Madonna Fly Pattern

Madonna Fly Pattern

Hook - streamer; Daiichi 2151
Size - #6 to #2
Thread - Yellow 6/0
Weight - lead wraps
Tail - none
Body - gold metallic braid over lead wraps
Wing - two 1 1/2 inch pieces of rabbit fur (Zonker strips) and two strands of flashbou
Head - spun deer hair clipped to shape, leaving a collar; color to match wing.

Comment - Ray Schmidt credited as originator. An awesome streamer. Great for big browns, bass, and pike! Thanks to Rickey Drager for this fly.

And another recipe for the same sent in by "Ladykiller". First start out with a streamer hook, my preference here is a TMC 9395, Size 2, 3X heavy, 4X long. Depending on preference, you can put on a conehead if desired. Also tie in the sparkle braid at this point with a nice heavy thread. I am using Orvis G Thread in size 3/0.

Madonna Fly Pattern

The next step is to wrap the sparkle braid forward, tie it off with a few wraps, then trim.

Madonna Fly Pattern

The next step is to tie in two zonker style bunny strips where the sparkle braid was just tied off. I usually trim the length of the zonker strips to be flush with the end of the hook, with the excess fur carrying past the hook. After these are tied in, tie in 3 strips of flashabou if desired.

Madonna Fly Pattern

The next step is to tie in the the deer body fur. Cut the fur, comb out the wooly fibers, and stack it in a hair stacker. Next apply the fur to the hook shank. I typically use three wraps.

Madonna Fly Pattern

Once the fur is down on the shank, pull the thread taught but don't break it while doing so. You can spin the fur on at this point, or just surround the hook in one complete step. This creates the flared effect.

Madonna Fly Pattern

Next, push the fur back towards the tail and tie off the head with a couple of knots and trim the thread off.

Madonna Fly Pattern

Finally trim the head and collar to the desired shape and the fly is now complete. If you like, add a little head cement.

Madonna Fly Pattern