Introduction: How to Tie the Tapam Special Tarpon Baitfish Fly
The giant jungle tarpon in Nicaragua feed on variety of bait. The waters are rich in shrimp which can be productive at times. The main attraction for fly fishermen is the explosive surface feeding on mullet. A hunting group of large tarpon feeding on mullet is a very special thing to watch. Think rainbow trout feeding on stoneflies, but super sized. Most of the tarpon will be over 100lbs and the mullet are about 10-12″ long. I can remember one time standing on the front of the boat when a mullet jumped out of the water, one rod length away from my head. It was followed by a 150+lbs tarpon, which neatly snapped it out of the air…
The challenge in Nicaragua was to cast a baitfish pattern that was big enough to attract the tarpon. Not only did I need to cast it, I needed to cast it a long distance, all day…. This is where my search for the perfect baitfish imitation began. For my purpose the pattern had to have the following properties; big, aerodynamic, durable, eyes that stayed on, large profile in the water and good hook holding.
I started with a large baitfish pattern tied hollow style with dumbbell eyes, on 3/0 to 6/0 Tiemco 600SP hooks. The tarpon really liked this pattern but it was a bit of a job to cast all day. Also the plastic dumbbell eyes did not survive the assault from the tarpon. The other issue that I had was that with a 12″ baitfish pattern there is a significant amount of leverage on a lightly embedded hook. During jumps and head shakes the hook seemed to get thrown relatively easy.
In order to obtain a better hook hold I converted the pattern to a tube fly. With the bulk of the pattern out of the way the hook holds appeared to improve. I also wanted the pattern sparser in the air but with more volume in the water. I started experimenting with Snow Runner brushes. This proved to be the best way to lighten the pattern, make it slim in the air, yet with plenty of volume in the water. At this time I also was in contact with Tomasz Bogdanovicz who was doing a similar tie for his pike flies. He suggested tab eyes that are glued on, to replace the dumbbell eyes. This proved more durable. We then had to do extensive testing to balance the fly so that it would swim correct. I added a front weight and applied a significantly longer over-wing. This resulted in a well balanced fly.
In order to accommodate the big hooks, special tubes were developed with matching weights and junction tubing (Predator Tubes, 4.5mm Junction Tubing and Predator Cone Heads).
The end result was the Tapam Special as we now have it in production for commercial wholesale and retail. It is a fly pattern that can be used anywhere where there is a need for a large bait fish pattern. The fly is extremely durable, behaves and swims beautifully in the water, yet casts remarkably well. It has proven very effective not only for tarpon, but also for many other species, including Golden Dorado, Peacock Bass, Jacks, Pike, Musky, GT, Rooster Fish, Sailfish, etc.
Below are step-by-step instructions on how to tie the Tapam Special. The Tapam Special can be tied in any colour combination, dependant on the purpose of the fly. For Tapam mullet imitations olive over white is the best colour. Other common effective colour combinations are blue over white, black over purple, red and yellow, light sand over white, and white with a red head.
A blog article on how to rig these tube flies can be Viewed Here.
Supplies
Step 1: Melt a Flange
Step 1: Start by melting a flange on one end of the Predatortube. This will be the rear end of the tube.
Step 2: Create a Stopper
Step 2: Place the tube with the flange towards the vice on a mandrel that is approximately 2/3 of the size of the inner diameter of the tube. Use a thick thread to create a stopper. Apply lots of force to singe down the tube. This will fixate the plastic tube on the mandrel and create a block for loop knots if used for rigging. Place the stopper between 1 and 2 cm from the rear. The closer the stopper is to the rear, the closer the hook can be placed to the front of the tube. For saltwater fishing this is usually preferable.
Step 3: Mount Predator Cone
Step 3: Apply super glue to the stopper and slide a Predator cone head against it. Twist the cone head against the stopper to distribute the glue.
Step 4: Create Snowrunner Brush Body
Step 4: Tie in monofilament or Nano Silk thread. The tie in point is against the front of the cone head. Tie in a Snowrunner brush. The length of the fibres will depend on the size of the fly to be tied. A general rule of thumb is to have the brush fibres 1/3rd of the length of the fly. Take two or three turns with the brush to create a tear drop shape. Note that you can still see through the Snowrunner. Also not how well the Snow Runner brush creates volume with very little use of material.
Step 5: Tie in Flash
Step 5: Tie in flash. Distribute around the Snow Runner evenly. The length of the flash should be slightly longer than the Snow Runner. I am not very picky when it comes to flash. Add as much or as little as you like. Angel Hair or Flashabou works well. I like pearl for this step.
Step 6: Create a Flash Tail
Step 6: The Tapam Special has what is called a “flash tail”; this means that flash material is tied in that extends past the other materials of the fly, so that the tail of the fly is made up of flash material only. Tie in flash material that is 3x to 4x as long as the Snowrunner brush fibres. The flash in the image extends well beyond the image. I like a mix of pearl and silver for this step. The flash is tied in on the upper half of the tube.
Step 7: Create 1st Wing
Step 7: Tie in a long wing of Snowrunner. Tie the wing on top of the tube. Tie it down with 3 wraps of thread. With your thumb nail push on the tie in point and distribute the hair over the top half of the tube. Ad some flash.
Step 8: Add Flash
Step 8: Add some additional silver or holographic flash to the sides and upper half of the fly.
Step 9: Create 2nd Wing
Step 9: Tie in the next wing section of Snowrunner. This section should be the same length as the first wing section. In this case I used a light olive. Ad some flash.
Step 10: Create Belly
Step 10: Rotate your vice in order to turn the fly upside down. Tie in a small bunch of Arctic Fox. Keep this step sparse. The length of the fox should be slightly shorter than the Snow Runner brush.
Step 11: Create the 3rd Wing
Step 11: Rotate the vice back. Tie in a bunch of Snowrunner for the 3rd wing section. This bunch should be about half the size of the second wing section and about half the length. At this stage you can take a standard comb and gently comb the pattern in order to blend the fibres, wing sections and flash.
Step 12: Tie in the Eyes
Step 12: Tie in the tab eyes. One at a time. Reversed style. With the eye still in reversed position apply glue. Then fold the eye back onto the pattern and firmly press the eye with the glue onto the fly. Repeat on the other side. Whip finish and apply super glue to the thread. Cut off the tube the remainder of the tube. Done!
Step 13: The Finished Fly
Step 13: The finished fly. This fly can be tied in any colour combination or size, depending on the target species. Happy fishing!
