During a recent Online Fly Tyer salmon / steelhead fly swap, Jay Newell, of Jay's Fly Shop in London, sent along a very unique and interesting pattern, one unlike any I've seen before.  This pattern incorporated creative use of flash, color and fancy hackle, all coming together to produce a great looking attractor fly.  This fly was originally nameless, however once the creative juices started flowing, Orange Sunrise seemed appropriate, giving credit to the fly's vibrant color. As an attractor pattern, the Orange Sunrise is best used to target aggressive, fresh run steelhead and salmon especially in the North Eastern regions of the United States and Canada.  One can

Although this fly is initially reminiscent of a traditional spey pattern, it is actually quite an easy tie, calling for everyday materialls easily found at your local fly shop.  You will need some pumpkin colored UNI stretch (or orange floss if you cannot find UNI stretch), orange salmon / steelhead SLF dubbing (orange ICE dubbing also works), pearl mylar ribbing, orange guinea hackle (dotted) and finally orange 8/0 thread.  This fly can also be tied in a variety of sizes, with the most popular being a size 6 - Mustad 35890 salmon hook.  Variations can be tied on size 8 to size 2 hooks.  The more aggressive the fish are the larger the fly to use. The same general rule applies for fishing in stained water, always throw out the big flies first if the water is very cloudy, remembering that if it's clear, pulling out a size 8 or 6 will be better.

1.  Start by attaching the thread to the shank of the hook by making overlapping wraps until the thread is secure.



2.  Tie in a 6" section of pearl mylar tinsel.  Wrap the tinsel towards the bend of the hook and then reverse the wrapping so that it overlaps, slowly winding the mylar back towards the eye of the hook.  the tag should equal the length of the hook point, and should be close to directly above it.  Tie off the mylar tinsel but do not cut off the tag as it will be used for ribbing later.



3.  Tie in an 8" section of UNI stretch material, folding it over (into a 4" section) and securing the fold (middle) of the material to the shank.  Once secure, wrap your thread forward, nearing the eye of the hook.



4.  Slowly, wrap the UNI stretch forward making a nice even body. Remember this material is very stretchy, allowing the tyer to control body thickness by increasing and decreasing the pressure when wrapping.  You want to end up with a nice smooth body.  Tie off any excess UNI stretch material and trim at the head.



5.  Take the mylar tinsel tag from step 2 and wrap it forward, ribbing the UNI stretch you just wrapped.  Keep the spacing between the wraps even.  Once you reach the head, tie off the tinsel and trim the excess.



6.  Move your thread back about 1/3 of the shank and dub some SLF onto the thread.  Apply the dubbing to the body, creating a cluster, or "egg" shape using the dubbing.  Finish with the thread at the front of the hook, ready to apply hackle.



7.  Select a suitable guinea hackle, one where the hackle fibers (at their longest point) extend about twice as long as the gape of the hook and strip off the plume (as seen below).



8.  With your fingers, brush the hackle strands backwards and tie the very tip of the hackle feather to the hook.  Trim the excess and add a half hitch knot, just in case.



9.  Carefully warp the hackle around the shank of the hook, brushing the hackle fibers backwards after ever turn (towards the bend) so that the hackle lays down nicely.  Once the hackle has been wound, tie off and whip finish.  Apply head cement as needed.

Written By: Nick Pujic, © Jan, 2004
Photographs By:  Nick Pujic