Don's Fly Tying - the Kmart Special

The story goes that a customer went into a rather high end tackle shop and asked what was the best fly for a certain lake? The proprietor answered, "This one"! It was a simple green bodied fly with greenish pheasant wings and hackle, resembling a Carey Special. The customer in somewhat disbelief answered, "Go on, it just looks like a cheap Kmart fly". Thus the name, Kmart Special, was born! Well, it is both simple to tie and does not use fancy materials, but at times of the year, it can be deadly! Do not be fooled by perhaps a cheap appearance as this fly will work in many BC lakes and it should be in your fly collection!

Below is my black Lab, Tessie, trying a little fishing on her own.

Materials

Hook--2x shank hook, size 6 to 12
Tail--None
Body--Light green chenille or wool
Rib--Black tying thread, thick
Head--Black tying thread
Hackle--Greenish pheasant rump feather
Wing--Greenish pheasant rump feather
Thread--Black

Instructions

The Kmart Special is very easy to construct, a good starter fly for a new tier! Use thicker than usual tying thread as the rib is nothing more than black thread. Begin with a body of light green chenille or wool hook bend to the eye. Next make spaced turns of the black thread to rib the body length. Both the wing and hackle are then made with the same greenish pheasant rump feather. If you are not a pheasant hunter, regular pheasant tail will do which is readily available from tackle shops. The final step is to make a head with your black tying thread, cement, tie off and you have completed a simple but very effective wet fly for BC lakes!

Your comments are welcome at "dhaaheim at telus dot net"

Do you want to see the previous fly tying articles?

Monthly Fly Tying Articles from November 1996

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