How to Tie Otter's Soft Eggs

Otter's Soft Milking Eggs are a brand of fly-fishing bait material. Otter is the nickname of Walt Mueller Jr., who developed soft milking egg material for fishers. The material is used to tie simple egg fly patterns. The soft egg is easy to manipulate on a hook and is effective for catching a variety of fish species. The egg fly is especially useful during the salmon and steelhead spawning seasons. Eggs are an important food source for trout and other fish in the river systems, and the soft egg provides a realistic imitation. The egg is typically tied as a single, but clusters are also achieved by gluing multiple eggs together.

Things You'll Need

  • Otter's soft egg
  • Egg hook
  • Instant glue
  • Vise
  • 6/0 white thread
  • White Antron
  • Permanent marker
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Instructions

    • 1

      Align the center of the egg or egg cluster with the hook point. Push the egg on the hook point and over the hook bend. Secure the hook in a fly tying vise.

    • 2

      Apply a small drop of instant glue at the 1/2-point on the hook. Slide the egg over the glue and leave it to dry for one minute.

    • 3

      Start the thread at the hook eye and wrap the egg. Cut a short, thin section of white Antron from a patch. Hold the white material behind the egg and push it around the hook shank to create a thin white layer around the egg. Make seven thread wraps to secure the Antron.

    • 4

      Use a whip finish tool to half-hitch the thread 10 times. Cut the thread off the hook. Add a drop of instant glue to the thread to complete the fly.

    • 5

      Use a permanent marker to draw a small black dot on the egg to represent the developing embryo.