Mop ’N Glo Pattern & Tying Instructions
Fly Tying Recipe:
Mop ’N Glo
Show / Hide Mop ’N Glo Transcript Video Transcript:
I can’t believe it’s October already and our local One Fly contest is right around the corner. It’s always a great time, raises money for worthwhile causes and has become a large social event as well. Although a contest, for the most part it’s pretty casual. Anglers tend to fish flies that are anything but traditional or dainty. I’ll be shooting video of the affair again this year, but if I were fishing I might use a pattern I like to call the “Mop ’N Glo”. It combines the super deadly Mop fly with a pretty standard glo bug pattern. Yes, I know, this one really pushes the envelope in terms of good taste, but trout can’t seem to resist it.
I start with a Dai-Riki #125 size 14 Emerger hook. After mashing the barb and getting the hook firmly secured in my tying vise, I load a bobbin with a spool of nice, bright fluorescent orange UTC 70 thread. Start your thread on the hook shank behind the eye and take a few wraps rearward before snipping or breaking off the tag.
The “mop” part of the fly comes from a variety of mops, pads and mitts, regularly available in store cleaning and automotive departments. Snip one of the small fluffy segments free from its backing then strip just a bit of fluff from its butt end. Lay the stripped end on top of the hook shank and take thread wraps to secure it. Keep taking wraps all the way back to about the hook point to really get the segment bound down well. Give it a slight tug to make sure it won’t pull out and unravel. You can then build up a neat little thread base. End with your tying thread halfway between the mop and the back of the hook eye.
For the glo bug part of the fly, start by building the yoke or blood dot. Antron bright steelhead dubbing works great for this. Pluck out a couple pinches worth, here fluorescent fire orange. Double the material over to form a short, little segment then lay its midpoint on top of the hook shank, at the location of your tying thread. Take 2 or 3 wraps over top of the material to bind it down, then encircle its base with a few parachute-style wraps to post it up.
I’m going to use the same Antron dubbing material in yellow to form the rest of the glo bug. Build a fairly substantial 3-4 inch long dubbing noodle on your tying thread. Start taking wraps with the noodle on either side of the post to create an egg-like little sphere. It really doesn’t have to be perfect. Try to get the dubbing to end right at the hook eye. You can then do a 4 or 5 turn whip finish and snip or cut your tying thread free.
With sharp scissors, snip the post off close. This will form a small, contrasting dot on top of the fly. Although not essential, at this point I like to get a hold of some UV cure resin and apply just a drop or two on top of the dot to kind of magnify it. I’ll then use a bodkin to smooth the material out and encourage it to penetrate the fibers. When I’m satisfied with the look of things, I’ll pick up the UV torch and give the resin a good shot of light to cure it. The result is a very appealing, shiny little blood dot or yoke on the glo bug portion of the fly. The mop material does come in different colors and can be matched with a variety of colored glo bugs.
The Mop ’N Glo will help you clean up on the river and shine during competitions. Wow, tough room . . is this thing on?
I start with a Dai-Riki #125 size 14 Emerger hook. After mashing the barb and getting the hook firmly secured in my tying vise, I load a bobbin with a spool of nice, bright fluorescent orange UTC 70 thread. Start your thread on the hook shank behind the eye and take a few wraps rearward before snipping or breaking off the tag.
The “mop” part of the fly comes from a variety of mops, pads and mitts, regularly available in store cleaning and automotive departments. Snip one of the small fluffy segments free from its backing then strip just a bit of fluff from its butt end. Lay the stripped end on top of the hook shank and take thread wraps to secure it. Keep taking wraps all the way back to about the hook point to really get the segment bound down well. Give it a slight tug to make sure it won’t pull out and unravel. You can then build up a neat little thread base. End with your tying thread halfway between the mop and the back of the hook eye.
For the glo bug part of the fly, start by building the yoke or blood dot. Antron bright steelhead dubbing works great for this. Pluck out a couple pinches worth, here fluorescent fire orange. Double the material over to form a short, little segment then lay its midpoint on top of the hook shank, at the location of your tying thread. Take 2 or 3 wraps over top of the material to bind it down, then encircle its base with a few parachute-style wraps to post it up.
I’m going to use the same Antron dubbing material in yellow to form the rest of the glo bug. Build a fairly substantial 3-4 inch long dubbing noodle on your tying thread. Start taking wraps with the noodle on either side of the post to create an egg-like little sphere. It really doesn’t have to be perfect. Try to get the dubbing to end right at the hook eye. You can then do a 4 or 5 turn whip finish and snip or cut your tying thread free.
With sharp scissors, snip the post off close. This will form a small, contrasting dot on top of the fly. Although not essential, at this point I like to get a hold of some UV cure resin and apply just a drop or two on top of the dot to kind of magnify it. I’ll then use a bodkin to smooth the material out and encourage it to penetrate the fibers. When I’m satisfied with the look of things, I’ll pick up the UV torch and give the resin a good shot of light to cure it. The result is a very appealing, shiny little blood dot or yoke on the glo bug portion of the fly. The mop material does come in different colors and can be matched with a variety of colored glo bugs.
The Mop ’N Glo will help you clean up on the river and shine during competitions. Wow, tough room . . is this thing on?
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