THE REDHEAD - A Hot Bass Fly from Paul Young

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Some of you may remember a fly pattern I shared last March called, "The Gill Bug." 
Or you may not...I had to go back and find it myself!

The Gill Bug was a simple, deer hair-and-chenille pattern, intended as a surface fly for bass and panfish. It came from the inventive mind of Paul H Young, and in case you missed that, here's a link to that blog post:

Paul Young's, "Gill Bug" >>>

If you missed The Gill Bug, well,... you probably won't remember Paul Young.
He was based in Detroit, and was known for his exquisitely slender and light bamboo fly rods in the years following World War II.
He literally pioneered what we today call "ultralight fly rods," although he denied having invented the small rod craze. Nevertheless, he engineered new ways to make these rods, and became renowned for them.
To this day, his rods are so well regarded that they have their own database to keep track of them!  
There's much more about him on the Gill Bug link above, if you're interested.

More to the point of this article, however, is that Paul was also a top notch fly tyer, with a good many popular patterns to his credit. "The Michigan Stone," "The Strawman Nymph," and the aforementioned, "Gill Bug," were all in his catalogue 

Bass Fishing
Even though his primary angling interests were trout and salmon, Paul Young went for any fish that would take a fly. For example, he developed tackle and techniques for salt water fly fishing, and he held the world's record for fly-caught bonefish at one time. And there's the aforementioned Gill Bug - his own pattern for panfish and bass.

But - and its a big "BUT" - because he was primarily a builder of lithesome trout rods, his fly tyinp efforts converged to create bass flies that could be cast easily with the lightest rods possible.
Today this is not uncommon, but he opened the door to this aspect of fly fishing 60 or more years ago. 

Of special interest to us was Mr. Young's fascination with smallmouth bass.
He believed they could be taken on or near the surface with light fly tackle. 
And he was obviously on to something... many of todays' favorite patterns intended for these fish do just that.

But there is one key difference:

They are, for the most part, large, hulking things with as many hairy, feathery, rubbery appendages as can be crammed on to a hook.
That is not the path Mr. Young was taking.

Instead, Paul created several specialist patterns that are essentially large dry flies. One of his most successful patterns was the one seen here, "The Redhead," a split-wing variation of the Trude squirrel-tail flies.

A Bevy of Redheads

The Redhead - Above and Below
Unlike sparsely tied trout flies, the dressing of the Redhead is really full and bushy.
This is by design - you want the fly to be "active" on, or near, the surface and  to create a visible disturbance... "to move a lot of water," as we would say, today.
In that way, it is something like more modern bass bugs. 
But, because it's mostly made from squirrel hair, hackle and little else, it gives the impression of bulkiness, without possessing real mass.
This is in stark contrast to the familiar but gargantuan, "bass bugs," and it means it won't unlikely to spoil the cast on lighter weight gear.

With it's deliberately jam-packed dressing, The Redhead will push a lot of water and make a commotion - both on the surface and just beneath it. 
It can wake and surge, too, if the hackle collar is wrapped especially fat and burly. 
It floats pretty well, particularly if both the fly and the leader have floatant applied to them.

Bass feeding at the surface on insects, or anything else, are seldom as selective as trout, and the Redhead comes into its own in this regard.
It also makes a good pattern just below the surface.

Beneath the surface - I mention this latter notion of fishing subsurface, on purpose. It is often overlooked in our rush to hit that exciting surface bite on poppers, frogs, and other floating beasties. 

But after spending time on the water, I have found that there are really few critters actually floundering around on top of the water. In short, we imagine it more than it actually happens.
As it turns out, most of the things bass eat are found somewhere below the surface. They will come up to take lures on top, yes, but the point here is that they are COMING UP to do so....from below.
So, it's more likely that they will take lures and flies, more often or more readily, UNDER the water. 

This was driven home a few years ago when I found that another of my favorite flies, The Humpy, was as good a fly BENEATH the surface, as it was on it! 
I came to fish it as a one-two pattern: cast it out and let if work as a surface fly. Once it got soggy and sank down in the water, I could fish it as a wet fly and keep catching fish. 

With this in mind, the Redhead can cover both realms.
It will remain afloat for a good while, but it can also be allowed to sink and then fish as a suspending wet fly in the near-surface region. 

Materials
Hook - long shank, #4-#10 light wire hooks cover most situations. 
I use Aberdeens.

Thread - Something around  8/0-6/0, for strength to bind the hair

Body - Red floss. This is the original body dressing, and also forms the tail

Rib - Gold tinsel, medium

Wing - Red/ginger squirrel tail hair 

Hackle - 2 ginger/brown hackles, sized large for the hook. 

Some options for body and tail

Left top, clockwise: dubbing in your choice of style and color, yarn of most any type and color, floss (the original used red floss), poly fiber.   

These are what I've been tinkering with, but the sky is the limit where body materials are concerned. Just don't over do it - the wing and hackle are the stars of the show.

Wing and Hackle

Squirrel tail hair and hackle. Here it's a grey squirrel, and some mixed hackles: dun, badger, black and ginger.
The Redhead, as tied by Mr. Young, was "color coordinated" - it used red/ginger squirrel and hackle. 

Tools

Simple Tools

From top left clockwise: bobbin with choice of thread, hair stacker, head cement and super glue, scissors, whip finisher, dubbing brush/comb.

NOTE ABOUT ADHESIVES: I include adhesives because a teensy dab at main points during construction helps make for a tough fly.
And squirrel hair is particularly slippery - a dot of glue helps secure it.

Tying the Redhead (see photos 1-3 below)



                                                    photo 1



                                        photo 2 

                                        photo 3 

The tying is pretty basic, with the exception of the wing. 
You build the slim tail and body in the usual way. 
Then the wing is arranged in the following manner:

1. Cut a pretty hefty hank of hair from the squirrel tail, roughly about the thickness of  #2 pencil.

2. Tie on the hair behind the eye, in bucktail fashion - that is to say, tips facing rearward and overhanging the bend of the hook.
Secure the hair firmly with several wraps of thread and a half hitch, then trim off the butts close, and at an an angled taper.

3. Separate the hair into two equal shocks, one to each side of the centerline, and, with figure 8 wraps, separate each shock of hair so it sticks out to the side at about 45 degrees AND angled slightly upwards.

4. With head cement, saturate the base of the hair butts, and when half dry, squeeze flat with tweezers or pointed nose plier.

5. Select TWO medium length hackles, with barbules 1 1/2 - 2 times as long as the hook gap. Tie in the hackles by the stem, just in front of the wings, on edge and with the dull side of the feather facing forward.

6. Wind on each feather separately, getting the bulk of the feather on the fly. Bind each tightly behind the eye. 

7. Build a thread head and apply a liberal dollop of cement to the thread.

A unique fly, made from common materials, designed for casting ease with regular gear. What's not to like?
Give The Redhead a try.

Thanks so much for reading,

Tight Lines

David
Palmetto Fly n Fish
Come visit us for more great content like this: Palmetto Fly N Fish
© all rights reserved 2021
  

Inspired by a Chauncy K. Lively article in the 1975 PA Angler.
All credit due the source.  

The Gill Bug - A Bass and Panfish Fly

The Gill Bug

David Hutton, Palmetto Fly N Fish

Mar 8 2021

Simple flies.
I like simple flies. 
Just saying it aloud - “simple flies” - is appealing.
And when I say, "simple," I mean three materials or less, excluding thread and hook.

    No complicated engineering, no laundry list of materials, and no difficult tying gymnastics...that is simple. And that's what we have here today - a simple but very effective pattern for bass and panfish: THE GILL BUG.

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Gill Bugs Galore

Origin of pattern
    This pattern was the brainchild of Detroit rod builder, taxidermist and inventor, Paul Young.
    If you were around in the 80's, you'll probably remember a pop musician of the same name, with a few hits back then. Well ...

Sorry - not THAT Paul Young

    Instead, the man I refer to is Paul H. Young, the fly fishing legend...

                                                            

THIS Paul Young

    He built some of the finest fly rods ever, and was among the best of the post-WWII rod crafters...

    His gear and his book, "Making and Using the Fly and Leader," still bring high prices whenever they come up for sale.

Today, a chapter of Trout Unlimited is named after him.
And he had “firsts”...
- He was the first to take the short, slim fly rod into the mainstream.
- He was the first to promote Mustad's famous barbless hooks, and he invented the famed Strawman Nymph, among others.
- Remember those collapsible, plastic drinking cups? The Trik-Kup? Paul Young invented them, too.

    But Mr. Young was also a keen angler and fly tyer.
Our featured pattern, the Gill Bug, is one of his patterns, albeit a lesser known one. It was created to overcome the main drawback of most bass flies in general:

They're just too dang big and bulky to cast pleasantly without heavy rod and line combos.

    It's understandable that trout anglers, or panfishermen, might not want to invest in an outfit just for this heavy fishing.

    I'm one of them.

    Fortunately for us, Mr. Young gave us the Gill Bug to deal with that. It is lightweight, not overly air resistant, and it floats on the water very well. Best of all, it appeals to bass when they want a surface pattern.

    It was also popular in the not-too-distant past, from what I can learn of it.
    Chauncey Lively wrote glowingly of it in the 60's. That's pretty big, in itself. It had a loyal following in the Northeast, and has been adapted to every size hook imaginable.
It has caught bass, trout, pike, and panfish of all kinds.
Your great grand-dad may have known of it.
    Even so, like so many good, older flies, it has disappeared from the modern fly box... An internet search of the pattern turns up nothing.

    So, dear friends, we are here today to usher in a Gill Bug revival, albeit a small one.
Gimme an, “AMEN,” and lets get into it!

 What It Is And The Materials

    The Gill Bug can loosely be called a moth-type pattern. This idea, a big moth or butterfly as artificial lure started in the late 1800's, and was common through much of the 20^th century.
It's logical, I suppose, if a bit fanciful to the modern fly angler.

    To be honest, the idea hasn't survived too well here in the 21^st century. A few older patterns bow to the concept....
There's the old Neversink Skater.
The White Deer Hair Moth, and The Spruce Moth come to mind, too.
And now and then, someone hits on something similar to the Gill Bug... although they never quite get there.  

    But, the "moth fly," or at least the concept, is mostly unloved and just lingers in the corners of fly fishing. Fortunately, bass don't know or care about all that. To them, it just looks like something good to eat, and it appeals to our imaginations.
    In the end, both are good enough.

The Tools and Materials

Tools
    The tools used aren't anything unusual – here's the list:(from L to R in the foto)

Scissors (3)
Bodkin
Hair stacker
Thread holder (bobbin)
Hollow punch (for foam variations)
Hair comb
Super glue
Cement, black
Dubbing
Deer hair
Foam
(not shown - chenille of your choice)

    Serrated deer hair scissors are maybe the most unique tool of the bunch. Everything else is standard stuff.

    For materials, the original Gill Bug uses only chenille and a clump of deer hair.

    Can it be simpler than that?!

    But don't be fooled - under that label of, “simple,” is a bit of magic that may not be obvious. The magic is hair taken from a deer... good ol' deer hair.

                       
    I don't know what it is, but there is just something almost bewitching about deer hair in a fly pattern. Fish just seem to fall for it, like you or I might fall off a log. If I see deer hair in a fly, I'm automatically confident with it.

    Another feature of the deer hair wing on the Gill Bug is its dihedral spread. It is angular, in a “v-shape,” and spreads up and back, above the body and hook.
    Dihedral is the same aerodynamic principle that helps model aircraft fly right side up, and in the Gill Bug, it allows the thing to land on the water in the proper orientation

                                       
                                        Wing dihedral

Gill Bug Dihedral

    The deer hair in the Gill Bug can be coarse, and this actually works best in the larger sizes. To get an idea of the quantity of deer hair used, you want enough deer hair to pinch solidly between thumb and the first two fingers, for a #4 hook.

    For thread, you want something strong to bind the deer hair to the hook - I suggest something along the lines of 6/0, 210 Denier, etc. A little cement during construction can't go wrong, either.

    Hook sizes for bass are in the #6-#4 range, and they should be relatively light, but long enough to give you a decent body length. I like an Aberdeen, but anything along these lines is good. Just not too heavy; the Gill Bug is intended to be worked as a surface pattern.

    The chenille is your choice. I left it out of the materials foto above, because I immediately started looking for alternatives.
But the original pattern from Mr. Young used two strands of chenille in alternating bands - black and orange.
I've also seen reference to them in black and white.
Other good colors are white with natural deer hair, and yellow body/black hair.

Variations, Sizes

    You can, of course, tie the Gill Bug in sizes more in keeping with its name sake...bluegill sized, in other words. It makes a dandy panfish bug.
    For smaller fish like bluegill, hook sizes #6-#12 would be right. For these, finer deer hair is called for, simply to maintain proper proportions overall.

    An interesting variation is to tie the your Gill Bugs inverted, with the hook point up. This way, when it comes gliding down on that V-wing, it will land with the hook point out of the water. This is good for fishing in lily pads, where you can gently walk the Gill Bug across the top of the lily pads, until open water is reached.

Upside Down - gotta work on that head

    Probably the coolest adaptation I've found for the Gill Bug is to make the body out of foam.
    The original chenille had to be well greased with fly floatant and will become water logged, eventually. But not EVA craft foam!
    The foam can be applied as wound-on strips, or my favorite, as a disc, folded around the shank, taco-fashion. This method came from Harrison Steeves III. You can see a couple II did with these foam discs in the opening foto; a dot of super glue holds them together.

Fishing notes
    The time honored way to fish a “moth fly” is to skitter, or skate it across the waters surface. 

    You either grease them and the leader well, or use foam and a greased leader, so everything floats high on the water. Then, pick up the rod tip, like you're going to start a back cast, and once it starts moving – you twitch the bug across the surface in a waking, skipping kind of retrieve.
    Waggling your wrist at the same time can make the fly dance a little on the surface, another way to make it work its magic. The big scoop-shaped head is there to help the fly scoot up out of the water a little better.

    Both of these techniques work best without having too much line out..., if it is too long, the line drags the fly and reduces the control you might have over the Gill Bug.

    But after a little experimentation, you'll get the hang of it, and you're in for tons of fun..., and the bass should find it irresistible.

    Regardless of whether you use chenille or foam for the body, don't skimp on the floatant. You want the fly barely in the surface film, to pull off these antics.

    Of course you can also just fish the Gill Bug like a regular surface fly, without all the gyrations. It is a good surface fly, just a quiet mover, and will work just fine to get the fish's attention..., and the magic deer hair will lure them in for the take.

But no matter how you fish it, Paul Young's 'Gill Bug' is due for a revival.

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Writers should always strive for a job well done... especially mediocre writers like me. If you found value in this article, please like, comment, and share it. 

Do you want to add the catching flies seen here to your own fly or tackle box? Do you have questions, compliments, or suggestions?
If so, email me at...dahutist@gmail.com

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Thanks so much for reading, and...

Tight Lines,

Dave Hutton

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