Bloody Mary Recipe

[Jeff C.]

Here's the recipe I cooked up for the Bloody Mary:

Size 10 scud hook
3.2 mm gold bead
White antron tail (single strand) with 2 strands of pearl flashabou (~3/8" long)
Dark red floss body
Lime green wire rib
Large white thread head behind the bead.

Tied up it looks like a Ice Cream Cone Chironomid with a tail

Other combos that work: Orange floss/black wire, pink floss/black wire
and chartreuse floss/red wire but the orginal is the most productive.

Enjoy!

Jeff C.

[Terry Thomas]

Jeff,
Interesting shad fly. As is the case in fly fishing--few things are really new. The name "Blood Mary" has been around a long time; used as a steelhead pattern. How about a "Bloody Maria?"
Terry

[Jeff C.]

Terry,

You're right about the Bloody Mary steelhead pattern. I didn't even think about doing a search before I named it. Here's my rational for the name:

1. Dark red floss = Tomato juice
2. White tail and head = Vodka
3. Lime green wire = Lime and celery

Since the name has already been taken, I guess it'll have to be the "Bloody Maria".

Jeff

BTW, did the Tonic heads get delivered?

[Terry Thomas]

Same idea, just add tequila to the mix!
Terry

[Anne Vitale]

Jeff
Thanks for posting the instructions on how to tye your Bloody Maria. I tied a few and it looks like a killer fly. As you say, it looks a lot like a Snow Cone chironomid which one usually fishes on a lake under an indicator. How do you fish the BM on a moving stream for shad?
Anne

[jlmelend]

I would suggest for this whole group of flies you name them:

Jeff C-ronomid Shad fly?
Then develop a name for each color, i.e.:
Orange and black - Licorice screw driver? Jamba juice? California Department of Corrections (CDC)? OPP?

Killer flies Jeff, they do catch shad. You should try these on pyramid lake and see if they catch large cutties.

[Jeff C.]

Hi Anne,

Fish the Bloody Maria just like any other shad fly, on a swing with a dangle at the bottom. It's not weighted except for the beadhead so use the appropriate sink tip or shooting head to get it down to the right depth.

Jeff

BTW, If you tie some up make them sparse. Look for a picture of and Ice Cream Cone Chironomid. The body should be a thin taper and the tail should be small.