The Polar Fibe Minnow.

The Polar FibreMinnow.

Polar Fibre is a material that is fairly new onthe market. It is a synthetic material that really is anexceptional product both to work with and to fish with. PolarFibre is manufactured by Success Flies and distributed withinAustralia by E.J Todd and Son. Along with Polar Fibre, they alsodistribute Kinky Fibre, Comes Alive, and Fluoro fibre.

Most of the fly patterns which use Polar Fibreare bait fish patterns and this is where the material reallycomes into it’s own. The fibre’s actually flash andshimmer in the sunlight just as a bait fish would, and becausethey are synthetic, they last a lot longer and are more durablethan natural materials like bucktail and hackles. Polar Fibre issuited to flies tied on hook sizes up to 3/0. When using largerhooks it is better to then use Kinky Fibre.

I am very confident with this fly and now useit as my first choice for bait fish profiles. The species listthis fly has attracted includes barramundi, barracouda, tarpon,giant herring, many species of trevally, queenfish, stripies,coral trout, sweetlip, and shark mackerel to name just a few.

The Polar Fibre minnow I have tied in thissection may be different to some of the flies you are used totying as it is all tied on top of the hook in a high-tie fashion,and the fibres do not cover the gape of the hook at all. For thispattern, the hook itself acts as a keel in the water and helps tokeep the fly swimming properly. This is very important to keep inmind when tying this pattern. The other benefit is that your hookup rate will increase because of the way it is tied. Solets’ have a look at the materials needed and the tyingprocedure. You may also notice that I have changed hook brandsand now use the Gamakatsu brand, as I find these are well suitedto salt water fly fishing and are perfect for this pattern. It isalso highly recommended to use a monofilament thread for thispattern. You want a finished fly with minimal wraps and novisible thread.

The Polar Fibre minnow recipe.

Hook: Gamakatsu SL12S sizes up to 3/0.

Thread: Danvilles monofilament fine.

Body: Polar Fibre (white, with green forthe top)

Flash: Fluoro fibre (white) and ComesAlive (green)

Eyes: 3D eyes.

Tying Procedure.

Photo one: Firmly place the hook in thevice and crimp the barb. Start from the eye of the hook and windthe thread down the shank to a point in line with the crimpedbarb. Tie in a small section of Polar Fibre on top of thehook (high-tie). The length of the polar Fibre is determined bythe size of the bait you are trying to resemble. This fly is tiedto resemble a small hardy head and its total length is 6centimetres.

Photo two: Tie in 3-4 strands of FluoroFibre, then continue tying small sections of Polar fibre ontop of the hook and directly in front of the previous tie. Keepthe amount of wraps to a bare minimum as this will significantlyinfluence the end result.

Photo three: After you have worked yourway up towards the eye of the hook, tie in a small section ofgreen Polar Fibre which should be the same length as the rest ofthe material.

Photo four: Then tie in a shorter lengthof green in front of that. Comb the fibres through at this pointfor best results. Your fly should have a flat profile and allmaterials should be on top of the hook shank.

Photo five: Apply a small amount ofeither ‘Softex’ or watered down ‘silicone’(see below for mixture) to the entire head of the fly and allowto dry.

Photo six: Once the head has set, put onthe eyes and apply another coating over the head of the fly.

Photo seven: I have included this shotto show you the way that the fly will swim in the water. Noticethat the hook is away from the body of the fly. This helps tokeep the fly upright and also improves the hook up rate.

When coating the head, you can use‘Softex’, however I prefer to use a Mixture of‘Silicone’ and Mineral Turpentine. The‘Silicone’ mixture dries slower but is clearer andsofter than the ‘Softex’ and gives you a more realisticfly. To make the mixture, put a small amount (the size of a 5centpiece) of ‘Silicone’ on a sheet of glass then pour adrop or two of turps onto the ‘Silicone’ and mixtogether (you may need to add more turps if this is not enough).The ‘Silicone’ should become slightly runny. It is thena simple case of putting a light coat of the ‘Silicone’over the head of the fly.

I also mentioned combing the material throughwith a fine tooth comb before coating. This allows the materialsto be mixed together and appear less segmented. It is also a goodidea to hand stack the fibres before you tie them in. This isespecially so with the green for the back of the fly and can beseen in photos 3 and 4. Also note that white and green are usedhere but are by no means the only colours to use.