Lesson 4: THE MICKEY FINN

Mickey Finn is a streamer, which fishes well in cold waters or when irritation is needed. Both trouts and rainbowtrouts are pleased in Mickey Finn. When MF is dressed on a salmon hook, it is a effective salmon fly.

Dressing

Hook: Streamer # 2-10
Thread: Red Tag: Oval silver tinsel
Tail: Under yellow bucktail, over red, the lenght about ½ of the shank
Rib: Oval silver tinsel
Body: Flat silver tinsel
Wing: Three layers: under yellow bucktail, length the shank, between red a bit longer and over yellow the tips reaching the the tailtips
Head: Red

Base the shank with thread. Tie a tag with 4-5 turns of tinsel. Leave rest of the tinsel hanging under the shank.

Take a yellow and a red bucktail. When You cut hairs out of a tail, make the cut always in the roots of the hairs, this way the tail stays neat.The tips of the hairs are the living part of the fly.

Take a bunch of hairs in Your left hand. Make the tips even with Your right hand. Never make the tips even by cutting with scissors!

Fasten first a bunch of yellow hair and then a bunch of red hair to make the tail. The right length of the tail is half of the length of the shank.

Fasten the flat tinsel in the front of the shank.

Turn the first turn of the tinsel so, that it fastens under itself the short end of the tinsel.

Travel with side-by-side turns of the tinsel to the tag.

Turn the tinsel with side-by-side turns back to the front. Fasten the tinsel wiyh the thread.

Turn the oval tinsel with 5 turns to the front to form the rib and fasten it with the thread.

Take 10-20 yellow hairs of bucktail, even the tips and tie the underwing in the lenght of the body.

Tie a bunch of red bucktail as midwing and a bit longer than the underwing

Tie the overwing with yellow hairs so, that the tips reach the tips of the tail. Form a nice, small