Fly of the Month: The Blind Chicken

For the past few years, Rockport fly fishing guide Billy Trimble has been tying a highly effective redfish pattern he calls the Blind Chicken. Billy recently sent me a handful of Blind Chicken flies in the colors he prefers, and he included a short story about the fly.

A good friend is fond of saying, "the definition of a fool is someone who thinks they have an original though." So here goes! Although this fly looks similar to many other flies that have been around a long time, I have not found anything like it anywhere. The name for the fly comes from one of my favorite soft plastic lures, the Electric Chicken- a chartreuse and pink lure. My pattern has a cone head with no eyes (blind). I don't like flies with bead/barbell eyes because they pick up grass immediately. I have let my clients drag the Blind Chicken behind the boat and have watched it crawl weed-free for miles. The real magic behind the Blind Chicken is that it is quick and easy to tie, easy to cast, and effectively imitates shrimp, swimming crabs, and baitfish. I have fished the Blind Chicken for redfish over the past 2 years with rare exception, and continue to watch reds fall victim. My clients have caught hundreds of redfish on it. Favorite color combos are pink/chartreuse, solid chartreuse, chartreuse/white, and red/yellow. The hot cones come in chartreuse, pink, orange, and red.

-Billy Trimble

The tying steps shown illustrate an orange-based (my favorite redfish color) Blind Chicken, but you can use any color combo you prefer. If you would like more information on this unusual pattern, contact Billy Trimble at Trimble Fly Fishing, www.trimbleflyfishing.com 361-205-1266.

Materials

Hook- Tiemco 811s (or equivalent) #2 to #6
Thread- High tensile (match fly color)
Cone- 3/16" Hot Cone
Body- Estaz Grande (large Cactus chenille)
Underwing- stiff deer back or belly hair
Flash- Flashabou Mirage
Overwing- bucktail