Having used many styles of jigs, flies and ice flies for catching panfish and trout through the ice these hard bodied flies have easily proved to be the most durable. Not only are these flies durable they are also very productive at catching fish.
Ice Flies Explained
Similar to jigs used in many types of fishing, ice flies could easily be described as a hybrid of jigs and traditional flies. Many ice anglers use some of the same traditional patterns for both ice fishing and traditional fly fishing.
Almost invariably ice flies are tipped with some form of bait. Traditional fishing flies don’t allow room for live bait on the hook shank. The crowding of bait onto a traditional fly makes it easier for fish to remove the bait without being hooked.
The small body of a true ice fly allows room for the bait to be placed on the hook shank. By placing the bait further onto the hook shank fish are more likely to be hooked when taking the bait into their mouth.
Tools and Materials for Hard Bodied Ice Flies
This style of ice fly can be tied either soft bodied or with a hard body that is so durable I have taken well over 150 fish on a single fly before replacing it.
Ice flies are simple to tie with very few fly tying tools and tying techniques. A fly tying vise, thread bobbin, hackle pliers, scissors and bodkin are the only tools needed for tying ice flies.
Materials are simple for tying hard bodied ice flies and are most likely already part of any fly tyer’s material collection. Lead wire, or lead substitute, 140-210 denier tying thread, 6/0 tying thread, dry fly hackle and head cement or nail polish is all that are needed.
The Recipe
This recipe is for a red and chartreuse version of the fly. The body and hackle colors can be altered to suit your preference.
- Tiemco 5212 or equivalent 2x long shank dry fly or nymph hook sizes 12-8
- .015 lead or lead substitute wire
- Red 140 or 210 denier, untwisted tying thread
- Chartreuse 140 or 210 denier, untwisted tying thread
- Thick head cement or clear nail polish
- Red 6/0 tying thread
- Ginger dry fly hackle
Other body color combinations that have worked well are red/pink, purple/pink, olive/chartreuse, black/pink and black/red. The hackle color seems to be unimportant in side by side tests but the subtle movement the hackle makes in the water is extremely important.
Tying Steps
- Make 10-12 wraps of the weight wire. Separate the wraps in the middle and cut the center wrap creating two sets of wraps.
- Start the red tying thread at a point along the hook shank half way between the eye of the hook and the hook point. Do not cut the tag end of the thread.
- Loop the thread behind the rear wire wraps sliding the wire forward against the thread starting point. Position the tag end of tying thread so that it creates a tail.
- Completely cover the rear wire wraps forming a thread lump that is tapered at each end. Whip-finish over the thread lump and cut the thread at the finish point.
- Start the chartreuse thread just behind the eye of the hook. Again do not cut the tag end of the tying thread.
- Cover the forward wire wraps in the same manner as the rear section of the fly.
- Liberally coat the body of the fly with head cement or clear nail polish as a sealer.
- After the first coat dries add 1-3 additional coats of head cement or nail polish. Allow the final coat to dry completely.
- Start the 6/0 tying thread between the body sections of the fly.
- Tie in a prepared hackle by the butt end and make 2-3 tight wraps. Tie down the hackle stem and trim the excess.
- Whip-finish just in front of the hackle, cut the thread at the finish and apply a drop of head cement to the thread and hackle stem.
Why These Flies Catch Fish
Unlike traditional weighted jigs these hard bodied ice flies are extremely light. Used with a simple ice fishing rig these flies can be successfully fished suspended on either tight-line or under a cork.
The near neutral buoyancy of the fly and bait encourages fish to hold the fly longer allowing more time for the hook set.
The bright colors of these flies make them an excellent visual attractor. Experimentation with different colors is a good way to find the best combination for your local waters.
Tie a few samples of the hard bodied ice flies or whip up a few of the soft bodied versions and give these little gems a try. Panfish and trout like them and you just might also. Not only do they catch fish but they are extremely durable as well.
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