The Blair Mouse Project
By Bob Kenly
Sheesh !!!!!!!, if that's a mouse I'll eat it myself. In fact
my first reaction was it represented more like something my
cat threw up wearing a life vest and what's with those long
different colored rubber legs? I had been searching the web
looking for a mouse pattern a client requested as he was
heading to a once in a lifetime trip to Kamchatka. I had
clicked on The Fly Shop's web site,
www.theflyshop.com, a source of inspiration their
catalog had provide me over the years for my own line of tube
flies specializing in Pacific salmon and steelhead. I even
laughed when I read the pattern's name, " The Blair Mouse
Project", probably named somewhat after a cult film I
absolutely hated and didn't have a clue what all the talk was
about.
The pattern's originator, Will Blair, happens to be the person
who handles Russian and British Columbia travel at The Fly
Shop in Redding California. Having five years in Kamchatka as
a camp owner/manager and head guide was creditable enough by
my standards so I phoned him asking if he minded me converting
his pattern to a tube fly, which he graciously granted. He
told me basically The Blair Mouse was an invention born from
necessity as finding tying materials in Russia can be a
daunting task at best and his are shaggier than the commercial
version, also the mouse is a huge success in Alaska's Bristol
Bay region, in his exact wording, "devastatingly effective".
Being somewhat hardheaded I still wasn't that convinced this
would be the mouse pattern my client needed but what the heck
I had plenty of time to experiment so I tied a prototype to
play with. Staring at this thing in my vise for a few days it
dawned on me this might just be a better mouse pattern after
all, in fact bordering on pure genius, no cute little ears or
eyes which basically are more for effect than practicality.
Taking the mouse to my high tech testing tank (OK, so its my
bathtub) pulling it back and forth and one thing for sure it
would make a wake alright, a very convincing wake just like a
real mouse would swimming for its life. The long rubber legs,
I didn't know what else to call them, added to the wake
although the different colors still eluded me but since the
original is tied that way, why mess with success is my
philosophy. I took my borrowed creation to the lake near my
home in Southwestern Missouri for further testing. Weighing
almost nothing I could cast it all day long. It sat low in the
water, in fact most of the body was under the surface again
just like the real thing in trouble. Back home for more high
tech testing (this time my wife's clear glass vase, while she
was out shopping) and viewed the mouse as a fish would see it,
yep! It looked like a mouse alright, a shaggy Arctic mouse to
be exact.
With obvious relief I notified my client that I was successful
locating the pattern which would insure success after a long
exhausting trip from his home in Florida to the "wild East" of
Russia but first I would want him to try it with his rod and
get his opinion. He was ecstatic with the overall performance
and look of the finished product. His only criticism was the
overall size was a bit too large for his 6-weight rod, scaling
the fly down would be no problem The search for my client's
pattern solved I was off to tie him his Russian trout flies.
So, other than big Arctic trout what else could this fly be
used for, how about hot
pink or bright green for Silver salmon ( without the legs of
course). Or, a skating
Steelhead fly. I have a friend in Canada who's going to try a
huge six inch one for Pike
(now this something I really have to see). At the risk of
"polluting" (written with an evil
grin on my face) hallowed traditional thinking, might not this
fly make a good substitution for a skating Atlantic salmon fly
instead of the usual Bomber style flies ?
Tying The Blair Project Mouse
Tube: Plastic, I prefer the HMH 5 inch trout tubes cutting
them in half. If however you
prefer a hook a "stinger hook" in size #6 or #4 is a good
choice.
Thread: I use a flat waxed 6/0 thread (since the thread is
buried in the hair being exact in color isn't necessary)
Body: My personal choice is Deer body hair since its readily
available in many colors
close in hues to real mice. But certainly there are many more
choices to pick from,
Blair uses Antelope belly hair. Caribou (or Reindeer as its
called in some in some countries) and Moose are all acceptable
choices.
Legs: I scrounged some rubber skirt material from a local
fishing shop using the same
color scheme Blair suggested, four black legs on the right
side and four orange on the left side. His reason for using
this material in such a manner was to give the illusion of the
furious swimming action of mice in water, a fact he observed
first hand. As far as color choices went it was more of a
personal choice, contrast to be exact. His term "devastatingly
effective" was all the reason I needed to follow his lead.
Life Vest: 2 mm tying foam (even though the catalog showed the
foam to be white I
chose a light brown more for esthetic reasons than anything
else). In reality the
topping has some very special factors which makes this pattern
so effective. First,
it provides the necessary floatation. Second, it establishes
the overall illusion of a
mouse with his head above the water. Finally third, the front
being at an angle acts
as a plow device which gives the swimming action and
establishes the required wake necessary for effective mouse
patterns.
Remember, one thing when tying this pattern, neatness doesn't
count. In fact the shaggier the better, Cold weather mice
unlike the home grown verity have very stiff and shaggy guard
hairs to protect their soft undercoats which provide their
bodies with warmth.
Picture #1:
When tying on tubes I always form a small knot on
the plastic tubes with a lighter, attach the hook keeper,
attach it with thread windings and epoxy the thread. Although
this seems contrary to conventional wisdom its something I've
always done to prevent the loss of the keeper. After drying
insert the tube in your tube device and start by making
several wraps of thread where you're going to place your first
clump of hair.
Pictures #2:
Start by spinning a nice clump of hair with the
tips facing rearward on top
of the tube, only about halfway or slightly more around the
tube is all that's required. Turn the tube over and spin on
another clump of hair, this time with with the butts facing
rearwards (I do this because mice tend to have a lighter color
on their bellies). Trim off the excess hair so that it forms a
smooth transition for the next clump of hair. Whip finish and
cement the thread wrappings.
Pictures #3:
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Again, do the same thing with the hairs
overlapping the previous clumps
of hair. Trim the excess hair, whip finish and cement the
thread windings.
Now is the time to add the legs, four on each side and don't
give me any grief about the colors or which side goes where,
just about any dark color will probably suffice. You can
always shorten the legs later but I usually leave them longer
so that I can tie them back with a small piece of aluminum
foil (later we'll be using some epoxy to cover the threads at
the head and the legs always have a nasty habit of landing in
the wet epoxy while turning).
Pictures #4:
Now we put on the last clumps of hair like before
with the hairs overlapping. When you trim the excess butts,
trim the top close to make a smooth transition for the topping
but leave the buttom hairs a bit longer. After I whip finish I
apply cement to the threads and the bottom hair and fold back
to protect the thread.
Pictures #5 & 6:
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 Now is the time to trim the belly although I guess
you could wait till the fly
is finished. Trim the belly flat so that the fly sits level in
the water, I have used both a double edged razor blade and
scissors and find the scissors give me that ragged look I find
so pleasing.
Picture #7:
Cut a piece of the foam in the general shape shown
(I make a cardboard
pattern and prefit it to the fly, about ¾ of the length of the
fly is about right).
Picture #8:
Lay a thread base for the topping and the tie on
the topping to the tube (or
hook). Prop up the lip at the desired angle, epoxy the threads
on top and under the topping making sure you also epoxy the
area around the neck area as this will be the weakest point of
the topping ( the epoxy soaks into the foam reinforcing that
area). Also place a small amount of epoxy under the lip to
prop up the lip at the desired angle. After dried cut the
excess tube off.
Picture #9
The finished product. Should you need to trim it a
bit, go ahead you're
not going to hurt it one bit. |
