Juice Bug Tutorial from the Fantasy Fly Company

Juice Bug Fly Tying Tutorial by Don Ordes

These steps are just a guide for a simple ‘Juice-bug’ pattern. You can vary anything you want within the recipe, but my keys are clear mono, Ice-dub (cleanly roped with the rope-dub method), and Jelly- rope. Even these can be substituted, but the pattern will change a bit in looks. Once you get the steps mastered, you should be able to tie them in just over one minute each. Set them on a card and cement them (STEP 9) all at once. Then experiment to your heart’s content.

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	1. Size 10 shrimp or scud hook in vise, with 2# monofilament thread anchored from front to rear and back to front. Don’t need to cement for this fly.
	2. Tie down a 2” long piece of Jelly-rope as shown with tight wraps from front to back, ending with compression wraps that squeeze the J-R. Use you fingers to position the rope top-center as you tie and after you are done with this step.
	3. Rope-dub a fine rope of your favorite colors of Ice-Dubbing – no wax or loop needed if you use my rope-dubbing method.
	4. Gap-wrap the rope forward, leaving clear J-R between each wrap. Build up the front end with multiple wraps of loosened Ice-Dub.
	5. Pick out the Ice-Dub and tie on the bar-bell bead-eyes with just a few hold-down wraps.
	6. Pull the J-R back over/between the eyes and tie with 4 or 5 snug wraps.
	7. Snugly wrap the mono over the J_R towards the back to anchor it and make the bump-segments. Anchor off at the tail with 5 or 6 tight compression wraps, Try not to wrap too much of the belly hairs as you go- weave through them.
	8. Snip the tails where you want them, center the J-R on top, and pick out the belly hairs again for legs.
	9. Position the fly as shown and soak with thinned vinyl cement or other thinned flexible cement that will penetrate al the materials and in between the JR’s. This will allow the highlights of the Ice-Dub or other dubbings you use to penetrate and reflect through the clear J-R back-wrap.