Fly Of The Month

April 2001
The Rhody Chovy

By Frank Abbate

The Rhody Chovy is a fly designed by Ms. Page Rogers. It is usually tied on a #2 or #1 short shank hook such as the Tiemco 800s, Eagle Claw 254s or the Gamakatsu hook. This fly is a really productive pattern for fish such as Bonito or false Albacore. I have also caught my share of bass and blues with the Chovy. It is not a difficult fly to tie, but it does require some thought so that the fly comes out as it was intended.

Materials

Hook #2 or #1 short shank (Tiemco 800s, Eagle Claw 254SS or Gamakatsu SL11-3H, Mustad 77660SS)
Thread Danville's clear fine mono
Tail White craft fur
Wing Copper and parl Krystal Flash
Body Opallife tubing
Eyes Size 2 1/2 silver stick-on
Adhesive 5-minute epoxy


Tying Instructions
1 With hook in vise, tie in a short bunch of craft fur, leaving about a six inch tag of thread, to be used later on. It should be no more than about the length of the hook.
2 Cut a length of tubing about two inches
3 Slip one end of the tubing through the hook shank, up to where you tied in your tail. Tie off at this point (remember you still have that tag end hanging along side the vise, be careful not to clip that off).
4 Re-tie your thread at the eye of the hook over the tubing and with your thumb push the tubing down around the eye, so that it is now facing downward.
5 Cut a few strands of copper and pearl Krystal Flash and roll both between your fingers to mix
6 Wrap the Krystal Flash around the thread, bring both ends together and draw down on the thread to the point right behind the eye of the hook.
7 Tie off
8 Now carefully smooth back the Krystal Flash to the bend of the hook and with that tag end, make a few secure wraps to hold the Krystal Flash down. Don't let go of the thread.
9 Fold the tubing up front back to undersid eof the bend of the hook and tie with the remainder of the thread
10 Mix some epoxy and cover the body of the fly, up to about 1/8th of an inch beyond the bend of the hook and let dry.
11 When dry, place the eyes on and give another light coat of epoxy. (I don't like to put the eyes on with the first coat, because I don't want to dull any of the prism effect.) Once that is done, let it dry and later on you can paint a couple of gill marks on either side.