The Chinook Bendback is a fly style that has been popularized in saltwater and estuarine waters where anglers fish flies in shallow waters where weeds and muck could easily foul hooks on traditional patterns.
The process of bending the hook is crucial because it will impact the ability to hook a fish when it takes the fly. Make sure that the hook point is above the plane of the new axis of the hook eye. Using a Mustad 3407 saltwater hook is a good idea because the hook has a great balance of toughness and retains modest pliability. I have had great success fishing this hook and think you will too if you give it a go. You will need to sharpen this hook, but you can re-sharpen it too.
Jay Nicholas
Estuary Bend Back Minnow
Overall Length = 3”
Thread: Fine mono
Hook: #1 Mustad 3407 Bend as required for traditional Bendback fly style
Wing: Chartreuse over White Bucktail
Eyes: 7/32” Adhesive Holographic
Cure Goo: Hydro and Tack Free
Great idea. Looking forward to trying a few for the coast this fall… Any ideas on one how might weight this to keep it from riding like a jig?
Jay, another great one! Just what I have been looking for with the beach fishing here. I believe I will make lots of the green but also some brown and maybe a few black. Maybe on 6 and 8?
Thanks again.
Great looking tie! Can’t say I’ve seen a lot of this technique, but it’s a great idea. I’ve been using a hook that comes prefabricated with a bend in it similar to the bend here for a lot of my patterns, but it is becoming hard to find. This could definitely be a serviceable alternative.
Thanks for sharing!
Sam: Don’t quite get your concern about the fly riding like a jig. With the bend in the hook, plus the buoyancy of the wing material, it will ride level with the hook point up in the wing, on a level coming straight back at you as you retrieve slowly. If you hung it under an indicator, it would hang vertical, but the salmon would still eat the darn thing.
The charm of this bug is that it does ride hook point up, but doesn’t require addition of weighted eyes to turn the hook upright like a Clouser, so you can fish it in shallower water. Those east coast salts have a lot we can learn from. JN
Two Dogs: Give the #6 & #8 a try and see what you think – The materials need to be very sparse to make a good balance between hook weight and the bouancy of the wing, while still retaining sufficient hook gape to grab hold of your fish. The #6 works well for Sea-run cutthroat, just keep the proportions in mind and have fun with it. JN