Freakishly warm weather over the past couple days apparently had Kevin thinking summer on Beaver Island. Of course now a cold front has passed through and our minds return to steelhead. But the carp thoughts are strong. And persistent.
Anderson’s Hammerhead was born last summer at the Fisherman’s House on Beaver Island, the offspring of several beers and a fertile creative streak that runs long and hard right out the back of his skull. Following that feverish tying session, Ian and Kevin proceeded to absolutely destroy the carp with the Hammerhead. It is now Kevin’s go-to fly for hot, aggressive fish.
The double bead chain eyes create a lot of noise and enough weight to get the fly down quickly. And if you want to create a lighter fly while fishing, just cut-off the outside eyes.
Hook: Mustad R74, #4
Thread: 3/0 or A Mono or FlyMasters +, color to match body
Eyes: x-large gold bead chain and 8 – 10 wraps of .030 lead wire
Tail: 4 – 6 pumpkin/black flake sili legs, 6 strands glow in the dark Mylar Motion fl. orange, 6 strands glow in the dark Mylar Motion fl. yellow
Under Body: dark brown sparkle yarn
Over Body: crawfish orange magnum zonker or black barred orange over tan magnum tiger strip (Hareline tiger barred)
Notes:
1) This fly uses regular zonker strips, not crosscut. Palmer the zonker with a small margin of the skin over lapping the previous wrap while stroking back the fur. Regular zonker strips allow the hair to stand out and pulse quite a bit more than cross cut strips do.
2) Color variations: black, olive or dark brown. We prefer tiger barred strips or basic barred strips because of the contrasting colors.
Ian Anderson was in Jethro Tull. He is also our friend from FlyMasters in Indianapolis.
