Half and Half Fly -Electric Chicken - McFly Angler Fly Tying Tutorial

The half and half has been around for quite some time. Granted, not as long as its parents, the clouser minnow and the deceiver. However it has been around for quite a long time, catching saltwater and freshwater fish alike. Today I am tying the half and half in an electric chicken coloration that was requested from a customer of mine. Its a large one, size 3/0, but these can be tied from small (id say probably size 6) to as large as you want. They move very nicely in the water, with a flowing tail like the deceiver fly. But also have that irresistible jigging motion many fish can't ignore. In ways this fly has the best of each of its parent patterns.
As you all know, I work closely withwww.risenfly.com and they have offered every one of my subscribers a discount. So go to their shop, and type in "McFly" at checkout for 15% off of anything you buy on their site.
Materials I used today are as follows...
Hook: Gamakatsu SL11, size 3/0 - www.dooleysfly...
Alternative hook: Risen O'Shaughnessy - www.risenfly.c...
Thread: Veevus 140 Power Thread, chartreuse - www.dooleysfly...
Weight: Painted lead dumbbell eyes, red - www.dooleysfly...
Body and wing: Bucktail, chartreuse and hot pink - www.dooleysfly...
Tail: Saddle hackle, grizzly died chartreuse - www.dooleysfly...
Flash: Krystal flash, pearl - www.dooleysfly...
Glue: locktite brush on super glue - www.dooleysfly...
Resin: Solarez Ultra Thin - www.dooleysfly...
Tools.....
Vise: Renzetti Traveler - amzn.to/2t2FFmo
Bobbin: Stonfo Bobtec - amzn.to/2YWOf39
Scissors: Risen Razor 4" - www.risenfly.c...
Whip finisher: Dr. Slick brass - amzn.to/2tGYwDW
Fly Tying Bench: Oasis Walnut Compact Bench - www.oasisbench...
UV Light: Ultrafire UV Super Power - amzn.to/3mX52xW
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[@kevinroe3937]

Tied some of these for a trip to Baja. When the dorado were on they would eat anything but I did catch quite a few on these including a truly grande dorado. Thanks for the video.

[@McFlyAngler]

Glad you had a good trip, those dorado are some of my favorite fish to catch, so acrobatic!

[@randy71646]

Shawn, you just keep upping yourself, and what an asset you are to the fly tying community. Another spectacular video on how to. Blessings

[@McFlyAngler]

Thank you sir!

[@trevorgreen2370]

Thanks for sharing. Like the little hints, always learning.🙏🇻🇬

[@McFlyAngler]

Thank you, I’m glad you enjoyed it

[@brittpereira2600]

You are one of my favorite people to watch on KZbin. I have learned a lot about fly fishing from you.

[@McFlyAngler]

Thank you Britt. I’m happy to help.

[@farmerbob4554]

Love the colors on this fly. I like the half/half concept too. Very nice.

[@McFlyAngler]

Thanks! It isn’t my pattern, just tied it for someone that requested it, but for sure. Half and half’s are great, and hard to beat the bright electric chicken colors sometimes!

[@randy71646]

Just curious about your eastern sierra fly fishing trip. Were you able to go as planned?

[@farmerbob4554]

@@randy71646 Hi. Yes, and it was great! The gorge had an all day BWO hatch and you could hook up just about every cast on #20 dry fly imitations on 8-12” browns and rainbows. The upper Owens both close to Crowley and upstream in the meadow were OK with several browns on perdigon nymphs tight lining right on the bottom. The creek above Rovana was as low as I have ever seen but lots of 6-8” wild trout there fishing a #18 pheasant tail with a split shot above it. Just for fun we hit the private trout ponds at Tom’s Place and nailed rainbows up to five lb. The gent that owns it is a very cool dude and actually netted a couple trout for me. That was about all on the fishing. I wanted to hit North Lake around dusk to give the mosquitos a nice dinner but also to fish dry flies for the wild browns and cutthroat that hide in the tules close to shore. The water in that lake is crystal clear and you can follow the trout as they go for your fly.. Just ran out of time and energy and missed that opportunity. Hopefully back there in September. Thanks for asking!

[@jeffjackson5331]

Sweet looking fly

[@McFlyAngler]

Thank you

[@jeffjackson5331]

@@McFlyAngler you're welcome

[@flytyingoutlet1930]

Awesome tie! Can’t wait to use this in the river

[@McFlyAngler]

Thanks! And yeah good luck man! For smallmouth, Id recommend a B10S hook and a little smaller. The B10S is a thinner wire and will give better hook set penetration. And really they don't need these stout saltwater rated hooks.

[@flytyingoutlet1930]

@@McFlyAngler Thanks for the advice! I will have to try that out

[@goldentwilight1944]

Nice one! I think I can already see that in the jaw of a big mean saltwater fish. That Electric chicken is a good colour in the salt, also is in soft plastics for that matter.

[@McFlyAngler]

Thanks

[@dooleysflyfishing917]

Thank You sir appreciate the shout out and the great video! Top notch as always!

[@McFlyAngler]

Thanks man, yeah your company is great to work with, happy to tell others about it.

[@rodolfochfend]

Good video bro, God bless you, to me the bucktail is the best material for tying.

[@McFlyAngler]

Thank you, God bless you as well. And yeah, bucktail is a great material. Hard to say its the "best" as there are so many great materials out there, but for this specific fly, there aren't really any substitutes for sure. I mean, craft fur I guess, and some others could work. but in my opinion it would change the action and the way the fly fishes. Could be a good change depending on your uses, but hard to beat natural materials.

[@predatorking3131]

Yeesh, those hooks look like they wouldn't break for nothing, lol!! Heard the SL-12s are some of the strongest fly tying hooks available but those look pretty damn tough too! But in fairness most hooks in 3/0 look damn near indestructible, lol!

[@McFlyAngler]

Yeah these are pretty strong, no not like the sl-12. But still strong. And there are some 3/0 hooks that would bend on some bigger fish. So always be careful to use strong hooks

[@predatorking3131]

@@McFlyAngler oh definitely! I'm trying to go after Bowfin and those guys will really tell ya if your hooks and fly are durable enough, they bend most lesser hooks almost straight sometimes, lol!

[@user-lo2sc4dd1f]

Замечательный кальмарчик!👍🤝🇰🇿

[@Jadedragon-oy3kk]

That looks great

[@McFlyAngler]

Thanks

[@philstevens6934]

Terrific video. Will be tying some of these for use in Wisconsin next week. Question: how big are the dumbell eyes? Large I would imagine.

[@McFlyAngler]

I think I showed the package in the video. I believe the medium or large size. I usually also say in the description section of the videos.

[@johndoody7526]

So if I buy from Risen will I be getting your flies? Can i purchase flies from you directly? Thanks for all your videos your time and knowledge is greatly appreciated.

[@McFlyAngler]

Thank you. No I don’t sell wholesale to fly shops. I just like their gear. They don’t sell my flies. You can order from me directly though. Best way is to find me on Instagram. And private message me there. I can get ya prices on any fly you want. If you don’t have Instagram, email me. My email is in the about section of my KZbin home page.

[@jacobwhittington2462]

Still thinking about a super weedless golden shiner fly/jig for heavy duty Florida weeds

[@McFlyAngler]

Sounds like a good fly. Give it a go. As for me making a video on one, maybe... I can't guarantee though it will be any time soon.

[@jacobwhittington2462]

@@McFlyAngler I've also been thinking about tying a saltwater jig. Any tips/ideas you can share?🥰🙏

[@hunternelson1215]

i love electric chickens ⚡️🐓

[@McFlyAngler]

They work for sure given the right situation

[@stxjeepster14]

How can I buy some of these flies from you brotha?

[@McFlyAngler]

Either message me on Instagram, or find my email on the KZbin home page in the about section. Also I’ve got a patreon which allows messages back and fourth also.

[@keithr4224]

Clouser?

[@McFlyAngler]

Yeah, it’s a half and half. Half clouser half deceiver technically. It’s not really a clouser, more a variant of it. Called the half and half. It’s been around for quite some time.