Blood Dot Sucker Spawn

Blood Dot Sucker Spawn

 

 One of my favorite patterns for steelhead, here in Pennsylvania, is sucker spawn. Many fishermen around here use a simple Glo Bug pattern and sometimes add a blood dot. I thought, ‘why not add a blood dot to my sucker spawn pattern’? I also found using Glo Bug yarn instead of other yarn materials makes the sucker spawn a little more translucent when wet and easier to add a blood dot.
 I like to use curved hooks for steelhead when tying sucker spawn because of the wider gap in sizes #14,#12 or#10 and sometimes even #16. Most heavy curved hooks are for Glo Bugs with 3x to 5x short shanks. Scud hooks are mostly the same with down eyes as I wanted a straight eye hook with a longer shank for the sucker spawn loops. My best find was J Stockard  J2 700 Nymph hook with straight eye in #10 hooks. This gave me a small enough pattern and a long enough shank for my spawn loops. Or J2 500 in size #16, #14, #12. These are a down eye but an offset point.

Here’s my Sucker Spawn pattern using Glo Bug Yarn.

 

 DT’S Blood Dot Sucker Spawn
Hook: J Stockard #700 sizes #10
Thread: Chartreuse
Spawn loops: Various Glo Bug Yarn
Blood Dot: Glo Bug Micro Yarn. Different color than sucker spawn.

1. Split a section of Glo Bug Yarn as shown. The thinner the more translucent.

 

 2. Thread base the hook shank to bend.

 

 3. Tie down yarn overhanging rear of hook as shown

 

4. Use bodkin needle to form small first loop on top of hook shank.
Tie down loop with 2 to three turns of thread.

 

5. Bring thread in front of loose end of yarn and wind twice up against yarn.

 

6. Form second loop a little larger than first securing the same way. (Remember to bring thread in front of yarn before proceeding to next loop)

 

 7. Make third loop a little larger than previous loop securing same way. Leave thread at tie down point. DO not wrap thread in front loose yarn.

8. Cut a piece of micro yarn and secure it down with thread on top of thread wraps you used to secure third loop.

9. Bring thread in front of loose yarn, as before, and create next loop about the same height of last.

10. Make last loop, behind eye, smaller than previous loop in same manner. Secure with a few extra thread wraps before next step.

 

 11. Using a half hitch tool, tube with hole in center, make two wraps with thread around tool and slide thread under yarn behind eye of hook. I usually make two half hitches before cutting thread.

 

12. Trim excess yarn above and behind hook eye and trim blood dot even with spawn loops. I add head cement to half hitch thread.

 Top view

Orange and red

 

 If I decide to add a bead, to get the spawn down in fast or deeper water, I use a standard wet fly hook in size #12

Sunshine Yellow and Orange

They work 

 

J Stockard web sight is;

http://www.jsflyfishing.com