Big Hole Demon
Published Jan 20th 2009
A classic for many waters
By Martin Joergensen, Ken Bonde Larsen
Badger Big Hole Demon
The fly is a favored winter fly - especially in red or orange, but also in black&white tied with badger hackle as shown here, which is quite close to the original. The fly is also seen in a pure black version as well as a light brown, sandy or tan color.
Ken Bonde Larsen who has tied the flies that you see here, doesn't tie the fly with any ribbing. The original had rib over the tinsel body and up over the front body to reinforce the tinsel and secure the hackle. Ken in stead varnishes under and over the tinsel, and hackles the fly so that the hackle stem lies in the groove in the thick chenille. This is equally durable.
Many of our flies have been inspired by the style of the Big Hole Demon. Look at flies like Joergen's Demon (and here) and Klympen.
The history of the fly reaches back a long time. It was originally created for Montana's Big Hole River by Dan Bailey of Livingston, Montana. Back then it was called 1964's "fly of the year.", so it's an old boy, which has been appreciated from it's creation. Sometimes the fly is called the Black Hole Demon.
Materials
| Type | Wet fly |
| Originator | Dan Bailey |
| Difficulty | Medium |
| Target species | Atlantic salmon (sea run) Brown trout Rainbow trout (landlocked) Sea trout (sea run) |
Materials
| Hook | Wet fly hook #8-2 |
| Tail | Two badger hackle tips |
| Thread | Black 8/0 |
| Rear body | Flat silver tinsel |
| Hackle | Badger |
| Front body | Black Chenille |
| Head | Tying thread |
Tying instructions
See image sequence below
