Grandma’s Coat – tied by Mark Willigar

This fly is made to be as colorful as that old coat your Grandma used to wear, at least when I was a kid, my grandma had one. I’m not sure what inspired me to tie it in this particular way, maybe the combination of the shrimp style flies being so productive, and the ever present desire to show the salmon something different. Last fall salmon season I threw one of these together after a frustrating day of seeing fish, on great water levels, but having no luck. First day of using it, I had landed 2 brown trout of more than 3 lbs, and one grilse. By the end of the season, I had taken 3 salmon, and 5 rather big browns, and in reality that is not prime time for browns in my home water. This fly can be effective tied in various colors, and looks quite different with just a change in hackle color. Can also be tied with some crystal flash for glitter effect.

Hook: #2-10 Tiemco TMC 7999
Tail: Mixed bucktail or polar bear in red, yellow, purple, green and orange, one body length, unstacked.
Tag: Oval Gold tinsel
Body: First half, olive seals fur, front half purple seals fur
Rib: Oval Gold tinsel
Wing: Same as tail, tied long, extending 1/2 body length past hook bend
Collar: Soft orange hen neck hackle