The Mini Hot is the latest attractor offering from Greg Garcia. Gregor has cobbled together a great little pattern here, reminiscent of both a Stimulator and a Trude, some of the best attractor patterns out there. Greg has used a thin microtubing overbody to enhance the sheen and durability of the fly, a sparkling underwing of the new SLF Prism Dubbing and a buoyant wing of easy to spot bleached deer hock. Finishing the fly off is a juicy thorax palmered with a heavy hackle. This combination makes for a fly that is slim and subtle yet super floaty. Sometimes you want a pattern a bit smaller and less bushy as the season progresses, and the Mini Hot is the answer to all those fish that have seen a few too many Stimmies float over their heads. This is a pretty easy fly to tie and uses some of the newer materials here in the shop, so come on by or give us a shout and we will be happy to get you set up with the parts.
Materials Needed:
Hook: TMC 200, 14-20
Thread: 70 Denier UTC, color of choice, in this case, fluorescent green
Overbody: Clear Micro Tubing
Tag: Red Flashabou
Body: Flo. Green tying thread 70 Denier UTC
Underwing: SLF Prism Dubbing, Sand Color
Overwing: Bleached Deer Hock
Hackle: Brown Rooster Saddle or Neck
Thorax: Caddis Green SLF Prism Dubbing
Step 1
Start the tying thread about two thirds of a shank length back from the eye and build a smooth thread base back to the point on the barb. Return the thread to the starting point. Tie in a length of clear Micro Tubing at the starting point on the top of the shank and wrap firmly back over it to the bend. Stretch the tubing a bit as you wrap to reduce the bulk on the shank.
Step 2
With the thread hanging at the bend of the hook, trap the end of a single strand of red Flashabou with a few turns of thread that move forward from the end of the body. You want to make sure to keep the underbody smooth and flat here. Move the thread forward to the point on the hook.
Step 3
Wrap the Flashabou forward with four or five smooth abutting tuns and tie if off at the hook point.
Step 4
Clip the stub end of both the Flashabou and the Micro Tubing at the front of the hook.
Step 5
Build a smoothly tapered body with your tying thread up to the starting point.
Step 6
Wrap the Micro Tubing forward over the thread and Flashabou underbody to the starting point, taking care to butt the turns together as you go. Tie the Tubing off with several tight turns of thread and clip the excess. Build a thread base from the front of the body to the hook eye and back again in preparation for the underwing to come.
Step 7
Peel a small clump of sand colored SLF Prism Dubbing from the clump and lay it atop the hook just in front of the body. We want to tie this in at the center of its length so make sure the middle of the clump is lined up with the front of the body.
Step 8
Tie the Prism Dubbing down at its center with a couple firms wraps of thread.
Step 9
Pull the front half of the Prism Dubbing tightly back over the top of the fly, stacking it atop the rear facing half and pin it in place with a couple tight thread wraps.
Step 10
Wrap back over the folded end of the Prism Dubbing to just slightly overlap the front of the body.
Step 11
Trim the loose ends of the Prism Dubbing so they just reach the outside of the hook bend.
Step 12
Cut, clean and stack a small clump of bleached deer hock. Measure the hair against the hook so the tips extend to the outside of the hook bend, just past the ends of the Prism Dubbing.
Step 13
Spin your thread up a bit to cord it into a rope so it will bite into the hair better and make two taut but not tight turns of thread around the base of the hair at the front of the body. Hold the tips of the hair firmly in place on the top of the shank.
Step 14
Draw the thread toward you to tighten the wraps while still holding the tips firmly in your fingertips. The butt ends of the hair will flare out under the pressure of the thread turns.
Step 15
Work the tying thread forward through the butt ends of the hair in open spirals. Stop well short of the hook eye so as not to crowd things up there.
Step 16
Trim the remaining butt ends of the hair as close as you can and then wrap over them to smooth them out a bit. Try to trim the butts at a bit of an angle so you don’t have a big steep step between the butt ends and the hook shank.
Step 17
Prepare a rooster hackle by stripping the base of the feather exposing the bare stem. I like to strip just a bit more length on the inside of the feather so the first turn doesn’t splay out all crazy.
Step 18
Tie the hackle in at the base of the wing with several tight turns of thread. The inside of the feather should be facing down.
Step 19
Dub the thread with a very thin layer of Caddis Green SLF Prism Dubbing. Work the bare thread forward to just behind the hook eye and start the dubbing with the first turn at the front of the hook. We will dub from just behind the eye back to the base of the wing and forward again to keep the dubbing from sliding down the tapered base.
Step 20
Dub the thorax stopping short of the hook eye. Note that the thorax is not much bigger around than the front of the body.
Step 21
Palmer the hackle forward over the thorax with four or five evenly spaced turns and tie it off just behind the hook eye. The hackle should have the outside of the feather facing forward and be cupped slightly back.
Step 22
Trim the excess hackle stem at the eye and build a smooth thread head. Whip finish and clip the thread.
Step 23
Finished Fly, quarter front view. Greg also ties this pattern in yellow, tan, orange and purple. Be sure to check them all out and tie up a bunch for your summer fly box.
Step 24
Finished fly, bottom view.
