Tube Baitfish
Cut a 20 mm piece of tubing and place on your tube spike. Leave enough space at the back of the tube for the hook 5 mm then tie on a piece of shiny tinsel, here I used holographic Xmas tinsel and wrap down the length of the tube and back again ‌then tie off. Snip excess away.
This step is not necessary but sometimes I like to add a small clump of olive raccoon fur on both the top and the bottom of the tube before I start to add the main material.
With this fly I have used Steve Farrar "Off white FF Blend" but usually this pattern works better with Mullet brown Slinky fiber as the slinky fibers hold the overall fly shape better. Cut a thin strip of 30 cm fiber from the hank (pull both ends and once taught, it should be the thickness of a matchstick) ‌then fold in half and cut. Depending on how long you want the fly will depend on whether you start working with this clump. I snipped off 15 mm from the 150 mm length to start with. Then slowly pull the centre of the clump out to make a tapered end on both sides. Take your time here until you get both tapered nice and even and sharp. Don't tie centrally, make sure the front section is much longer than the back. Wrap cotton forward 3 or 4 wraps.
Fold back over itself and tie off. I like to add a small blob of head cement after each tie off.
Turn vise over and repeat step 3 & 4. Remember to keep them the same length.
Now repeat step 3 & 4 but this time cut 25 mm off the clump before starting to trapper the edges. Tie on directly after the last tie of point and you will see this section will lie on top but a little shorter.
Turn vise over and repeat the same process.
Repeat step 3 & 4 but this time DON'T cut anything off, just start tapering the ends then turn vise over and repeat process. These sections will give you the overall taper you are looking for with minimal materials. I then took 4 long strands of Pink FFF Flash blend folded over each other ‌..cut, then tied on both sides of the fly's flanks.
I then took 3 strands of Sea blue and Dark blue FFF Flash blend for the lateral lines and tied on top of the tube. Whip finish.
Stick on some eyes and epoxy the head. Here I used Bug-bond‌Jobs a good en!