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How To Tie Davy Wotton Shad
Davy Wotton Shad
Recipe: Hook: Pencil popper hooks - 2/0, 1, 2, 4 Thread: .006 monofilament Lead wire: .25 or .30 or (unweighted to stay on the surface) Inner body: Wing-n-flash / dubbed around the shank Outer body: Flexi - cord ¼ any color you desire. Pearl and pearl silver are the popular ones. Gills: Dave Whitlock SLF minnow gill Eyes: 5/16”, 1/4 “ Additional materials for tying this fly: zap-a- gap, permanent marker pens- black, red, olive green. I like the prisma color markers the best, but you can use what you got if need be.
This baitfish was created for the shad kill on our tail waters in the Ozarks. It was originated by Davy Wotton who now resides in Mountain Home, Arkansas. I have a lot of respect for his innovative patterns and might I add that they catch me a lot of fish. Especially this one because of how real it looks. I have put my own ideas to this pattern to create all kinds of different presentations so I could fish it in all water columns. This one that I am going to show you is the easiest way to tie this pattern, but you can use your imagination to do whatever you want. I just wanted to share this fly with you because it is the best shad pattern that I have fished and I can’t seem to find any how to steps on how to tie this pattern so I thought it would be great to post it.
Start the mono somewhere in the middle. You will have to wind back over with a few turns to lock it in. This mono is hard to secure around the metal shank so make sure it's secure when you go to wind to the bend. This fly is not going to have any weight in it. However you can add weight or fly rattles to create any action you want.
Step 2.
Cut a piece of artic fox and tie it in. You will need to comb out the excess hair that is to short to tie in. Your looking for the longer hairs. Also pick out some of the longer hairs that aren't the same length as the majority of the tail. One thing I will mention to you is don’t measure the tail the length of the hook shank. You want it to be short. Measure it half the length of the hook shank. Most shad’s if you look at them they have a shorter tail than the body.
Just a little tip, you don't have to pull all the flash out of the bag. Just pull the tips of it and you should get the desired length you want to tie in. When you go to cut it to length, cut a little past the tail. This will make the flash stand out a little bit more when it's in the water.
Note: Make sure you only tie in enough flash to blend in with the tail.
Step 3.
Now dub some of the wing-n-flash on the mono and wrap it over the lead wire. Make sure you cover all the lead and only wrap the flash sparse. If you dub the body too fat, you will not be able to slide the flexi cord over it. If you have any of those loose flash strands hanging all over the place after you are done dubbing it go ahead and cut those off. You want the dubbing to be as close to the hook shank as possible.
Step 4.
You don’t need too much of the minnow gill dubbing. Just enough to wrap over the hump and that’s it. Just pay attention to where I'm at with the dubbing on the hook shank. I always use the hump for my reference on any of these I tie. Now tie off the thread and you’re ready to slide the flexi-cord on. When you tie it off go ahead and put some zap-a-gap on you’re knot so that the fly really holds together.
Step 5.
When you go to measure the flexi-cord make sure you go a little past the eye of the hook so that you can form a slope in the belly. Measure from where you tied in you’re tail to the whole length of the shank and a little past the eye.
Note: Remember to burn the ends with a lighter. It will give it a edge so when you go to start the thread to lock it in the thread it won't slip down when tying it in.
Step 6.
This part can be a little tricky. One way that I have fixed this problem is by putting some zap-a-gap on the top part of the flexi cord so that my thread grabs it and doesn’t slide down when I go to cinch it around the shank. You will notice when you do this step the mono will want to slide down to the tail. Make sure that the flexi-cord is not side ways (the fold) when you go to cinch it in.
Step 7.
Wapsi has made this part a little easier for all of us. They recently came out with different sizes of foam called “Foam Cylinders”. These patterns are usually tied with size 1/4 for the larger sizes and 1/8 for the smaller sizes. We are using the 1/4 size. These are round in size so we will need to cut this in half. I have found out that using a long straight pair of scissors will do the trick. I started off using razor blades but found out in a hurry that this wasn’t working. My foam always seemed crooked. The only thing you need to pay attention to when you go to cut this is don’t try to make to many cuts going up the foam. I try to make one solid cut so that I don’t see my cuts on the edges of the foam. So after you have made you’re cut tie one half of this in the back on top of the flexi cord. Tie you’re thread off and put some kind of glue on you’re wraps so it will hold together.
Step 8.
This is another tricky part to do. You will notice that you will have to do the same thing here as you did in the back with the flexi cord. You will see that the flexi cord is hanging over the eye. What you will need to do is push the cord back to form you’re belly and while you are holding the flexi-cord back just behind the eye you will need to grab you’re thread and tie it around the cord while holding the cord back so it doesn’t slide back over the eye. What I do is put the tag end of the monofilament in my mouth and count that as my third hand. By having tension on the tag end with my mouth, this will allow you to be able to wind it around the cord while still holding the cord with you’re other hand.
Step 9.
Once you have tied in you’re flexi-cord in fold the foam over and tie it in also. Whip finish the fly and now you're ready to glue the eyes on. You will see a lip hanging off the front and the back of the foam. I like to cut those even (on top) to keep the fly looking tapered with the foam.
Only use marine goop. It's the best, trust me on this. Here's a picture for you to see what your looking for. wal-mart will have this in stock.
Step 10.
Finish Product. I would give this a good day to dry before fishing it.
Additional comments:
- A fly rattle may be use in the middle of the shank on the under side by using epoxy. -Also you can create how you want this fly to ride in the water by how much foam you are using. -You can paint the cord with permanent markers to create different baitfish patterns.
This is another version that can be fished in high water as a floater. The mink will make this fly look good on the surface.
