Baja Flies.

I'm gearing up for a July trip to Loreto, Baja and it occurred to me that I should share tying instructions for a basic baitfish imitation that will work for any species just by changing size and color to suit your specific target fish.  

Materials:

Hook - Tiemco 600SP (for freshwater species I would use a longer shank hook like the 777SP or similar) 

Thread - Fine  Danville Monofilament

Wing - white Slinky Fiber with pearl Krystal Flash 

Over Wing - Tan SF Blend

Topping - peacock herl

Head - Flexicord 3/8" pearl

Eyes - Prismatic 3/8" chartreuse or silver

Begin by tying down a length of Slinky Fiber in the middle and folding the clump back over the hook shank and tie down.  Hit it with some Zap a Gap. 

Tie in your Krystal Flash on top.  Zap a Gap. Tie in the SF Blend in the same fashion and hit it with some Zap a Gap.

Now tie in the Peacock herl being careful to keep it on the top.  Zap a Gap.  At this point I will usually stop and begin another fly.  I tie up a bunch to this point and do the heads all at the same time.  

Cut a 2" piece of FlexiBody and slide over the hook.  Start your thread again just behind the hook eye and secure the Flexibody in place.   

Color the Flexibody with a Sharpie to match the peacock.  Add the self stick Prismatic eyes and then using either epoxy, UV Knot Sense or Tuffleye coat the head for durability.

That's it!  This simple pattern will work on a lot of different species and is fast and easy to tie. You can trim the wing to shape if you want.  The fish don't care.

Below are some of the color and style variations that I will be using in Baja In July.

Call me if you have any questions on these tying instructions or Baja trips (818) 785-7306.

Thanks for looking. 

Ken