TOM JONES

In his book, "Pursuit of Fly Tying", G.E.P. Rowney calls the Tom Jones One of the most successful flies in the book! John Lanchester of the Southern Fly-Fishers originated the fly in 1972, and today appears in several forms. The simplest of these I have given below. The Tom Jones is a great "all season" fly in Lake Jindabyne, particularly when those large browns are feeding on shrimps and baby yabbies, and is one of my favorite polaroiding flies. In the 199 world championships, the French team was introduced to the Tom Jones by their guide Luke Despoja. Using Luke's own version in the lake sessions, they won second place in the event. John Lanchester originally tied his fly using olive green chenille, wallaby fur (rather than kangaroo) and gold lurex. His version also had a red tag just in front of the tail. Below are the most common versions, with and without bead head, found today.

HOOK: TMC5761 or equivalent.
SIZE: 8-10
THREAD: Olive.
TAIL: Black Squirrel
BODY: Olive green wool or dubbing.
WING: Olive green Wallaby fur
RIB: Copper wire

1. Tie in the black squirrel tail.
2. Tie in the copper wire
3. Tie in the olive wool (or start the dubbing)
4. Wind in the body to about half way along the hook shank.
5. Wind in the rib to the same point.
6. Tie in the first wing of wallaby fur. The wing should be sparse
7. Wind in the second half of the body and rib over. Tie off the olive wool and rib and cut off.
8. Tie in a second wing of wallaby fur, again sparsely, leaving enough space for the head.
9. Form the head with the tying thread. Varnish the head.
10. Go fishing.

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