Here is something for all you fly tiers out there. Mary Ann and I were tying some streamer flies recently and she asked me about the impact of tying barbell eyes on the top vs. the bottom of the hook shank. My comment was that I thought it was Bob Clouser with his Clouser Minnow patterns who emphasized the position of the barbell eyes: 1) Eyes on the top of the hook shank would make the fly turn over in the water, and 2) Eyes on the bottom of the hook shank and the fly would ride upright in the water. So, we tried an experiment. Mary Ann tied up two rabbit strip streamer flies on #8 2X long, down-eye hooks. One fly with the blue body had the barbell eyes tied on the bottom of the hook shank…the second fly with a chartreuse body had the barbell eyes tied on the top of the hook shank. Our next trip out on the river we shot underwater photos of each fly in the water. Our findings…Bob Clouser was right. So, if you really want your minnow streamer patterns to look realistic, it’s important to make sure where the barbell eyes are tied on the hook. Check it out:
Barbell Eyes Tied on the Bottom of the Hook Shank – Fly Rides Upright in the Water.
Barbell Eyes Tied on the Top of the Hook Shank – Fly turns Over in the Water.
Tie the bottom fly (barbells on top) with the rabbit strip on the other side (which will be the top when in the water) and the hook will ride up like shown and avoid dragging in weeds on the bottom of the stream.
Hi Paul,
Good to hear from you. Yep, you’re right.
Dave
Dave, The evidence is conclusive and well presented. When I start tying streamers I will follow Bob’s advice.