Email this page  Print this page  del.icio.us  digg  Feed

• Hook: Mustad 79580 size 2
• Wire: Diameter to match hook shank
• Thread: Danville's black Monocord
• Rib: Thin gold braid
• Body: Tan yarn
• Wings: Two pair of webby, mottled-brown Cocque de Leon butt feathers
• Collar: One mottled Cocque de Leon butt feather

I occasionally enjoy going to the stream in the evening to look for deep holes and drop-offs where I'll fish a large, weighted Matuka in hopes of fooling a big, cannibalistic brown trout. I usually take a 6- or 7-weight, 9-foot rod and fish a 7-foot leader with a 3X tippet. It's a meat-and-potatoes set up, but it's what I need if I have any hope of landing the big fish that come out in the evening looking for a mouthful. I prefer a mottled-wing Matuka-style fly for this kind of fishing because the wing of the Matuka is lashed to the hook shank, preventing the wing from separating from the weighted body of the fly. Some Cocque de Leon rooster saddles have a few feathers at the butt of the pelt that are perfect for this and make beautiful Matukas.