Dee Monkey Tube AK. Style;

[Ard]

I made these last night, they are my take on the Dee Monkey Fly on tube. They are relatively simple but have proven to be worth having and having more than two. I'll make 8 more so that if I were to God forbid, lose one or two I won't be left with no Monkey with which to spank the fish :

What you need (or similar) and how to..................

Tube: Pro Tube Micro Tube
Extension Tubing: Clear and cut to desired length
Body: Pro Tube Drop Weight 60 grain
Throat: Yellow hackle fibers, shown are burnt goose dyed yellow.
Wing: Black Angora Goat; under fur used as underwing then a small bunch of the long fine hair over top.
Lateral highlight: One strand of tinsel each side
Topping: 4 or 5 strands of Peacock herl
Cheeks: Jungle Cock real or die cut

Close up of drop weight body;

These are simple ties but I glue each step for durability and that slows things down tying them. They have a sleek small but long profile and it is this type fly that I am catching more rainbows and steelhead on than other patterns that came before them in my use repertoire so I'm staying the course.

When they are in the water under tension and crossing currents they will undulate in accordance with the amount of speed at which they are traveling. Whatever they look like, leech fish, USO (unknown swimming object) the fish will grab them. I find that by using a very short body / tube and a long flexible clear extension tube it becomes much easier to tie your jam knots because only one made way to long will leave the hook dangling. The hooks tuck neatly into the tube and there is no fouling between hook and materials.

 

[von behr]

Those are some good looking flies, Ard!

 

[littledavid123]

Understand your concern about losing a monkey, been thinking about getting another one myself in case I lose one.

Dave



YouTube

 

[Ard]

I'd forgotten about that and watched it all, the last one is probably the best but where he drops the car thief off the bridge ain't too bad either

Losing any fly at all makes me talk dirty Dave.........

 

[eastfly66]

Hey Ard,

Do you have a recommended substitute for blank Angora ? I don't have that one in stock and the shop is a long drive ....

 

[Ard]

Black craft fur or Arctic Fox, any long soft black fur or fiber material. The peacock herl I have came in a big pack all sewn together at the butts. There are hundreds of them in a pack.

The fly is really simple but so far has been a truly good thing to use. I would be fishing today but as often happens life has interfered with that idea. I'm still piling up wood for winter here, it's still dark but my truck sits outside with another load of split birch in the back waiting for me to figure out where to put it. Then there's that stack of logs at the turn around area............ I dropped a bunch of trees back in June, logged them into 12 foot length and then forgot about them until we got a little snow. I skidded them out yesterday, made a pile then went to cut and split some other trees.

Yeah I know, I shouldda had this done by August but I was out working on that cabin then so here they lay. It's going to be 45 degrees today and that's about as good as it's going to get between now and spring, poop!

 

[just4grins]

Ard, the "tube" fly you've tied is amazingly similar to several larger saltwater prototypes that Lee Wulff made, which I have. He called them tube flies and ran twisted steel wire through the tube and that put the hook at the rear with bite protection and twisted the wire to create a loop where you could attach the a shock mono leader. He also designed a removable cup like hard foam head to turn the fly into a chugging style fly for surface action.
They never went into production perhaps because he passed away before doing more work on them.

 

[Unknownflyman]

Good looking flies Ard, and yeah tube flies or shank flies as well are great flies for toothy predators, wire can be used, long bushy but yet sparse and light flies cast well and certainly two handed on surf, lakes or rivers.