Sponge Bob Square Head – Musky (predator) Popper
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Sponge Bob Square Head
Brad Bohen
Fly Tier
http://www.MuskyCountryOutfitters.comThis pattern made it’s debut in Musky Country in 2009. Early in the season I had a couple of clients up from Thorne Brothers/The Fly Angler out of Fridley, MN. They brought along a big squared headed closed cell foam popper that I got a big kick out of.
The square head was very effective. I was suprised at how well it popped. That fly was a bit over-the-top size-wise and was a bear to cast…but it got me fired up for topwater! They left the monstrosity with me and I started playing around with it and then incorporated the square head into some fly designs…
Basically I ended up marrying the square head to a Hang Time streamer. The results are a top water pattern that is easy to tie, casts very well and really calls up the fish…plus it is SUPER durable! Another bonus is it takes a lot of fish “just sittin’ there”…something I think all good topwaters should do. The Hang Time form behing the square head looks and acts alive being still.
Don’t just take my word for it – try one for yerself this season!
Materials
Glue: Clear Cure Goo (thick) and Gorilla Super Glue
Hook: Daiichi 2461 (6/0)
Thread: Danville 210 Denier Waxed Flymaster Plus
Tail: Bucktail – long and slender, topped with flashabou (20 strands), flanked by two long barred saddle feathers
Body: Hair, Flash, Feather applications – reverse tied bucktail, flashabou or crystal flash reverse tied, pair of long barred saddle feathers and spey wrapped blood marabou. This hair, flash, feather routine repeated until hook shank is filled.
Collar: Spey wrapped blood marabou feather.
Head: Square Cut – Closed Cell Foam
Optics: WTP decorator tape eyes (1/4″ OR 5/16″) – made 3-D with CCG
Tying instructions
Prepare the head and eyes prior to starting the fly tying.
Using Clear Cure Goo (thick formula) and some WTP decorator tape eyes – make up a batch of 3-D Optics.
Just apply a bead of CCG to the surface of each eye (make certain they are clean – no oil or grease)…
Zap em for 5 seconds with the UV light…
Coat each 3-D eye with Sally Hansens and you are good to go for eyebalz Amigos!Now onto the square foam heads…
I like these 4″ wall scraper blades…
Held with a Vise-Grips locking pliers…
To custom-cut my foam heads! O.K., so ‘square’ is a relative term…more like Trapazoid…but Sponge Bob Trapazoid Head just does not have the same ring to it!
Run a small nail through to provide an easy entrance hole for the hook later…
Then asmall dab of Groilla Super Glue to set each 3-D optic…
And your head is done!Now tie the fly. I’d suggest brushing up on a few Hang Times to nail down the reverse-tying of the bucktail and the Hair, Feather, Flash sequence. But for those of you who just jump right in…
Prepare a level, solid base of thread covering hook shank behind hook eye rearward to position even with hook point.
Select a bunch of long, thin bucktail from underside of tail. The best tailing fibers are generally found at the base of the bucktail or at the tip. Tie in bunch securely above hook point with the tips facing rearward and let the fibers rotate fully around the hook shank. Advance the thread forward, then flair the butt ends up with the thread like a small hackle.
Select 20-30 strands of flashabou and tie down with five to seven secure wraps over the level tie down area before taper. The majority of the flashabou fibers should flow off the back of the fly with about 2” forward of the tie down.
Reverse the short ends to face rearward spreading short ends in a half-hackle fashion and encapsulate tie down area in thread.Select a pair of nice flowing saddle hackles and strip the butt sections clean…
Tie in the feathers…
Prior to clipping off the stems – measure where the back of the foam head will be…and clip off the stems here…this will give you and ‘end-point for the fly body later when all the material is applied.
Then build up a little ‘saddle area of thread on the tie-down area..this will be where you place the neck bucktail.
This time ‘reverse-tied’…and then fold the tips back and encapsulate with thread to get the desired ‘angle-of-attack’ for the bucktail.
Now select a prime marabou plume and strip the butt section.
Tie it in by the butt and wrap spey style – making sure to stroke all the fibers rearward while you wrap to avoid fouling. This step is not entirely necessary but provides a nice way to cover the butt wraps from the reverse tying…also if you are building a fly with contrasting colors adding a marabou feather in this manner between bucktail steps lets you get contrast with minimum bulk.
Now a couple more saddles…
Then some more flashabou…
See – Hang Time is forming!Reverse tie more bucktail…
Add a couple more saddles…
Some crystal flash this time…
Finish with two spey marabous one in front of the other just to the end of those first saddle butt ends…remember…Build up a good thread base, whip-finish, coat the area with Gorilla Super Glue and then slide on the foam head (remember to take out the nail Dummy!)
DONE!
Big Chip says you can’t go wrong with Sponge Bob Square Head!
Enjoy
😉
Very cool fly. I was recently watching the Fish Bums: Mongolia DVD and couldn’t help but think that your musky creations would be perfect for chasing Taimen. Now if I could just manage to get to Mongolia to test them for you…
Tim
Doods
It is really not all that bad to throw…on a 10wt. I like the Cortland Little Tunny for my top water work during the daytime…full floaters at night. Nighttime is the righttime mostly 😉
Musky and poppers can be a cat herding festival. They come to the top really well but with most poppers there is something like a 1:10 strike to hook-up ratio on the good days…bad days…well lets not go there eh.
SBSH is different. It sits ass end down in the water at rest and gives the ‘skis something to grab onto. It does not get pushed out of the way like most other topwaters.
Very exciting part of the game…and if you can keep your cool and not troutset a strike this kind of action will make your nipples hard!
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