Y2K Egg

Materials

Hook

Fulling Mill 5115 barbless heavy grub, size 12 (Tightline); TMC 2499 SP-BL 12 to 14 (Flys and Guides)Our sizes 10 and 12.

Bead

Gold tungsten drop bead, 1/8 in for a size 12 (Tightline) or 7/64 in; 3/32 in for a size 14The gold bead is part of Knowles' original design.

Thread

UTC 140 denier white (Tightline) or GSP 50 white or yellow (Flys and Guides)Heavy thread so you can really bear down on the yarn.

Body

Two strands of McFly Foam or Glo Bug yarn in contrasting colours: apricot and dark orange (Tightline); fluorescent yellow and fluorescent orange (Flys and Guides)Our combos: fluorescent orange over yellow; orange over pink. Purple and champagne is a bright-day, low-water combo.

Head cementoptional

Sally Hansen Hard as Nails on the exposed wraps

Steps

1. 1.Slide the bead onto the hook, small hole first so it seats against the eye, and start the thread behind it. Build a short thread dam so the bead cannot slip back.
2. 2.Cut two strands of yarn in different colours, each about 2 in long. With full Glo Bug strands on a size 12, split each strand in half first; thicker or thinner strands make a denser or sparser egg.
3. 3.Lay both strands together along the top of the shank with about 1/2 in extending forward past the eye and the rest trailing over the bend. Tie them in about 1/4 in behind the bead with one soft wrap, then several wraps pulled tight.
4. 4.Sweep the rear yarn back and wrap in front of it; sweep the front yarn forward and wrap behind it. Alternate until the yarn stands off the shank as a wedge and the bead is locked in place.
5. 5.Whip finish with four or five turns at the wedge and seat the knot firmly before cutting the thread.
6. 6.Separate the forward yarn to either side of the bead and trim it even with the top of the bead so it forms a half ball. Straight scissors first, then tidy with curved scissors; on a rotary vise turn the fly as you cut.
7. 7.Pull the rear yarn taut and cut it off about one hook gap behind the bend, so it extends just past the hook.
8. 8.Coat the exposed thread wraps with head cement.

From the tier

• David Knowles' own account (Whole Hog Sports): he tied the first ones in November and December 1999 after watching an angler catch trout on an orange-and-yellow yarn egg; he settled on the wedge because he "couldn't really tie eggs perfectly round", added the gold bead at his friend Tennison's suggestion, and named it for the millennium bug. Umpqua Feather Merchants later put it into production.
• Tim Flagler (Tightline Productions): use a heavy thread and keep everything under tension, and trim the front yarn level with the top of the bead so the egg comes out as a clean ball rather than a tuft.
• Great Lakes usage: Big Y Fly Co lists the beadhead Y2K as very popular for Erie steelhead; Michigan tiers fish the same fluorescent orange over yellow and orange over pink combos in 10 and 12.

Hook and hardware

• Heavy grub or scud hook1

  size 10 or 12 · Fulling Mill 5115 or TMC 2499 SP-BL

  Hook

  1

Synthetics, flash and legs

• McFly Foam or Glo Bugs yarn, two colours1 pack per colour (about 2 in of each per fly)

  fluorescent orange and yellow; orange and pink; apricot and dark orange · McFly Foam or The Bug Shop

  Body

  1 pack per colour (about 2 in of each per fly)

Thread and finish

• Tying thread1 spool

  140 denier white or GSP 50 white · UTC or Veevus

  Thread

  1 spool

• Head cementoptional1 bottle

  Hard as Nails

  Head cement

  1 bottle

Other

• Gold tungsten drop bead1 per fly

  1/8 in for size 12, 7/64 in alternative

  Bead

  1 per fly