How Do I Tie a Popsicle Fly?

The Popsicle Fly is a simple grouping of marabou wings on a hook. The fly is easy to tie and effective for steelhead, salmon and trout. The Popsicle is designed for swinging in medium and large rivers and it works well as a general spey fly. The pattern also imitates the decomposing flesh of salmon and works on the large rainbow trout in Alaskan rivers. The fly pattern is beginner friendly and the colors are easily adjusted to meet different fishing conditions.

Things You'll Need

  • Vise
  • Spey hook
  • 3/0 thread
  • Silver tinsel
  • Marabou
  • Flash
  • Whip finish tool
  • Head cement
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Instructions

    • 1

      Clamp the spey hook in the vise. Begin wrapping the thread at the eye and stop two-thirds the distance up the shank.

    • 2

      Cut a 10-inch piece of silver tinsel and hold one end on the shank at the thread. Wrap the thread over the tinsel 10 times and wrap the thread towards the hook eye. Stop with one-third of the shank between the thread and hook eye.

    • 3

      Wrap the tinsel around the hook in a subsequent fashion. Stop at the thread and make 10 thread wraps to secure the tinsel. Cut the excess tinsel off the hook.

    • 4

      Select a marabou feather and stroke the fibers down to expose the tip. Hold the tip on the shank and make 10 thread wraps to hold it in place. Wrap the thread a short distance up the shank. Wrap the feather four times to the thread, stroking the fibers forward with each wrap. Tie off the feather with 10 thread wraps and cut away the extra section of feather.

    • 5

      Measure three strands of silver flash to match the length of the hook. Hold the strands on top of the hook and make five thread wraps to hold them in place.

    • 6

      Tie a second and third wrapped section of marabou on the hook in the same fashion as the initial feather. Stop the thread at the hook eye.

    • 7

      Wrap the thread at the eye to build a small head. Hook the thread on a whip finish tool and wrap the tool around the head eight times to knot the thread. Cut the thread off the hook and coat the head with a clear layer of head cement.