Polar Extreme Pot Bellied Pig - Step By Step Tying

Here's a step by step for one of my favourite salmon flies.
Thanks for looking.
David Ballingall

Firstly the materials required. Hook:Salar gold size 7 / Thread:UTC 70 fire red/black boar bristles/black bucktail/black polar fox/ black cock saddleyellow cock saddle/fluro fire orange cock saddle/gold crystal hairyellow glister dubbing/ small oval silver tinsel/ jungle cock.
Begin by bedding the hook with tying thread

Then Dub in a small tag of yellow glister dubbing

Tie in 5 or 6 black boar bristles extending about 1 1/2 inches aprox.

Then tie in a small bunch of black bucktail the same length as the Bristles.

Then add a small bunch of Black polar fox over the bucktail about half the length of the bristles.

Select a long supple black cock hackle for the tail.

Tie in the hackle tip first then double it.

Make five turns of hackle then tie off securely and trim the waste

Tie in 2 strands of gold crystal hair on each side of the tail again at roughly the same length as the bristles.

At this stage tidy up the waste tie it down securely towards the head. When at the head tie in the rib and secure it on the side of the hook down to the tail.

Now dub on some yellow glister dubbing and create your body fairly loosly at this stage. (idealy a cigar shaped body is the goal tapering down towards the head)

Select a stiff yellow cock saddle hackle and tie in.

Make 2 turns where you tie it in then palmer it quite densly down the body and secure by ribbing(tightly towards the head).The rib should pull in the dubbing over the tying thread base to give the desired cigar shaped body.

Now select a Fluro fire Orange cock saddle feather and tie in (Please note my camera didn't like this colour in the wee hackles so I've used a larger than normal one so it would show up better)Double the hackle ready for tying

Make 2 turns of the doubled head hackle leaving enough space for JC and a neat head.(hackle would normally be much shorter than this.)

Now select 2 matching jungle cock eyes and tie in on top of the head in a gentle V shape.

Here's a top profile showing the V shaped JC cheeks (Normally the head hackle extends to the point where the body stops and the tail starts and this is the length I like my JC to be I find it gives the fly a better profile in the water.)

Here's the finished product PHEW!!!!

And In true Blue Peter Style here's a few I did earlier (with the correct length of head hackle giving better proportion to the fly.

I would like to thank Dave Ballingal for his kindness in letting me reproduce his step by step on this excellent pattern that Dave ties. Thank you very much Dave