This Babine Special is widely used for Pacific salmon and steelhead.
The original pattern uses marabou, chenille and soft white hackle. The chenille is now usually replaced with fluorescent chenille.
Its purpose is to represent two salmon eggs milting (white marabou and hackle). The salmon eggs are separated by a white hackle.
As we all know, the waters in Southeast Alaska are somewhat murky so, we should brighten up our flies.
Babine specials are very close to wooly buggers but are a lot easier to tie and also are a lot more durable.
Since this fly is unweighted, a sink tip or full sinking fly line with a short leader should be used.
There are many colour variations. For the body, other substitutes can be used, including crystal chenille, metallic chenille and ice chenille.
I have caught numerous salmon in Haines, Alaska on these flies. Friends of mine also had tremendous luck for chum on red and orange flies and cohos on blue and pink flies.
If you would like to tie smaller sizes, consider using medium instead of large chenille.
There are many Alaska flies very similar to this fly which, for me, didn’t work.
Once I added white to this type of fly, I started catching many salmon.
RECIPE
Hook: Mustad 36890, size 2 – 2/0 (any similar hook)
Thread: Black 8/0
Tail: White marabou with 6 to 8 strands of red flashabou on each side
Rib: None
Body: Two separate segments of large red cactus chenille separated by a white chickabou feather
Wing: None
Hackle: White chickabou feather
TYING A BABINE SPECIAL
Step 1
Make a good base by wrapping thread over the hook shank.
Then prepare a white marabou feather by stripping off the fluff at the butt end.
Tie in this marabou feather and add six to eight strands of red flashabou on each side.
Step 2
Tie in a strand of large cactus chenille.
Step 3
Wrap this chenille forward pushing the turns backward to make a dense ball and tie off halfway between the tail and the eye.
Step 4
Prepare a soft white chickabou hackle.
Step 5
Tie in by the tip and wrap two to three turns of this hackle using hackle pliers.
Since the hackle is big, you could probably just use your fingers.
Step 6
Make another dense chenille ball followed by another white chickabou feather.Finish the head with a whip finishing tool and use head cement or lacquer of your choice.
