Morrish Mouse

Materials

Hook

TMC 8089 sizes 4 to 10 (Morrish's hook) or a stout streamer hook such as TMC 5263 or Gamakatsu B10S sizes 2 to 6

Thread

GSP 200 denier or UTC 140, black or white; not Kevlar, which cuts foam and hair

Tail

Dark brown or black rabbit zonker strip, fur trimmed off the hide except a tuft at the tip, two-and-a-half to three shank lengths

Back

Black closed-cell foam strip, 2 mm (Orvis) to 6 mm (Fly Fish Food), tapered at the tail end and cut a little wider than the hook gap4 mm gives a slimmer fly

Body

Natural deer body hair or cow elk back hair, spun in bunches and trimmed flat top and bottom

Adhesive

Zap-A-Gap or Z-Ment on the thread base before spinning

Steps

1. 1.Lay a thread base to the bend and glue it so the spun hair cannot spin later.
2. 2.Trim the fur off the front and middle of a zonker strip, leaving a tuft at the far end, and tie the bare hide in at the bend so the tail trails two-and-a-half to three shank lengths.
3. 3.Cut a foam strip slightly wider than the hook gap, taper one end to a point and tie the point down on top of the tail tie-in so the strip hangs back over the tail.
4. 4.Cut a bunch of deer hair about the thickness of a pencil, comb out the underfur and clip the tips off so the bunch is a little longer at the rear and shorter as you move forward.
5. 5.Place the bunch on the shank in front of the foam, take two loose turns, then tighten so the hair flares and spins around the shank. Pack it back hard.
6. 6.Repeat with more bunches until the shank is full to just behind the eye; a small stacked bunch with tips facing back at the very front makes the face.
7. 7.Whip finish behind the eye, take the fly out and trim the top flat, sloping down towards the eye, and trim the belly flat close to the shank. Leave the sides ragged so the fibres kick like legs.
8. 8.Put the fly back in, restart the thread behind the eye and part the hair on top with a bodkin so the foam has a channel.
9. 9.Pull the foam forward over the back, keeping it under light tension, and bind it down behind the eye.
10. 10.Fold the excess foam back on itself and bind it again to make a blunt head, then whip finish under the foam fold.
11. 11.Trim the foam head to a short stub over the eye and check that the hook gap is clear underneath.
12. 12.Optional: a small snip on each side of the foam head suggests ears; Morrish leaves his plain.

From the tier

• Ken Morrish designed it after hearing that Kamchatka's rainbows eat mice and that most mouse flies were cute but impractical; he calls it a three-step fly with a back, a tail and a big profile of minimal mass that swims forever and casts on a 5-weight.
• Stuart Foxall's Deneki tie stresses not trimming the sides, so the loose fibres work like kicking legs, and shaping a wedge so the fly shoves water; Cheech at Fly Fish Food sums the fly up as movement, gurgle and hook gap.
• Michigan night notes from Ed McCoy (Mangled Fly): July through September on the darkest nights, cast tight to the bank and swim the fly with popping strips so it leaves a wake; a 4 to 6 ft leader of Maxima Ultragreen from 30 lb down to 12 or 15 lb; learn the water by day first and fish with a partner or from a boat.

Hook and hardware

• Bass-bug or streamer hook1

  size 2 to 6 · TMC 8089 or TMC 5263

  Hook

  1

Feathers and fur

• Rabbit zonker strip1 strip

  dark brown or black

  Tail

  1 strip

• Deer body hair1 patch

  natural (or cow elk back)

  Body

  1 patch

Synthetics, flash and legs

• Closed-cell foam sheet1 strip about 4 in

  black, 2 to 6 mm

  Back

  1 strip about 4 in

Thread and finish

• GSP thread1 spool

  200 denier, black or white

  Thread

  1 spool

• Zap-A-Gap1

  Adhesive

  1