Fly Tying Hub

Agent Orange

Moore's Agent Orange is a simple bonefish pattern originated by Winston Moore and built around an intensely visible orange body and wing flanked by grizzly hackle tips. Although impressionistic rather than anatomically exact, its low-profile dressing suggests a small shrimp or other flats crustacean and is especially useful when fish need an easily seen target. The unweighted construction lands softly and is well suited to shallow flats, including bonefish water in Belize and the Yucatán. It is normally allowed to settle briefly and then retrieved with short strips and pauses; at the vise, the principal considerations are keeping the craft-fur wing sparse and mounting the paired hackle tips evenly on both sides.

↓ Jump to Recipe ↓ Jump to Instructions

No photos of this fly yet

Tied the Agent Orange? Be the first to share a photo — it'll be featured right here.

Add Your Photo

Recipe

Tying Instructions

  1. 1

    Secure the hook in the vise, start the fluorescent orange thread behind the eye, and lay a smooth thread foundation rearward along the shank.

  2. 2

    Tie in the orange chenille at the rear of the body area and advance the thread to the front.

  3. 3

    Wrap the chenille forward in close, touching turns to form a compact orange body, then secure and trim the excess.

  4. 4

    Prepare a sparse bunch of hot orange craft fur by removing the short underfur and uneven fibers.

  5. 5

    Tie the craft fur on top of the hook as a wing extending beyond the bend.

  6. 6

    Select four matching grizzly hackle tips and arrange two along each side of the craft-fur wing.

  7. 7

    Tie the hackle tips securely in place, keeping the pairs even and aligned with the wing.

  8. 8

    Trim the material butts, cover them with thread, and form a neat fluorescent orange head.

  9. 9

    Whip finish and apply head cement or clear varnish.