A simple streamer to tie thanks to a very cool material - Wapsi's Palmer Chenille. When finished with a Fish Skull, this fly looks great. Good amounts of flash and elements of realism make this fly a sure bet. Great for trout and smallmouth bass.
Fish Skull Sparkle Minnow Streamer Materials List
Hook- Daiichi 2220
Head- Fish Skull Baitfish Head
Thread- 210 Denier Ultra Thread White
Tail- Marabou Blood Quills - Dark Color stacked over white
Attach Thread and wind to back of hook shank, even with the barb of the hook.
Step 2
Tie in two marabou blood quill feathers for the tail. Tail should be roughly equal to the length of the hook shank.
Step 3
Tie in a brown (or any contrasting color marabou - olive, yellow, black, etc.) - on top of the white marabou.
Step 4
Advance thread forward wrapping over the butt ends of the marabou feathers. Tie down marabou ends 2/3 of the way to the hook eye.
Step 5
Trim off waste ends of marabou and return thread to back of the hook.
Step 6
Tie in two stands of lateral scale flash along the marabou tail on the near side of the hook. Leave enough extra flash to fold over the hook and tie along side the far side of the tail. Each side of the marabou tail should be flanked by two strands of flash.
Step 7
Tie in two pieces of medium Wapsi Palmer chenille at the base of the tail.
Step 8
Wrap the pieces of Palmer Chenille forward, stopping 1/4" short of the eye of the hook. Tie off and trim off excess chenille.
Step 9
Whip finish.
Step 10
Apply super glue to the thread wraps at the front of fly.
Step 11
Slide Fish Skull over the hook eye and push back until the skull covers the super glued thread wraps.
Step 12
Reattach thread behind the hook eye. Make several wraps of thread, building enough bulk to prevent the fish skull from sliding off the front of the hook. Whip Finish and glue thread head.
Step 13
Tint the top half of the palmer chenille with a permanent marker. Choose a marker that is close in color to the contrasting color used in the tail of the fly.