Bullet Head Darter

Bullet heads have been around a long while and seem to fall in and out of favor, but this is a fly that should be part of every salt and freshwater arsenal. It works well for smallmouth and largemouth bass, chain pickerel, and by changing to a smaller version will take sunfish and crappie.

This has fast become one of my favorite subsurface flies. It can be fished across stream, downstream or upstream with the same effectiveness. It’s much like a popper in the fact that you can see the fly during the retrieve and especially the strike. In a pond, it is the closest thing to a Bass Assassin you can get in a fly—it darts, suspends, dives, flashes, and the fish just can’t stand it.

Bullet heads can be tied very full for slower sinking, or thinner for a faster sink rate. I’d suggest tying a few of both; here’s how.

MATERIAL:

Hook:  Mustad #3366, sizes six to 1/0.

Thread:  Fire-orange flat waxed nylon

Mono Tail Guard:  18 pound clear monofilament

Tail:  Craft or Fly Fur, Polar Fiber, Streamer Hair, wool or equivalent. I prefer Streamer Hair for larger flies and Polar Fiber for smaller flies.

Tinsel:  Five to six fibers each of Silver Crystal Flash and Rainbow Flashabou.

Body:  Pearl, chartreuse, peacock Estaz, or Crystal Chenille

Head:  Craft or Fly Fur, Polar Fiber, Streamer Hair, wool or equivalent.

Color Combinations: These are a few combinations that work well: Pearl chenille/white tail and head, chartreuse chenille/chartreuse tail and head, peacock chenille/ black tail and head, chartreuse chenille/chartreuse tail red head or pearl chenille/white tail/red head.

TYING INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Insert hook in vise, attach tying thread at the head, and wind down to hook bend and back up toward the hook eye about half way.
   
   
2. Take about three inches of mono, fold it in half, and place it on the top of the hook shank with the head of the loop extending about 1/16” beyond the hook bend. Tie it down along the hook shank to a point above the hook barb and advance the thread to about middle of the body.
   
   
3. Cut a bundle of fly fur or equilent about a half a small pencil thickness, pull out the under fur, (the tail should be one and a half times the length of the hook shank), and tie in at this point, holding the material on top of the hook shank as you wrap; advance the thread about half way from the tie down point.
   
   
4. Combine five to six pieces of silver Krystal Flash and Rainbow Flashabou and tie it in above the hook point. Tinsel should extend about half an inch beyond the tail.
   
   
5. Cut a three inch piece of Crystal chenille and tie it in, then wind back to above the hook point and tie off about a quarter inch behind the hook eye. Advance the thread to behind the hook eye.
   
   
6. Cut a bundle of fly fur or equivalent about the size of a very small pencil and about two inches long, remove most of the under fur, and cut and even up the butts with the scissors and slide it over the hook eye. Try to center this bundle as best as you can. Tie down this bundle, wrapping back toward the point the chenille was finished. Now pull back the hair to evenly make the bullet head. Tie down the material and whip finish the head at this thread point. Getting the hair perfectly around the head is not crucial to the fly’s effectiveness. Actually, with the fire-orange thread showing underneath, it lends itself to look like gills or blood.
   
   
7. If you prefer a more durable head for toothy fish, you can epoxy the head and thread or cover it with head cement.