Squid Fly that Works (at least sometimes)

[Wild Bill]

Thought I had one more new squid fly, but I gave some away and the one pictured is slightly used. It is seven inches long, but I am searching for some longer Euro hackle, so the orange hackle can stick farther back. You could also palmer hackle at the head of the fly to make it shaped more like a real squid.

It is hard to tell in just one trip, but the big stripers at the Cape jumped on this fly for all six days we fished. The squid at Cape Cod are definitely not pink when chased by stripers--not white either. They are an orange/red/brown color. They are that color at Martha's Vineyard too. I am not sure about squid in the rest of the country, but suspect they may be the same.

For a big full fly, it casts very well. I am an average caster, but am used to casting big flies. I could cast the entire custom tip express line using one false cast and one back cast with a double haul. The extended flash and thin hackle have great movement when stripped. The fly looks a little stronger orange in the pic than it does in the water. More of the white bucktail under the orange shows through when wet. There is nothing original about this fly. I took ideas from several I have seen and tied them with materials on hand. It is a very durable fly. If it had not been for the bluefish eating them on occasion (fortunately not too many), one fly would have lasted all week on stripers. The 6/0 Gammy hook held fish to 30# and could have held bigger ones if caught. It is good to know your fly hook will not let you down. The wide gap is important for bigger fish.





Here are the tying materials

6/0 Gamakatsu SL12 S wide gap hook
orange flymaster plus thread
medium body braid for the head
1/2" 3-d epoxy eyes
long white bucktail
orange bucktail
gold holograph flash
red crystal flash
thinned marine goop covering the braid and reinforcing the gluing of the eyes

Procedure.

Select and tie in two thin long orange Euro hackles on each side of the hook cupped inward.

Tie in a bunch of long white bucktail at hook bend and move it all around as in Bob Pop's BTD.

Tie in a second bunch of shorter white bucktail in front of the first and move it around the hook shank.

Tie in gold holographic flash in front of the white bucktail and exending to the hackle tips.

Tie in red crystal flash at same location.

Tie in orange bucktail in front of the white working towards the hook eye.

Tie a second bunch of shorter orange bucktail.

Cut 1.375" piece of pearl med body braid and slip over the hook eye and tie in at the head.

Coat braid and eyes with thinned marine goop.

Run a couple more coats of the thinned goop at the top and bottom of the eyes to fill in the gap.

I will tie at least a dozen the next time we fish the Cape, Narragansett Bay or Martha's Vineyard. They take a little time but are easy to tie. Try one the next time the big bass are chasing squid. I think you will be happy with the results.

[Shortylong01]

Nice work Bill... Very nice fly. And thanks for the step by step on making them...

Watching Stripers gorge themselves on squid is certainly an experience one doesn't forget quickly... Especially when the squid spray out of the water like silversides with a few nice stripers in chase... Thanks again!!!

[TimeFlies]

Thanks Wild Bill for the tips. Have you used these flies off of O.C. for Blues, Dolphin....?

[Wild Bill]

TF-

Not yet but I am going to try them some other places in addition to up north.

I have caught blues on squid flies out of OC and Belmar NJ, but just came up with this version for our trip to the Cape. I have a lot of confidence in this fly. I cannot see a bluefish turning it down.

[TimeFlies]

Wild Bill--I just tying up one of your Squid Flies and was wondering how you thinned the "goop". It defenitely was too thick on my version. In addition, I used "medium" tubing and the body looks too thin? Maybe I need to shorten the tubing or tie in more bucktail. Thanks again for the help.

[Wild Bill]

TF-

Goop can be thinned with toulene or zylene. They are used to thin some paints and are available in paint stores. Make sure you have good ventilation while using them. Actual body braid is about .375 in diameter. Med tubing may be different than the product called body braid.

I know this goes against the beliefs of many fly fishers, but I like full bold flies for bigger stripers. I did not come to saltwater fly fishing from fresh water trout fishing like many guys. Before getting bit by the fly fishing bug, I was using big solid lures for big stripers. Big full flies are a little harder to cast, but they catch big fish. I was pleasantly surprised to see how nicely this squid fly casts. It may be because the bullet shaped head cuts through the air easily. That is one reason I did not add palmered hackle to the front of the fly.

[Capt Frank]

Heres another squid fly that works, esp. on tuna, mahi, etc. I first saw Tim use this fly in the 90s.

Fly Fishing in Salt Waters - Lead Eyes Squid Fly

[TLT III]

Nice fly Bill. I think a tuna would also eat it.

[dpost2]

Just curious. Did you try other fly styles and colors but find that the orange squid was the most successful?

[Wild Bill]

Hi Dave-

My bud Terry tried a number of pink squid flies and they did not catch as well. He even tried some pink rubber squid that he attached a hook to. We caught chummed blues with that "fly" over at Belmar NJ, but he could not get a striper to go for it. I am not sure where the idea originated that squid are pink.

I used two flies all week--the orange squid fly and a large white slider. There were times when the fish would come right up on top for the slider and other times when they wanted the fly under the surface. Even with a 420 grain line, the motor was always in gear to hold the boat and the squid fly never got more than 2' under the surface. Most of the time you could see the fly in the curl less than a foot under the top. It was cool to see a big bass cruise up behind the fly and smash it. That trip is the new standard for me for big bass on the fly. All future trips will be measured by the size and number of big bass we caught at the Cape this year.

Until I see a fly that works better, this will be my go to squid fly. Last year I used a pink, grey and white squid fly Capt Jim White showed me at Narragansett. We caught on it but the orange fly was much more productive. There are dozens of squid fly patterns but this one suits me.