"How do you like your Eggs?"

If you peek in the fly box of many serious Steelhead or Salmon anglers, chances are you’ll find some kind of egg pattern. Flies dressed to impersonate a solitary egg or bit of roe have long been staples of fishermen from Oregon to British Columbia. Small wonder, too - they’re relatively easy to tie and very effective, especially during a spawning season.

The color combinations are endless and a myriad of inexpensive materials can be used to replicate an egg. Chenille, Glo-Bug Yarn, commercially made foam eggs, and novelty store Pom-Poms are usually the materials of choice with fluorescent colors being the most popular. I chose to use hot glue for two reasons. Hot glue, when it dries or sets properly has a slightly "milky’ quality and looks amazingly lifelike. The second reason, and probably the most important - hot glue eggs are very durable.

Forming the glue eggs takes a bit of practice and using a rotary style vise will save a lot of aggravation. Keep in mind that gravity and the temperature of your glue will be your biggest aids in fabricating an almost perfect sphere.

"Goo Goo Goo Joob!"

Double-Egg Sperm Fly

Hook: Partridge CS10/1 Bartleet Traditional – Size #2
Tail: Natural Golden Pheasant Crest (or Yellow Hackle fibers)
Body: Two "Eggs" of equal size formed with hot glue (HareLine "Dark Roe") divided by Medium Flat Gold Tinsel
Collar: Hot Orange Hen Hackle
Wing: Fl White Calftail accented with sparse Gold Lite-Brite
Head: Danville 6/0 no-wax Fl Orange (#503) Flymaster thread

Babine Special

Hook: Alec Jackson Spey (Daiichi #2052 – Nickel) – Size #7 through #3
Tail: Fl White Saddle Hackle fibers (or short White Chickabou)
Body: Two "Eggs" of equal size formed with hot glue (HareLine ‘Red’) divided by a collar of Hot Orange Hen or Saddle Hackle
Collar: Fl White Hen or Saddle Hackle
Head: White thread

The Rajah (Plum Variant)

Hook: Alec Jackson Spey (Daiichi 2051) Size #7 through #3
Tail: Purple Polar Bear
Body: Spirit River "Plum" Holographic Mylar Motion Tinsel
Egg/Shoulder: "Roe"' formed with HareLine "Champagne" Hot Glue
Collar: Purple Hen Hackle
Wing: Lavender or Lilac Calftail accented with Spirit River "Steelhead Peril# Lite-Brite
Head: Danville no-wax 6/0 Fl Orange (#503) Flymaster thread

Scotty’s Cackle Berry (an original pattern)

Hook:Owner #5315-091 SSW – Size #2
Tail: A small tuft of Royal Blue Marabou (approximately 2X the hook length)
Egg/Shoulder: "Roe" formed with HareLine "Dark Roe" Hot Glue
Collar: Apricot or Peach Saddle Hackle
Head: Fl/Fire Orange thread

Scotty Howell, Bothell, WA 2004 ©