Whether you fish moving or still, cold or warm water the
Debutante is one of the most effective and versatile flies you will find
anywhere.
Soft hackle flies have been around and catching fish for a
very long time because fish simply can’t resist the action of the hackle
collar. The Debutante is no exception.
HISTORY
The fly I now call the Debutante started out life as a
completely different pattern. Desperate to find an easy to tie damselfly nymph
pattern I began twisting marabou barbs on a hook. One thing led to another and
I found myself fishing a super simple pattern (called Non Specific) that consisted
of nothing more than marabou barbs positioned and wound on a hook to produce a
tapered silhouette with a slender undulating tail. It fished (still does)
really well for both trout and panfish but I seldom leave things alone when
there’s tinkering to be done.
This is the time I should mention that over many years of
tinkering with it marabou has proved to be one of the most reliable and
versatile fly tying materials you can strap onto a hook. This has been proven
many times over in widely varied situations when fishing flies of identical
silhouettes tie with other dubbings. When observed underwater marabou catches
light like no other material. The light refraction qualities of marabou falls
somewhere between most natural fur dubbings and Antron fibers.
The next incarnation is what I now call the Twisted Damsel.
This pattern has a double tail, one short and one long with bead chain eyes and
a touch of flash in the tail. Again it is simple but deadly anywhere damselfly
nymphs are present. I have been tempted to tinker with this fly many times but
it’s so effective that tinkering seems a bit ridiculous. This is something
that’s hard to learn in fly tying and design. When it works really well stop
jacking around with it!
The next incarnation took me back to the Non Specific and the
addition of a soft hackle. Next came a rib then a bit of weight tied with and
without a tail. At the time I was fishing East Newton Lake outside of Cody, WY.
East Newton is one of those places where, as a fishing writer fishes you either
write about it or wish like hell no one else ever had. The trout are big and
picky most of the year. At North Fork Anglers, the fly shop in downtown Cody
it’s accepted knowledge that if a fly consistently catches trout at East Newton
it will catch trout anywhere. It took a
long time to make the Debutant one of those flies.
The extremely clear water at East Newton made it easy to
stalk trout in the shallows and judge their reaction to different stages of the
development of many flies. It also turned out to be a great proving ground for
trout running the weed bed edges and those keying in on mayflies as well as
caddis throughout the year.
The recipe used for the Debutante has been revised so many
times it takes up nearly 50 pages of notes. The combination of materials was
determined by underwater observation and the reaction of trout when they see
it. Almost universally a trout will react curiously when the fly moves into
their field of vision. The speed and action that the fly is fished will determine
whether the trout will take.
FISHING
The Debutante is definitely a great stillwater fly for
trout, panfish, carp and the occasional bass. If you’ve spent your fishing life
thinking large bass won’t feed on small insects it’s time to rethink that position.
The only reason I don’t usually use the Debutante to target bass is that the
small hook gape seldom allows you to land a large bass. Tying one over a size
10 is difficult except with the absolute largest marabou feathers. I have been
able to tie some up to a size 6 but it’s rare and I hold onto those for special
occasions.
The method of fishing varies greatly depending on what the
fish might be keying on at the time. The Debutante is designed specifically NOT
to imitate any one insect or insects in general. There have been times when a
olive brown or pale olive version has been used to imitate small baitfish
species with tremendous success. For these reasons the best I can say in
general is to try and imitate the dominate food source at the time in size,
color and action.
Darting the fly quickly around shallow weed edges is an
excellent way to trigger a baitfish strike from a lurking trout or panfish.
Working the fly with short erratic strips near the surface
is a good way to trigger strikes during a mayfly or caddis emergence. For
particularly selective trout during caddisfly emergences the tail can be
clipped of to give a better silhouette of the caddis pupa.
During periods of little to no hatch activity work the fly
around underwater structure or weed beds with really slow, short, deliberate
strips. This is the time to try using a larger point fly and a Debutante as a
dropper. Many times even really big trout and panfish will take the smaller fly
in favor of the larger point fly. My go to in this situation is usually a Super
Dragon (another and later incarnation of the Not Much).
Venturing out onto rivers throughout Wyoming and Colorado
the Debutante has proven to be highly effective used as a nymph or emerger.
Dead drifted like a standard nymph the soft hackle, tail flash and peacock
thorax adds to the fish attracting ability. Used with a down and across or
Leisenring lift technique put the fly in front of emerger feeding fish for
excellent results. Just match the size and color to the insect they are keyed
on.
Where the Debutante really shines in moving water is
inducing strikes from extremely selective trout. I first read about the
technique in Challenge of the Trout. When a really finicky feeder is
encountered that won’t take other imitations try this technique. Move to a
position across and slightly downstream of the feeder. Measure your cast and
“splat” the fly even with or just behind the eye of the trout 3-6 inches out
from the trout’s eye. When executed properly the feeding trout will instinctively
turn and strike the fly. The take is always fast and vicious with a very high
hook up percentage. This is an experience every fly fisherman should enjoy. The
takes are spectacular!
For all you tyers out there here are the recipe and tying instructions. Photos coming soon.
RECIPE
Hook- S80-3906
3X heavy nymph
Thread- Color
to match thorax
Tail flash- 2
strands Krystal Flash
Tail/abdomen- Marabou
barbs
Thorax- Peacock
herl
Collar- Partridge,
grouse or hen pheasant soft hackle
TYING INSTRUCTIONS
1- Start the tying thread 1/3 of the way back on
the shank from the hook eye. Trim the tag end and move the thread to the middle
of the shank.
2- Catch in the Krystal Flash and cover the butts
forward to the thread starting point.
3-
Catch in the ribbing wire and position it on the
back side of the hook.
4-
Wind the thread back to just over the hook barb
covering the ribbing wire and Krystal Flash while keeping the Krystal Flash on
top of the hook shank. Cut the Krystal Flash leaving a tail equal to the hook
shank length.
5-
Move the thread forward in one open wrap a
distance equal to 4 thread widths and let it hang.
6-
Select a group (18-16 barbs) of long slender
marabou barbs from a blood quill and strip them from the stem so that the tips
are as even as possible.
7-
Measure tips to a length equal to the entire
hook length less the eye. Transfer that length so that it is over the position
where the thread is hanging. The barb tips will be positioned over, and
slightly longer than the tail flash.
8-
Take one very snug thread wrap making sure the
barbs are positioned exactly on top of the hook shank.
9-
Make 3 threads back to where the thread stopped when
tying in the tail flash.
10-
Fold the butt ends of the marabou back over the
tie in point and take two very tight thread wraps moving forward. This action
locks the marabou barbs in place.
11-
Wind the thread forward to the original starting
point and let it hang.
12-
Grasp the butt ends of the marabou in a rotary
hackle plier. Twist the marabou barbs into a slender tapered rope.
13-
Wind the marabou forward to the starting point
where the thread hangs and tie it off securely. Trim the excess butts.
14-
Tie in 2-3 strands of peacock herl and wind a
thick thorax on the hook to 1 hook eye length behind the hook eye.
15-
Prepare and tie in a soft hackle feather by the
tip. Do NOT cut the tip as you normally would on a soft hackle fly.
16-
Fold the tip back over the top of the thorax and
secure it in place.
17-
Wrap the hackle, tie it off and trim the butt.
Take several thread wraps over the hackle stem to train the hackle fibers
backward creating a shroud around the fly.
18-
Whip-finish.
