November FOTM - The Tuna Candy
Posted: Thu Dec 03, 2020 12:46 am
November’s fly of the month is the Tuna Candy which is simply a species-specific version of the Surf Candy fly pattern made famous primarily by American fly tyer Bob Popovics. The Tuna Candy is a very effective small baitfish pattern that is my first-choice fly for hunting Tuna. Pretty much all Tuna species can be caught with this fly as well as other species like Queenfish, Tailor, Australian Salmon (Kahawai), Mackerel, Herring, Giant Herring etc etc. The Tuna Candy can be tied in a variety of colours and colour combos, my favourite is clear over white, but olive over white, grey over white, pink over white and blue over white all work well. The original pattern was tied using Super hair or Unique hair for the body, but other materials like Polar fibre, Holofusion and Slinky fibre are popular, also Bucktail works very well just not as durable as the synthetic materials. This fly is easy to cast, doesn’t foul much and is highly durable.
Recipe: in order of tying.
Hook – size 2# - 1/0# Gamakatsu SL12S, Mustad Tarpon or similar (shorter shanked hooks are best).
Thread – clear monofilament thread is preferred if not flat waxed 210 denier white will do.
Body wrap – a few strands of silver or pearl Sparkle flash tied in, twisted together then wrapped onto the hook shank.
Under wing – a small bunch of tapered opaque white Super hair or clear Super hair if using another colour over the top, tied in on top of the hook shank about 5mm from the hook eye and about 3 x the hook length from tie in point to tail.
Flash – 4 strands of silver Sparkle flash & 4 strands of pearl flashabou or fine Lateral scale flash tied in on top the same length as the wing then cut a few of the strands slightly shorter.
Over wing – a small bunch of tapered clear Super hair or colour of your choice tied in on top 2mm from the hook eye the same length as the under wing.
Topping/Dorsal line – one small tapered bunch (6 to 8 strands) of Midge flash or Krystal flash your choice of colour.
Whip finish and cut tying thread.
Head – apply one thin coat of UV resin (hard or flex) to suit desired profile (high, round, thin etc) from the hook eye extending back to at least ¾ of the hook shank length.
Eyes – Stick on holographic silver eyes, size to suit fly and you can add a bleeding gill slit each side with a red sharpie/marker if you want.
Apply a second coat of the UV resin over the entire head making sure to encase the eyes, gill marks and all bindings.
For most Tuna fish this fly on an 8wt – 10wt rod with a 20lb fluorocarbon tippet with lefty’s loop knot to allow for maximum movement. Usually best retrieved as fast as you can with double overhanded strip the second it hits the water for best results, get some in your box now.
Recipe: in order of tying.
Hook – size 2# - 1/0# Gamakatsu SL12S, Mustad Tarpon or similar (shorter shanked hooks are best).
Thread – clear monofilament thread is preferred if not flat waxed 210 denier white will do.
Body wrap – a few strands of silver or pearl Sparkle flash tied in, twisted together then wrapped onto the hook shank.
Under wing – a small bunch of tapered opaque white Super hair or clear Super hair if using another colour over the top, tied in on top of the hook shank about 5mm from the hook eye and about 3 x the hook length from tie in point to tail.
Flash – 4 strands of silver Sparkle flash & 4 strands of pearl flashabou or fine Lateral scale flash tied in on top the same length as the wing then cut a few of the strands slightly shorter.
Over wing – a small bunch of tapered clear Super hair or colour of your choice tied in on top 2mm from the hook eye the same length as the under wing.
Topping/Dorsal line – one small tapered bunch (6 to 8 strands) of Midge flash or Krystal flash your choice of colour.
Whip finish and cut tying thread.
Head – apply one thin coat of UV resin (hard or flex) to suit desired profile (high, round, thin etc) from the hook eye extending back to at least ¾ of the hook shank length.
Eyes – Stick on holographic silver eyes, size to suit fly and you can add a bleeding gill slit each side with a red sharpie/marker if you want.
Apply a second coat of the UV resin over the entire head making sure to encase the eyes, gill marks and all bindings.
For most Tuna fish this fly on an 8wt – 10wt rod with a 20lb fluorocarbon tippet with lefty’s loop knot to allow for maximum movement. Usually best retrieved as fast as you can with double overhanded strip the second it hits the water for best results, get some in your box now.
