I was looking at the many variations of the Christmas Island Special. Now, there isn’t a whole lot TO a Christmas Island Special, but still… on a fly as sparse this, there still seems to be room for everyone to tie it differently. Seems that there are many variations on the theme with a couple of key hallmarks.
1. Big eyes
2. Lots of flash
Beyond that… some have calf-tail, some have flashabou and others crystal flash, some have craft fur.
I guess there is a standard… I mean… if Kaufmann tied it and Umpqua has his name on it… that’s probably it, isn’t it?
From the Umpqua gallery.
Other variations…
Same fly, different tail from Black Fly Outfitter
This one from Black Fly comes with a weed guard, that looks like calf tail on the wing and crystal over. The interesting thing to me is that the tail is actually straight flashabou… in pearl by the look of it… I have that at my tying desk and love the material.
Same fly, from Cabela’s.
Cabela's... I dont' shop there.
I’m going to call that Craft Fur & Crystal under the fur.
So… here is what I think is the lesson… tie it how you want… if you want to tweak your fly, tweak it. Throw out the step-by-step. Tie how you want… it will probably catch fish as long as the eyes are on straight and the colors aren’t out of place.
