J. Fair’s Wiggle Tail

J Fair’s Wiggle Tail, Olive

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Tying Instructions

1. Attach the thread behind the eye and wrap to the bend of the hook above the hook barb. Apply 10 wraps of Lead-free wire for weight.

2. Clip 15-20 Marabou fibers from the side of a quill. Attach the fibers directly above the barb on the shank. The length of the tail should be about 2 1/2 times the hook length or 1″ to 1 1/4″ long.

3. Attach a piece of short shuck to the tail tie-in position. Then attach a soft hackle by the tip, sized for the hook.

4. Wrap the shuck forward about 9 wraps, securing just behind the eye.

5. Wrap the hackle forward about 4 wraps, also securing behind the eye. Whip Finish.

Materials to Order Material, click the link
Hook	TMC 2487 #10
Thread	Uni-thread Black 8/0
Weight	0.020 Leadfree wire
Body	Olive Short Shuck
Tail	Olive Marabou
Hackle	Olive Grizzly Saddle Hackle

Jay Fair

J. Fair’s Wiggle Tail

J. Fair’s Wiggle Tail was designed by Jay Fair of Eagle Lake, CA. in the early 1980’s. Jay was an innovative fly tier and dyed many of his materials with earthy tones. He passed away Dec 29th 2016. Jay had designed an earlier pattern known as the Wiggle Nymph in 1978 which had a chenille “woolly worm” body and a short 5/8 inch Marabou tail. As he was developing a mylar chenille, known as Shuck, he used that material for the body and elongated the tail to 1.5 inches. Dyed Grizzly feathers with some webbiness work best for the palmered hackle since the webbiness flows the hackle fibers back over the body.

Received National Recognition

National recognition of this pattern was published in Fly Fisher Magazine in 1983 and 1988. The fly is categorized as a swimming nymph. It is a very effective attractor for trout, bass, and crappie due to the action of the marabou tail and palmered body. It can be jigged or stripped and works best in stillwater situations. The primary colorations that Jay uses is Olive, Dark Olive, Burnt Orange, and Rust. He also uses Black for leeches and White for baitfish. The pattern makes for a very effective Damsel Nymph pattern. Use a Count and Retrieve technique with medium sized pulls and 3-4 second pauses between retrievals.

J Fair’s Wiggle Tail, Rust

Hook	TMC 2487 #10
Thread	Uni-thread Black 8/0
Weight	0.020 Leadfree wire
Body	Rust Short Shuck
Tail	Claret Marabou
Hackle	Pink Grizzly Saddle Hackle

J Fair’s Wiggle Tail, Orange

Hook	TMC 2487 #10
Thread	Uni-thread Black 8/0
Weight	0.020 Leadfree wire
Body	Rust Midge Cactus Chenille
Tail	Crawdad Orange Marabou
Hackle	Orange Grizzly Saddle Hackle

J Fair’s Wiggle Tail, Brown

Hook	TMC 2487 #10
Thread	Uni-thread Black 8/0
Weight	0.020 Leadfree wire
Body	Medium Brown Midge Cactus Chenille
Tail	Brown Marabou
Hackle	Brown Grizzly Saddle Hackle

J Fair’s Wiggle Tail, Peacock

Hook	TMC 2487 #10
Thread	Uni-thread Black 8/0
Weight	0.020 Leadfree wire
Body	Peacock Midge Cactus Chenille
Tail	Black Marabou
Hackle	Brown Grizzly Saddle Hackle