Comet

Chinook Salmon Chum Salmon Coho Salmon Steelhead Attractor Baitfish Egg and Milt Cluster Attractor Freshwater Pacific Salmon Salmon Steelhead Weighted Fly

The Comet is a classic West Coast salmon and steelhead pattern that emerged from the Northern California fly-tying tradition, although accounts differ over which tyer originated the style. Its defining features are bead-chain eyes, a long hair tail, a bright body, and a soft hackle collar, producing a slim, highly visible fly with a darting, jigging action. It is an attractor rather than a precise imitation and is commonly swung through runs or retrieved with short strips for steelhead and Pacific salmon. Different eye sizes allow the pattern to be adjusted for depth, while its colors are frequently varied to suit water clarity and the salmon species being pursued. The main tying considerations are anchoring the bead-chain eyes securely, keeping the body even, and using a mobile but not overly dense hackle collar.

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Recipe

Hook · standard salmon streamer hook sizes 2 - 6
Thread · white
Tail · orange calf tail and orange krystal flash, long
Body · silver diamond braid (metallic braid tinsel)
Hackle · mixed orange and yellow soft hackle
Eyes · silver bead chain
Tail flash · orange Krystal Flash
Head · white tying thread
Finish · head cement or UV resin

Tying Instructions

1

Secure the hook in the vise, start the white thread behind the eye, and establish a firm thread base.
2

Position a short section of silver bead chain on top of the hook shank behind the eye and secure it with crossing figure-eight wraps.
3

Apply thread wraps beneath and around the bead-chain eyes to stabilize them, then add a small amount of cement if desired.
4

Carry the thread rearward to the tail tie-in point.
5

Clean and align a bunch of orange calf tail, then tie it in as a long tail extending approximately one hook-shank length beyond the bend.
6

Add several strands of orange Krystal Flash along the sides of the calf-tail fibers and trim them to approximately the same length as the tail.
7

Tie in the silver Diamond Braid at the rear of the body.
8

Wrap the Diamond Braid forward in touching turns to create a smooth, reflective body, stopping immediately behind the bead-chain eyes.
9

Prepare orange and yellow soft-hackle fibers and blend the colors together.
10

Tie the mixed hackle fibers beneath and around the front of the body to form a full, swept-back collar.
11

Secure all materials, build a neat white head around the base of the bead-chain eyes, and whip finish.
12

Apply head cement or UV resin to protect the thread wraps.