an angle to help form a taper. Firmly secure the butt ends with tying thread.

 

7. Clip, clean and stack a small amount (roughly equal to the calf tail) and tie in so the tips are equal to the hook bend. Flare the deer hair 180 degrees around the hook to create an even collar.

[bulltrout]

8. Trim the butts of the deer hair as you would a Deer Hair or Elk Hair Caddis.

 

9. Tie in a 3 inch piece of rubber leg on each side of the hook. Move tying thread to just in front of rubber leg tie in.

 

10. Clip a small amount of deer hair and clip off the tips as well (the tips don't spin or pack properly). Holding the deer hair with three fingers, push the eye of the hook into the middle of the bundle of hair and slide the hair to just shorter than the collar.

 

11. Carefully grab the deer hair with your opposite hand and make two loose turns of thread around the bundle.

 

12. Flare the deer hair by pulling down and to the rear of the fly. Make a 2-3 tight wraps through the spun deer hair. Pack the hair tight against the collar and move the thread to directly in front of the spun hair.

[bulltrout]

13. Repeat steps 10 and 11 for larger flies.

 

14. Pull the spun hair back and whip finish behind the eye. Don't cement the thread until after you shape the head.

 

15. Basically, you want the head to have the shape of a half circle that is tapered (small at the eye to large at the collar). To shape the head, hold the rubber legs tight to the dubbed body and begin by trimming the bottom of the head flat.

 

16. Turn the fly over and trim the top at an angle to match the collar.

 

17. Taking care NOT to cut the rubber legs, trim the sides on an angle tight from the eye outwards. Trim the square edges so the top of the head is rounded.

 

18. Carefully tidy up the collar by trimming in a straight line 360 degrees all the way around the hook.

[bulltrout]

19. Hold the rear rubber legs together and trim slightly longer than the tail. Then hold the front legs together and trim equal to the hook shank length (you want the back legs to be slightly longer than the front legs).

 

20. The finished fly.

[Guest bigbadbrent]

i'm realllly good at trimming only one leg off, when im trimming the hair

 

thats why i've stopped tying Turks

[trailhead]

Please don't let this be my "Luck of the Draw" fly.

[bulltrout]

Please don't let this be my "Luck of the Draw" fly.

 

 

it's not as bad as it seems...just takes a couple to get used to the making of the head...

[hydropsyche]

Please don't let this be my "Luck of the Draw" fly.

 

I agree. Even though I could tie one, Its one of those flies I prefer to pay someone else to tie.

 

Good job, DBT. I'll give you $2.

[Guest bigbadbrent]

I agree. Even though I could tie one, Its one of those flies I prefer to pay someone else to tie.

 

Good job, DBT. I'll give you $2.

 

 

exactly my thoughts

[bulltrout]

I agree. Even though I could tie one, Its one of those flies I prefer to pay someone else to tie.

 

Good job, DBT. I'll give you $2.

 

 

thanks for the compliment...i was in that same boat until i realized that i paid almost $60 in Tarantulas last year alone (as they are one of my goto flies)...

[hydropsyche]

Being a goto fly is a different story. Sitting down to tie up a couple three dozen sure does make it an easier/quicker per fly and more preferable the laying out the $'s.

 

I heard Goddards work pretty good, too!

[bulltrout]

I heard Goddards work pretty good, too!

 

 

i have my deadly dozen that are fail safes...would like others to share my successes...

[ladystrange]

GREAT SBS!!!

 

i made a deer hair mouse at the sportsman show... i think i have gotten deer spinning out of my system for a bit. my god you crammed a lot of deer hair on that little head.

[fishfreak]

Love the Turk, as it is one of my favourite flies for Southern Alberta, except for the Liv (for some reason, they don't work as well there). However, it's a pain to tie, so I get them 12 for $12, as it's not worth my while to tie them.

 

Thanks for sharing.

[Guest bigbadbrent]

odd fishfreak, turks are my favourite fly on the livingstone