Argentine Blonde, from Page Rogers' Classic Saltwater Patterns Series

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Page Rogers' Classic Patterns

Copyright Š1998 Page Rogers

THE ARGENTINE BLONDE

By Page Rogers, contributing editor

Materials List

Hook: TMC 811S; Mustad 34007; Daiichi 2546; Eagle Claw LO54SS; Partridge CS52; Gamakatsu SL11-3H.
Thread: Danville’s Flat Waxed Nylon: Black
Tail:White bucktail
Body:Bill’s Bodi-Braid - Pearl
Wing: Medium Blue bucktail
Eye: Witchcraft 2mm eye, covered with five minute epoxy

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Some flies have a beauty about them because they are so very simple and at the same time very effective. The Blonde is a saltwater streamer fly, developed in the 1940’s, by the late Joe Brooks. Although I never met Joe Brooks, old photos of this pioneer beaming a huge smile over his world-record catches with his bamboo rod, gut fly line and simple reel always make me smile. This man had wonderful life on the water, and wrote widely about his adventures and experiments, fly rodding for species that had never been taken on the fly. He set the first world records for fly rod caught bonefish, proving that indeed, they could be taken on a fly. (No one in his time believed bones would eat anything but fresh shrimp baited on a hook). The Blonde series of flies have been catching fish throughout the world for over a half century. In the times that I have been privileged to catch a glimpse inside fly wallets from yesteryear the one fly I always see there is a Blonde, usually a crowd of them!

Blondes are easy to tie, and easy to fish. Their narrow silhouette easily moves through the air and water; they can be easily cast with lighter weight rods. They can be tied with weight, if desired. I prefer wrapping the hook shank with .030 lead wire, and then covering that with the body material. Because many saltwater bait fish are long and narrow (sand eels, spearing, needlefish and anchovies) the Blonde style of tying flies can be used to imitate many of the bait fish you’re likely to encounter. They also can be tied sparse and short to imitate shrimp or marine worms.

The Argentine Blonde is a medium blue/white fly. In addition to that there are a number of other colors of Blondes:

Fly	Wing	Body
Platinum Blonde	White over White	Pearl Bodi-Braid
Honey Blonde	Yellow over Yellow	Gold Bodi-Braid
Black Blonde	Black over Black	Dk Blue Bodi-Braid
Pink Blonde	Pink over Pink	Silver Bodi-Braid
Strawberry Blonde	Orange over Red	Gold Bodi-Braid
Irish Blonde	Green over White	Silver Bodi-Braid

Tying Sequence

Step One
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Place hook in vise and cover hook shank with tying thread. Tie on some white bucktail; tie on hair the entire length of hook shank, as you are tying hair down cover tying thread with Flexament. Tail fibers should be as long as the hook shank plus the hook gap.

Step Two

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With tying thread just behind hook point tie in a strip of Bill’s Bodi-Braid and wrap Braid forward to just behind hook eye. Whip finish.

Step Three

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Tie in wing of Medium Blue bucktail. Wing should extend past hook bend, and can be as long as the tail hair, if desired. Wrap good bullet shaped head with tying thread, applying good tension on thread and soaking wraps with Flexament. Whip finish and tie off thread.

Step Four (optional)

The original Blondes had no eyes. You can add them by either painting them on or by attaching a small (2-2.5 mm) Witchcraft prismatic eye to the fly head and coating the entire head with a small amount of five minute epoxy.

Reel -Time