How-to Rubber Legs

[Brian Wise]

Rubber-Legs How-to

Materials (in order of apperance):

#6-10 heavy shanked hook

.030 Lead Wire

Black Thread

5 2″ strands of Spanflex

Variegated Chenille

Place hook in vise. Wrap 15-17 (or more for bigger hooks) wraps of the .030 lead wire on hook.

Dress hook with black thread, start behind the wire with a “ball” of thread, then bring the thread forward to the eye wrapping another “ball” in front of the lead making the lead solid so it will not slip. Bring thread back to the bend of the hook.

Bend one of your strands of Spanflex directly in half.

Tie the Spanflex in where you bent it in half with the ends pointing out creating the tail.

Strip off 1/8 of an inch of chenille off of the strand(this will help not bulk up that end of the fly as you wrap the chenille forward)

Tie in the stripped part of the chenille.

Wrap the thread forward 1/3 of the hook. Wrap the chenille 4 turns forward and tie off(but don’t cut the chenille yet). Tie in a strand of Spanflex on the closest side to you, this should be done in a way that you can simply lay the Spanflex across the hook to tie off the other side. Then, tie the other side. Don’t worry about trimming the Spanflex yet.

Wrap the chenille 2 turns forward, tie off and then add another set of rubber legs exactly the same way as above. Tie off and wrap the chenille forward 2 more turns.

Add rubber legs.

Now bend another strand of Spanflex in half the exact opposite way as you did the tail. This will create the antenna.

Tie the bent strand of rubber legs in front of the chenille with the strands pointing toward and over the eye of the hook. One last wrap of chenille, tie off and whip finish.

Pinch all three side strands of Spanflex between your fingers of your non-cutting hand (much like a barber) and cut them at a slight angle with the longer strands in front.

If needed trim the other side (closest to you) at the same angle….and DONE!

I tie these in a ton of different colors. I also tie these with a dubbed body of SLF. GREAT North Fork of the White fly!

Brian

[Jeremy Hunt]

I always catch fish on that pattern. Good Looking fly!! I don't know if to many people give this fly credit, but I sure do. If some of you never fished this fly, try it.

Do you dead drift it under a indicator? Or what's the best way you fish it?

I've had really good luck with brown chenille and brown 2" spanflex on the White River.

[Brian Wise]

Jeremy,

I have to be honest and say that I started using this pattern again this fall...should have never stopped using it.

Most of the time I drift it under an indicator but the bigger ones make a good anchor for czech nymphing.

Brian

[Jeremy Hunt]

I hear you there. That's how I fish it.

[brittsnbirds]

Don't mean to sound stupid but what is "Spanflex"? Who is it by, don't remember seeing it.

Pat

[Terry Beeson]

Hey Pat... It's that stuff those Lance Armstrong types wear... as well as those pear-shaped women on food stamps shopping in Krogers...

OH... WAIT... that's spanDEX.....

Spanflex is a funky durable stretchy rubber leg/ribbing/tail/feeler/body material from Wapsi. It is available at the best fly shops (your welcome Tim, Phil, Michael..)

Brian and Jeremy - Do you tie any with one-color chenille or all verigated?

[Brian Wise]

Terry, tie them in solids, dubbed bodies, whatever....just tie them and fish them. I am thinking one of these tied on a #18 scud hook would catch all the fish you wanted in the tailwaters.

Brian

[Jeremy Hunt]

Terry, to be honest with you, I personally don't tie much with variegated chenille. I love solid colors for flies that require chenille type bodies. With saying that, everything else would be other colors to change up the profile to give it some character.

Spanflex is a lot different than rubber legs. It also has hollow bubbles throughout the material which makes the material have action without you doing anything. I would recommend anyone who ties crawdad patterns to use this stuff for the antennas. When the fly sits still, it’s still working for you.

[Brian Wise]

I am probably about 50-50 variegated and solid. Also, not all of mine have Spanflex for the legs.

Jeremy,

What exactly is the "inside" lengthwise lines of the Spanflex made out of? Does that make any sense?

Brian

[Jeremy Hunt]

Spanflex (synthetic silk) is the same stuff they put inside of golf balls and baseballs. It’s more less a rubber thread. If you think about string cheese, it’s pretty much the same concept. It’s stretch from rubber legs (extruded). The reason why they put it underwear is it will take bleach.

Dave Whitlock was the first person who experimented with this stuff, trying it out for legs on a golden stone flies.