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January 2001by Rich
Johnson
Nine-Three - originated by Dr J Hubert Sanborn
Notes: I'm featuring this fly for a couple of reasons. 1) Traditional streamers are the basis for many patterns effective in Alaska. Designed to imitate bait fish, many east coast streamers can be effectively used in our waters to imitate smolt and fry, a major food source for our native species and for salmon in the salt. 2) The wing on the Nine-Three is constructed differently than most streamers. It is a specific design feature that the originator incorporated to effect the way the fly fished. However, the design feature has become lost in half of the references that I checked. I'm a firm believer that fly tying is a major way to effect your catch rate by making your pattern different and better. 3) This fly was originally designed as a trolling fly, a common method of fishing in the North East. Often these trolling flies were tied as tandems, using a trailing hook at the rear for short strikes. That is how I'll be tying this version as I want to lead into a future FOM this winter. By the way, the name of this fly comes from the size of the first fish it caught, 9lbs/3ozs.
(references: "Streamers & Bucktails" by Joseph D Bates, Jr * this book was the best; "Noll Guide to Trout Flies"; "The Book of Fly Patterns" by Eric Leiser; "Universal Fly Tying Guide" by Dick Stewart)
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Hook: Streamer 3XL to 6XL; or tandem as shown in instruction
Thread: 6/0 black
Body: Flat medium tinsel, silver
Wing: Small bunch of white bucktail;
Three medium green saddle hackles (tied flat) ;
Two natural black hackles
Cheeks: Jungle Cock, or substitute
Note: A tandem style fly uses two hooks, one at the head which materials are fastened to and one that trails, attached by a connecting material, usually monofiliment or wire. In theory the trailing hook is designed to hook fish that "short strike" at the tail of the fly instead of the head. In practice it allows the tyer to create a long fly without having to use a long shanked hook which creates leverage problems when playing large fish. As an added benefit you get a hook at both ends. Any pattern can be converted to a tandem style. Be aware of your local regulations, a tandem fly is not legal in single hook waters regardless of size. I'll explore this facet in an upcoming
FOM.
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1) The first hook I'm working with is the trailing hook, a heavy standard length #8. I prefer the trailing hook to be one size smaller than the main hook. Cover with the shank with layer of thread.
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2) Thread a piece of monofiliment through the eye and extend it down the length of the shank. Bind down the mono with a layer of thread. Use some cement to seal the wraps. (One of two techniques will help hold monofiliment on the shank. Melt a bump at the end of the mono before you lash it to the shank. Or you can double the mono back up the shank after wrapping binding it down with the first layer of thread. If you use wire you will need to double the wire back on itself.)
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3) Attach flat silver tinsel at the front, wrap to the rear and back forward. Tie off, build a small head and whip finish. Coat the entire body with clear head cement or nail polish.
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4) My lead hook is size 6, 2xlong. Cover the shank with a layer of thread. Measure the monofiliment from the trailing hook to create the length you want in your finished fly. Leave a shanks length extra if you're going to double the mono back on itself, or melt a small bump onto the front of the
monofiliment.
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5) Bind down the monofiliment on top of the lead hook shank. This is the time to make sure that your hooks are in line. I use oval mono which helps a lot, but assuming that most flytyers have round mono, it's important that you take care to keep the hooks inline and not twisted. Use cement to seal the wraps.
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6) Create a silver tinsel body as you did with the rear hook. Coat with clear cement or polish.
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7) Even the tips on a small bunch or white bucktail. Measure the length to reach just to the rear hook shank. Cut on a quick taper and bind down. Work a daub of cement into the butts.
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8) This is the secret of this fly! Tie in three green saddle hackles flat on top of the bucktail. The hackles should reach just past the bend of the rear hook. Dr Sanborn believed that the flat hackles made a distinctive difference in how this pattern "swam" through the water. (As a note of interest; the Alaskan Smolt and the Blue Smolt have wing feathers tied in flat. Both are very popular and effective flies with some local fishers.)
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9) This is a top view showing how I attached the hackles flat on top. Using a tight pinch on the tie in, I take three wraps, trapping a few of the hackle fibers on either side. This helps keep the stems from twisting. Then place tighter wraps on the stems themselves to bind the hackles securely.
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10) Prepare the hackle wings by stripping the excess materials from the stem. Flatten the stems with flat jawed pliers and twist to make sure the hackles will lay together. I also use the pliers to kink the stems where I want them to bend at the tie in spot.
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11) Match the hackles together, concave sides in. Although the instructions call for saddle hackle I have used cape hackles in this fly. I prefer the way neck hackles naturally curve and create a shape to the wing.
(Check the last image on this page for a Nine-Three tied with natural black saddle hackle.)
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12) Tie in the black hackles on top of the green hackles. Notice that I've left all the stems intact during the winging process. I find it much easier to deal with whole stems as opposed to little stubs.
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13) Trim all the stems at different lengths and wrap thread to create the beginnings of a tapered head.
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14) Add the cheeks of Jungle Cock, or a substitute of some sort. Finish wrapping a neat head and whip finish. Coat with cement.
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15) This Nine-Three is tied on a traditional long shank hook, and uses natural black saddle hackles as opposed to dyed rooster cape hackles used above.
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