Description

The Hare & Copper, of all the patterns used in New Zealand, is beyond doubt the most useful overall.

In the video clip I am tying a Hare and Copper “bomb” for the winter spawning runs of Rainbow trout in the Tongariro river so I am using a 4mm orange tungsten bead and one and a half wraps of .20 lead on a Kamasan 175-10 hook to give it lots of weight. The weight keeps the fly close to the bottom (where the fish are) in this fast flowing big boisterous river.

I suspect they are taken as net building, free swimming grey caddis larvae (Aoteaphsyche colonica) from size 10 - 16. In size 8 they may imitate New Zealand's “toe-biters” which are the larvae of Dobsonflies otherwise know as Alderflies. These are New Zealand's largest stream insects.

I normally only use hare guard hair as the dubbing. I dub this very loosely to create a very rough, spiky look but any mix of hare fur dubbing works

In New Zealand's backcountry rivers natural is probably the best colour. I normally like to trim off my own guard hair from a hare pelt as the shop stuff normally has too much fur mixed in with it.

Materials

Hook:Kamasan 175-10
Thread:    6/0 uni black/brown
Tail:hackle fibres
Body:loosely dubbed hare guard hair
Rib:medium copper wire
Weight:.20 lead wire

Method

  1. Bind on copper wire
  2. Bind in tail
  3. Apply some super glue to the shank of the hook over the thread, copper and tail
  4. Wind on one and a half wraps of lead (I normally tie my 16's and 14's without lead)
  5. I like to add a little head cement over the lead which aids in holding everything together and helps the fly last longer
  6. Apply wax to the thread and very loosely apply some dubbing
  7. Wind over the copper rib to the front of the hook
  8. Tie off the copper and cut
  9. Wind over the copper ribbing to the front of the hook.
  10. Tie off the copper and cut.
  11. Dub a little more guard hair onto waxed thread and wind this over the last bit of copper where it has been tied off - this adds a thicker collar
  12. Apply a little head cement to the thread and whip finish.

Video Demonstration