Fly Of The Month

May 2002

Polar Fiber Deceiver
by Frank Abbate

The Deceiver is a pattern that is as old as the hills and proven every step of the way. Since the influx of new tying materials in the last ten to fifteen years, old patterns can now achieve a modern face lift. The use of craft fur is nothing new to fly tiers, however even the materials we use also undergo some changes along the way. Polar fiber was introduced about 3 years ago and has become one of the newest workhorsematerials on the tying bench. Longer than its older counterpart it also has a much desired brilliance and shine which gives it amazing colors under water. Polar fiber has a graceful movement in the water, which really seems to call fish to attention. The Polar fiber Deceiver is a combination of old and new. While the wing and collar use the more modern synthetic fiber, the tail section maintains its hackle tail.
The example shown in this article, yellow/grizzly has been the most productive for me in recent years.

Materials:
Thread-uni-thread white 6/0
Hook: Gamakatsu Trey Combs 2/0-4/0
Wing- Polar Fiber white or off white
Secondary wing/gill - red calf tail
Body- pearl flashabou
Tail- white hackle and yellow grizzly hackle[preferable lightly bleached]
Flash along wing - pearl Krystal Flash
Eyes- Mirage Dome eyes medium

Tying instructions:

1] After placing hook in vise begin your thread wrap about an 1/8th of an inch behind the hook eye. Lay a neat thread foundation ending at a point between point and barb.
2] Take 2 grizzly hackles and 4 white saddle hackles, and lay them on your lap curve side down.[you can handle hackles much easier this way] Take 2 white hackles and place them on top of one of the grizzly hackles. repeat this step with the second set of hackles. With thumb and forefinger lift one of the sets and move them to your opposite hand, lift
the second set and marry them together grizzly to grizzly hackle. You want the white hackle on the outside and the grizzly hackle on the inside of the whole set. Remove some fluff from the blunt end of the hackle and tie down.
3] Tie in some flashabou on both side of the hackle. 2 or 3 strands will do.
4] Again take some flashabou and tie around shank of hook till you are at the front tie in point.
5] Cut a small bunch of red calf tail and tie in at the same point you ended flash body. Make sure that the calf tail fully surrounds hook shank.
6] Add a few strands of Krystal Flash on both sides of the calf tail.
7] Cut a bunch of Polar Fiber and tie on top and with another bunch on the bottom of the fly. Add a much sparser amount of Polar Fiber along the sides of the fly, same length as the wing.
8] Taper a small head and tie off.
9] Take a small amount of Goop and place on both eyes. add one eye to each side and let dry.