Yucatan Special
The Yucatan Special is a lightly dressed marabou tarpon fly built around the highly visible combination of yellow and orange. This version uses a yellow marabou tail framed by grizzly saddle tips, followed by orange marabou and grizzly hackle collars that produce substantial movement without making the fly difficult to pick up and cast. It is particularly useful for tarpon in stained or dirty-water lagoons, where its bright colors and pulsating profile give fish a conspicuous target. The principal tying considerations are keeping the dressing light, matching the paired tail feathers, and stroking the marabou and hackle rearward while palmering so their fibers remain mobile and free of trapped material.
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Recipe
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Hook · standard saltwater stainless steel size 2 - 8
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Thread · fluorescent orange UTC Ultra Thread, 140 denier
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Tail · yellow marabou
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Tail sides · two matched burnt-orange grizzly Euro saddle hackle tips
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Collar · orange blood-quill marabou
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Front hackle · burnt-orange grizzly Euro saddle hackle
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Head · fluorescent orange tying thread
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Finish · head cement or clear varnish
Tying Instructions
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1
Secure the hook in the vise, start the fluorescent orange thread behind the eye, and lay a firm thread foundation rearward along the shank.
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2
Tie in a bunch of yellow marabou at the rear of the shank to form a long, mobile tail.
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3
Select two matching burnt-orange grizzly saddle hackle tips and tie one along each side of the marabou tail, keeping them equal in length and aligned.
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4
Prepare an orange blood-quill marabou feather and tie it in by the tip immediately in front of the tail.
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5
Stroke the marabou fibers rearward and palmer the feather forward in close turns to form a full but lightly dressed collar.
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6
Secure the marabou stem and trim the excess.
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7
Tie in a burnt-orange grizzly saddle hackle at the front of the marabou collar.
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8
Fold the hackle fibers rearward and palmer the feather forward to create a contrasting outer collar.
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9
Secure and trim the hackle stem, sweep all fibers rearward, and form a neat fluorescent orange thread head.
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10
Whip finish and apply head cement or clear varnish.