We have less than a month before we kick off our Alaska season and that means it won’t be long before we’ll be chucking big, gaudy, mouse patterns for our resident rainbow trout.
Mousing is by far our favorite way to target trout in our neck of the woods and one of our go-to patterns is the Mr. Hankey, developed on the banks of the Kanektok by Alaska West alum, Jeff Hickman.
The Mr. Hankey incorporates just about everything we like in a mouse pattern; it rides true, features a small up-riding hook for safer hook sets, and swims with a low profile in the water. But don’t take our word for it, read about it from the designer himself, here.
Some of you have asked for more detailed tying instructions for the Mr. Hankey, so today we offer you just that. Enjoy!
Mr. Hankey – Tying Instructions
Materials:
Thread: UTC 140 – Tan or Black
Shank: Any Long Shanked Up-Eye Hook
Stinger Hook: Owner SSW – Size 4
Stinger Loop: 30 lb. Fireline or 25 lb. Maxima Chameleon
Tail: Natural Zonker Cut Bunny Hide Trimmed of Fur
Body: Natural Crosscut Bunny Strip
Back: 1/8″ (3 mm) Closed Cell Foam Trimmed to Shape
Legs: Round Rubber Legs
Whiskers: Pearl Krystal Flash
Step 1: Start thread at the eye of the hook and advance in touching turns to the hook point.Step 2: Tie in a stinger loop long enough to loop up and over a size 4 Owner SSW stinger hook. Cover loop material with forward wraps of thread, double over, wrap back to hook point, and coat with super glue for added security. We used 30 lb. fireline for our stinger loop, but the original pattern calls for 25 lb. Maxima Chameleon.Step 3: Trim fur from a natural zonker cut rabbit strip and tie in as a tail.Step 4: Catch in a natural crosscut rabbit strip at the tail. Wrap forward to the middle of the hook shank and tie off. Note: DON”T trim rabbit strip.Step 5: Pre-cut 1/8″ (3 mm) foam to shape. Note: Ears will be trimmed once the fly is completeStep 6: Tie in foam onto the top of the shank. Note: Make sure to make several loose wraps of thread before cinching down to avoid cutting foam.Step 7: Tie in 2-4 rubber legs on each side of the body. Trim to length.Step 8: Continue wrapping rabbit strip forward to the front of the fly. Tie off, trim, and build a nice head. This will help the ears to stand up when finished.Step 9: Bind down foam at the front of the fly. Once again, be sure to lay down a good base of thread wraps before tightening to avoid cutting foam.Step 10: Double over 4 stands of pearl Krystal Flash and tie in on top of foam using criss-cross wraps of thread. Trim to length to cause whiskers to flare (Scroll down to top view for a better look at whiskers).Step 11: Pull back foam lip, build a clean head, whip finish, and cement.Step 12: Trim ‘ears’ to shape. Tip: Make a single cut down the center of the ears FIRST and round off corners with as few cuts as possible.Step 13: Attach stinger hook (sz. 4 Owner SSW) to loop by looping through the eye of the hook. Cut the bend of the hook from the original shank off as close to the stinger loop as possible, and get fishing!
