HOLD THE SALT
Though designed for ocean fishing, these eight exotic fly patterns are just as deadly on Canada’s freshwater fish
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#7 PEANUT BUTTER
If I could only use one saltwater fly in Canadian lakes, I’d pick the Peanut Butter—no contest. It’s not even close. This fly is in a league of its own: utterly original, virtually indestructible and spectacularly effective.
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Made of semi-flexible synthetic material, it’s flowy and translucent, with a unique, laterally compressed shape. And because the synthetic material doesn’t absorb water, even a big version casts easily, all day long. The short-shank, wide-gap hook is also well suited to a mono weed guard, so a Peanut Butter on an intermediate-sinking line is my go-to bass/pike/walleye fly in the cabbage.
This fly is tied by layering small bunches of material along the hook shank, and trimming the resulting shrubbery into shape with scissors. It’s fiddly at first, but not hard once you get the hang of it. Fly materials are usually pretty generic, but the only stuff that works for the body are EP Fibers. The material costs about $10 a pack, which will make 15 to 20 flies. EP Fibers are available in most fly shops and online, and come in a rainbow of colours, but my favourite combos for freshwater are firetiger, all-black and grey, cream or chartreuse over white. (For more about this remarkable fly, see www.outdoorcanda.ca/peanutbutter.)
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- HOOK: Gamakatsu SC15 or similar, sizes 1/0 to 3/0
- TAIL AND BODY ACCENTS: EP Sparkle or similar ultra-fine tinsel
- BODY: Layered EP Fibers
- EYES: Large 3-D
- WEEDGUARD (optional): stiff 20- to 30-pound mono
- DIFFICULTY: Moderate