United Fly Tyers of Rhode Island, Inc.
Sand Eel (The Real Mongoose)
Created by Dick Empie
Tied by Dick Empie
Eyes: #3 or #4 Stu Dickens Krystal Eyes (Pearl) or Real Eyes 5132, with Silver Prism Eye Inserts
Hook: #34007 Mustard Or # 254 Eagle Claw Size #1 - 1/0
Thread: Danville "A" white (Body) and Danville "A" chartruse (head)
Tail/Body: Nylon synthetic material (Supreme Hair, Ultra Hair, or Super Hair). Colors: white, polar bear, pink, lt. blue, and olive
Tail/Wing tying sequence from the bottom up (using white thread). Start trimming the ends of nylon in front of Krystal Eyes. Take 2-3 turns of thread, run thread over top of the eyes, and sparsely wrap the body to bend of hook (4-5 wraps). Then wrap forward and under eyes with 5-6 wraps, ending between Krystal Eyes and hook eye. Repeat for each layer of the wing/tail, stacking them neatly one on top of the other. Applying slight up pressure when holding wing material, followed by sparse wraps of thread, keeps all layers neatly on top of each other in layers.
Tied from the bottom up, in sparse amounts, 6"- 10" long.
8- 10 Strands of White Nylon
6-8 Fibers of Ice Blue Pearl Flashabou
4 Light Blue Nylon Strands
6 -8 Fibers of Polar Bear Nylon
2-4 Strands of Holographic Silver Flashabou (1/64 Diameter)
4-6 Strands of Rainbow Krystal Flash
Pink Nylon (Really Sparse) 4-6 fibers
6- 8 Fibers of Flashabou Olive/Pearl
8- 10 Strands of Olive Nylon
6- 8 Fibers of Flashabou Black/Pearl
Whip finish head and coat body with a thin coat of 5 mm. epoxy. Allow 10 - 15 minutes to set. I do 4 - 5 flys at a time to save epoxy and time.
Throat: invert hook in vise. Start chartreuse thread, 4-5 wraps. Tie in sparse amounts of chartreuse calf tail with butt ends trimmed, tips should extend 1/4" - 3/8" past the bend of the hook. Build head, whip finish, and coat top of eyes from body forward and head with epoxy.
