Mopping Up With the Mop Fly

Guest Blogger: Mary S. Kuss, Life-long avid angler, licensed PA fishing guide, founder of the Delaware Valley Women’s Fly Fishing Association

While I can’t say I’ve exactly “mopped up” with the Mop Fly, I have used it with some success. Like a lot of ugly flies that don’t fit our theories of imitation, but sometimes work very well nevertheless, the Mop Fly has its detractors. If you wouldn’t be caught dead with a Mop Fly on the end of your leader, of course you are under no obligation to use one. On the other hand those of us who are more open-minded are under no obligation not to. All of the wise cracks about the fine line between being open-minded and having a hole in one’s head notwithstanding.

As with its cousin the Green Weenie, people who want to take advantage of the Mop Fly’s effectiveness often try very hard to find something it might be “imitating.” The only natural fish food item the Mop Fly remotely resembles is a Giant Crane Fly larva. On that theory, Tim Flagler has come up with “A Kinder, Gentler Mop Fly.” He uses chenille fingers from a gray carwash mitt as a material source.

Long before I heard of the Mop Fly, I was moseying down the cleaning products aisle at my local supermarket one day when my eye was drawn to that familiar Green-Weenie-chartreuse glow among the display of mops. Upon closer inspection I was intrigued to find a mass of soft chenille fingers. As an addicted fly tyer, I recognized tying material when I saw it.

I sat down at my tying bench with the mop head and cut a finger from the backing. What to do with such a thing? The only thing I could think of was to lash it to a hook and use a bit of dubbing or other material to cover up the tie-down. I tied a few of these “flies” and put them into my to-try stock box. There they sat for quite some time until I began hearing about The Mop Fly. I took out my prototypes and started using them.

To create a mop finger from carded chenille, start with a 3-inch length. Secure one end in the vise jaws and grasp the other end with hackle pliers. Twist the chenille strand until it starts to furl. Fold the strand in half over a bodkin, grab the free end and hold it against the vise jaws. Withdraw the needle and allow the furl to happen. Twist the furled finger a bit to tighten it. Remove the hackle pliers, remove the finger from the vise and twist it with your fingers to tighten it a little more. Voila!

More twisting before furling will result in a firmer and more compact final result, but the softer “finger” you get with a bit less twisting may be less stiff and more lifelike in the water. Experimentation is called for.

Note that furling is a useful technique that can be used with any sufficiently strong, stranded material to form extended bodies. Anchor the material at the tail position of the hook, furl, tie off and continue with the rest of the fly.

To create a mop finger from carded chenille, start with a 3-inch length. Secure one end in the vise jaws and grasp the other end with hackle pliers. Twist the chenille strand until it starts to furl. Fold the strand in half over a bodkin, grab the free end and hold it against the vise jaws. Withdraw the needle and allow the furl to happen. Twist the furled finger a bit to tighten it. Remove the hackle pliers, remove the finger from the vise and twist it with your fingers to tighten it a little more. Voila!

More twisting before furling will result in a firmer and more compact final result, but the softer “finger” you get with a bit less twisting may be less stiff and more lifelike in the water. Experimentation is called for.

Note that furling is a useful technique that can be used with any sufficiently strong, stranded material to form extended bodies. Anchor the material at the tail position of the hook, furl, tie off and continue with the rest of the fly.