"Skeeter"
by Glen Mikkleson

"The Brown/White Skeeter accounted for most of the false albacore I caught last season. It does a good job of imitating the tiny bay anchovies (whitebait, rainfish) that come inshore along our East End in the fall. The Little Tunny arrive a few days later, along with massive schools of striped bass and bluefish, to feast for up to a month and longer before heading south."

The techniques Glen uses to create his "Skeeter" pattern, particularly the shiny, silvery, gamefish-attracting "pot belly" profile, also enhance the appearance of larger epoxy patterns meant for striped bass. Now that weakfish are around in good numbers, the standard, small "Skeeter" pattern described below is also a good bet for weakfish along the beach front or at the mouths of estuaries.

Materials

• Hook: Gamakatsu SL11-3H; Size 4, 6, & 8
• Thread: White; Size A
• Body: Silver Braid wrapped with Pearl Flashabou
  Ribbing; Pearl Flashabou
• Wing-Flash: Silver & Pearl Krystal Flash
• Wing: Brown over White Bucktail
• Head: Brown & Pearl Nail Polish
• Eyes: 1.5 - 2 mm Silver Prism Stick-On Eyes
• Finish Coat: 2-Ton (Rod Builders') Epoxy

1: Wrap the hook shank to the bend. Tie in the two strands of Pearl Flashabou, and the Silver Braid. Tie the tag end of braid along the bottom of the shank, leaving the thread behind the hook eye.

2: Rotate the hook point up, and proceed to build the "pot belly" profile by "pleating" several layers of the Silver Braid back and forth along the shank to build up the belly. There is no need to make close, tight thread wraps as you bring the thread from the eye to the bend and back again. A few wide turns to hold the braid in place is all that is necessary, but tie in the ends tightly.

Note: By shortening the lengths of the final two or three layers, and keeping them toward the front of the shank, you will create the common whitebait profile.

3: With the thread behind the hook eye, wrap the remaining Silver Braid forward over the pleated layers and tie in at the head.

4: Pick up one of the Flashabou strands at the bend, and wrap it forward over the Silver Braid. The Pearl Flashabou will turn translucent when it's coated with the epoxy, revealing the Silver Braid, and leaving a fish-attracting pearlescent glaze. Tie in the Flashabou at the head.

5: Tie in a sparse White Bucktail wing at the head, topped by a few strands of Silver and Pearl Krystal Flash. Stagger the ends of the Krystal Flash, and leave the strands long enough to extend slightly beyond the bucktail. Top it off with a small bunch of the Brown Bucktail. The overall length of the finished pattern should be approximately 1.5 to 2 inches.

6: Carefully wrap the remaining strand of Pearl Flashabou forward with five wide wraps to the head. It is important to keep the bucktail topwing layers aligned so that the finished pattern displays a brown top color and a white side color. Tie in the Flashabou, and finish the head. Your thread should now extend approximately one-quarter of an inch behind the front of the pattern.

7: Paint the thread with the Pearl nail polish. When it's dry, paint the top of the head with the Brown polish, keeping the color in line with the layer of Brown Bucktail.

8: Apply two coats of a 2-Ton Epoxy. Rotate the pattern while the epoxy sets (approximately 45 minutes). While the first coat is still tacky, add the Silver Prim Stick-On Eyes, positioning them so that about the rear one-third of each eye covers the line where the thread meets the body. Allow the final epoxy coat to cure for several hours.

Note: If the epoxy cures tacky, give the pattern a light coat of clear nail polish or Gloss Coat.