San Juan Worm

[Phil Lilley]

San Juan Worm

Jeremy Hunt

Recipe:

Hook: 3769 TMC Sizes 10-8

Thread: UTC 70 color to match body

Body: Standard chenille (micro for hooks smaller than 14)

Tie in your thread at the front of the hook and advance to the bend of the hook. Make sure you pass the hook point. The bend of the hook will always be passed the hook point. When you wrap your thread to the bend please pay attention to making each one of your thread wraps next to the next wrap keeping a nice smooth body. And if you don’t use a floss thread then you will definitely see a big difference in how your fly will turn out.

Cut a piece of chenille. What I have found out if you’re trying to conserve on material. If you look at how they wrap the chenille around the card. Each fold around is where I make my cut and that will be a perfect length for the size of the worm you will need for most hooks under size 14. I normally always tie my worms on 14 and 16.

This is a part that I wonder is there a right way or a wrong way about how to wind your thread forward when tying in the chenille. I have seen it done two ways. The way I like is when you’re tying up the shank I like the segmented way better. A lot of the worms I have seen tied is they tie in at the back then lift the chenille up and advance the to the center of the hook and then tie in again lift up the chenille then tie to the front of the eye and tie it down and the fly is complete. To be honest with you I think it looks ugly that way. I think people do it that way for durability but if you just glue the underside of the fly all the way down the thread your fly will last just as long and it will have worm look to it as well. So when you tie your chenille in just make even wraps all the way up the fly forming a segmentated look.

Once you are up at the eye you are ready to whip finish the fly...

and then GLUE it. (The underside where the thread is showing.) This will make it last longer.

San Juan Worm

Jeremy Hunt

[Brian K. Shaffer]

Is that Vernille or Chenille J ?

Looks more like Vernille.

Brian