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View Full Version : Tying a Proper Mossback & Assassin



JD
09-04-2005, 05:08 PM
Greetings,

Can anyone enlighten me concerning the proper way (i.e. traditional) of tying the Assassin and the Mossback? For the Mossback, I often hear it is just a Brindle Bug with green/black chenille instead of yellow/black, but I have found at least one reference that indicates the Mossback is a variant of the Rubberleg with a red tag.

The Assassin I understand is just a Woolly Worm, but I have seen the krystal flash tied either as a wing or as a tail. Also, what was the body material originally used and what do most folks use today? The versions I have seen have used the same chenille as a Brindle Bug, but I've seen some materials by Glo-Brite that are more of a varigated brown/olive.

Can anyone provide any details. I imagine all variant will work, I'm just curious what the "right" way is. Thanks in advance.

Bill Kiene semi-retired
09-04-2005, 06:13 PM
The old Mossback we use to tie was just like a Brindle Bug but with different chenille.

I think?:

The Brindel Bug is yellow/black mixed.

The Mossback is green/black mixed but there are lots of different greens.

The Breadcrust is yellow/brown mixed.

The Limey is chartreuse/black mixed.

We tied them in sizes #8/10/12.

Years ago we bought chenille in bulk 144 yard skeens from Danville. It was all in sizes (00, 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5......) and in numbers for colors. I use to know all the colors by numbers. 100 is black, 56 is red, olive is 60....


http://www.danvillechenille.com/chenille_cchart.htm

I think the late Dale Lackey inventented the Assasin on the Klamath River.

The first ones I saw were just dark olive/green with a palmered brown hackle and a gold tinsel rib.

I like some Klamath river steelhead flies unweighted for fishing to rolling fish in the AM and PM with a floating line. This is the best.

I would tie some with a bead head and weighted with lead wire for fishing on a sinktip when the sun is on the water.

Darian
09-04-2005, 10:08 PM
Hey JD,.... Like Bill says, the Mossback is black/green chenille body, a tail of brown hackle fibres and brown hackle. My variation of this uses dark brown, mottled hen hackle in place of the brown. I always weight this fly but it's certainly not mandatory.... 8) 8) 8)

As to the Assassin, I've seen them in olive and brown chenille, copper/brown and olive/black variegated chenille, as well. 8) It can be tied using sparse pearl flashabou for the wing or tail. The patterns I've seen using flahsabou in the tail were bead head versions..... 8) bead colors I've seen were copper, gold and black. 8) The earlier versions I found in the Trinity fly shops used dubbed body materials and were ribbed.... 8) 8)

The sizes I've seen ranged from #10 thru #4. The beadheaded patterns were larger.... :D :D :D

It would seem that this fly has a number of variations to it.... :D :D

JD
09-14-2005, 03:10 PM
Thank you very much!

Rick J
09-15-2005, 07:13 AM
I believe the original Moss Back and Brindle Bug uses a brown or furnace hackle tip for the tail (tied in maybe 1.5 times body length) cocked up at a 45 degree angle as opposed to just hacke fibers tied in straight. Does it matter? Don't know but that is how I have always tied them and the fish like them. I really like the small bead head on the fly. I have not had much success on the Klamath when the fly is actually skating on top as opposed to riding just under the surface (there are always exceptions!!) The bead head helps keep the fly slightly subsurface on a dry line on the swing in some of the faster currents.

Bill Kiene semi-retired
09-15-2005, 07:30 AM
Rick,

I see that the Euerka Fly Shop has lots of Klamath River patterns with bead heads or cone heads on them now.

Adam Grace
09-15-2005, 12:15 PM
My most sucessful patterns I tied up for my first trip to the Klamath with Rick J all had some type of bead on them. I tied some with standard brass beads and some with tungsten. For the faster or deeper water I liked the tungsten beaded flies. They sunk faster and stayed deeper than the flies with brass beads.