Whitlock's Eelworm
Dave Whitlock designed the Eelworm Streamer as a fly-rod counterpart to the soft-plastic worm used by conventional bass anglers. Its heavy dumbbell eyes give the fly a nose-down posture, while the long splayed saddle feathers and fuzzy, palmered body undulate as it is crawled, hopped, or slowly stripped near the bottom. The pattern is primarily associated with largemouth and smallmouth bass and is well suited to fishing around weed edges, submerged timber, rocks, and other structure. The main tying considerations are anchoring the eyes securely, balancing the four tail feathers, keeping the body shaggy without making it excessively bulky, and reinforcing the palmered hackle with monofilament.
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Recipe
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Hook · standard salmon streamer hook sizes 1/0 - 6
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Thread · red 6/0
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Weed guard · heavy clear monofilament, optional
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Tail · four black saddle hackles, paired and splayed
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Body · black SLF and rabbit-fur dubbing blend
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Hackle · black saddle hackle, palmered over body
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Eyes · silver bead chain
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Body hackle · black saddle hackle
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Rib · 2X-4X clear monofilament
Tying Instructions
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1
Secure the hook in the vise and start the red thread behind the hook eye.
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2
Position the lead dumbbell eyes across the top of the hook shank and secure them with firm figure-eight and posting wraps.
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3
Apply adhesive to the eye wraps if additional durability is desired.
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4
Carry the thread rearward and tie in two matched black saddle hackles on each side of the hook, arranging the four feathers as a long, splayed tail.
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5
Tie in a length of clear monofilament at the rear of the body for the reinforcing rib.
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6
Prepare a black saddle hackle and tie it in by the tip at the base of the tail.
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7
Blend black SLF with rabbit fur and place the mixture in a dubbing loop or apply it directly to the thread.
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8
Wrap the dubbing forward to form a long, fuzzy body that tapers slightly toward the dumbbell eyes.
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9
Palmer the black saddle hackle forward over the body in evenly spaced turns, stroking the fibers rearward as you wrap.
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10
Counter-wrap the clear monofilament through the hackle to reinforce it, then secure and trim both materials behind the eyes.
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11
Brush the body lightly to free trapped fibers and produce a soft, undulating profile.
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12
Add an optional loop-style monofilament weed guard beneath the hook.
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13
Build a neat red thread head, whip finish, and seal the wraps with head cement or adhesive.