La Muerte

A simple, generic and light fly for tarpon

By Martin Joergensen

	La Muerte  Martin Joergensen
	Los Campiones  Claus Paludan

During my most recent tarpon trip to Mexico I had little luck with the large members of the species. I caught plenty babies, but no biggies.

Opposite Lars Mathiessen. Lars had good luck... ehr... showed excellent skill with the big ones and was by far the angler in the company who hooked and landed most large tarpon in the open ocean. He also did fine on the babies, but with the big fish in the ocean he severely outfished the rest of us.

Now it might have been luck. It might also have been a good guide. It is more likely to have been skill. And it might have been the fly. A combination is probably the right answer.

What I can supply
Now I can't supply the luck.
The guide—Carlos—is still in Rio Lagartos and you'll have to go there to get him.
The skill... well, you'll have to hone that yourself.
But the fly pattern, that's something I can help with. First of all because Lars was very open about the fly and opened his box to us during our afternoon rhum-on-the-porch sessions, and secondly because it's a fairly simple and generic pattern.

I have baptised the fly La Muerte because I nicknamed Lars "El Muerte" during our stay. Since the gramatically correct way to say this is "La Muerte", this is now my name for the fly. Lars earned this honorable name because he rubbed a very dense, white sunscreen on his skin every day, which left him looking quite ghost-like.

The fly is a variation of the classical splayed feather-tail tarpon fly as found in many patterns devised by many different tiers. Splayed tail, a couple of hackles and a long snout. Much like the Splayed Alive Pike Fly actually.

Candy box  Martin Joergensen	La Muerte strikes again  Claus Paludan

The tying instructions are uncomplicated and most people would easily be able to fill their boxes with this pattern. Lars used nothing else, so you can trust that it works. He had luck with the blue and white flies, but also had some red and white ones in his box.

The man  Martin Joergensen

La Muerte

1. Start the tying thread at the hook bend
2. Tie in a few straws of flash extending rearwards
3. Select four large white hackles
4. Strip off the barbs on the stem of the feathers. Aim for a length about 4-6 times hook shank length
5. Tie in two white feathers and one blue on each side of the hook
6. The feathers must sit vertically curving out and to the very rear of the hook
7. Prepare two hackles, one blue and one white
8. Tie in the blue one first and wind it forwards followed by the white one
9. Create a long, tapered head on the front part of the hook
10. Stick two doll's eyes to the rear part of the head
11. Varnish or epoxy the head over the thread and eyes

1. Start the tying thread at the hook bend
2. Tie in a few straws of flash extending rearwards
3. Select four large white hackles
4. Strip off the barbs on the stem of the feathers. Aim for a length about 4-6 times hook shank length
5. Tie in two white feathers and one blue on each side of the hook
6. The feathers must sit vertically curving out and to the very rear of the hook
7. Prepare two hackles, one blue and one white
8. Tie in the blue one first and wind it forwards followed by the white one
9. Create a long, tapered head on the front part of the hook
10. Stick two doll's eyes to the rear part of the head
11. Varnish or epoxy the head over the thread and eyes

10 kilos or 20 lbs. - at least!  Claus Paludan	The man, the fish  Claus Paludan

Promising sundown  Martin Joergensen