Pattern Index

The Blonde Pattern
by Jaiem Fleischmann

The Blonde pattern was developed by the legendary Joe Brooks, one of the Founding Fathers of saltwater fly fishing. It was developed at a time when fly fishers didn't have the wide range of synthetic materials we enjoy today, but, to this day, the Blonde pattern remains a simple, yet highly effective, style of fly for all manner of gamefish, including stripers, weakfish, bluefish, fluke, drum, tuna and snook.

The beauty of this style of fly is that it can be tied on almost any size hook and in an almost any variety of color combinations. Some of the traditional colors include the Platinum Blonde (all white), the Honey Blonde (all yellow), the Strawberry Blond -- a.k.a. "Blushing Blonde" -- (red/white), the Irish Blonde (green/white), and the Argentine Blonde (blue/white). Using more contemporary tying materials, the pattern can be further enhanced by adding flash to the tail and upper wing, a stick-on eye, and an epoxied head.

Materials

• Hook: Mustad 34007 size #2 through 3/0
• Tail: Bucktail
• Body: Mylar
• Upper wing: Bucktail
• Lower wing: None
• Thread: Black
• Head cement

Steps

1. Place hook in vise and anchor thread near the bend of the hook.

2. Tie on a medium clump of bucktail at the bend. Do not trim the bucktail after the initial thread wraps. Instead, continue to wrap the thread tightly around the bucktail and hook shank, working your way forward to just before the hook eye, then trim the excess. This builds a smoother, more evenly shaped body.

3. Attach a strip of Mylar just behind the eye. Wrap the shank of the hook in Mylar. Be sure to cover the entire shank so no bucktail or thread shows.

4. Apply a thin coat of head cement over the Mylar to prevent the wraps from slipping. Allow it to try completely before continuing.

5. Tie on a medium clump of bucktail over the top of the fly, anchored at the front of the hook just behind the eye where you tied off the Mylar from the body wrap.

6. Whip finish the head and coat with head cement. Done!