Bass Betty Variant
The Bass Betty was developed by Darren Foster, a well-known bass whisperer from Hunter Valley Fly Fishing Club. Darren notes, “It’s not a Bass Bunny, it’s not a Yeti. It’s a Bass Betty!” This variant is tied by our resident fly tying guru, Paul Fedeles.
Darren fishes it using an intermediate line with short strips, pausing intermittently. Use a mono weed guard if required in weedy areas.
Materials
- Hook: Firehole size 6.
- Thread: Black woolly nylon.
- Butt: Fluoro Fire orange ice dubbing.
- Body: Variegated black chenille.
- Rib: Silver wire.
- Wing: Rabbit zonker – black, chartreuse or purple
Tying Steps
- Cover the hook with Sally Hanson’s tie on thread.
- Tie in the ice dubbing butt.
- Tie in the silver wire along the length of the hook
- Tie in the black chenille and wrap towards the eye. Stop a couple of millimetres short of the eye.
- Cut the zonker the length of the body.
- Cut a small tip at the front of the zonker for an easy tie onto the hook.
- Tie in the zonker behind the eye and on top of the hook.
- Reverse rib the body and the zonker with evenly spaced segments to the eye with the wire.
- Tie off the wire. Make a small collar and whip finish.
- Use your bodkin to release any rabbit fibres trapped by the wire.
