Last winter (January 2023) I was tying a bunch of variations of perdigons on one of those typical experimental January tying nights. I tried out some new tinsels including the iridescent blue Perdigon Body from Semperfli. As I fished each of these variations over the next few months, there was one that kept setting itself apart during my days afield. Trout seemed willing to move to the blue perdigon I had tied regardless of its position on my rig. Over the last year, I've tested this perdigon on various rivers with very good success. It has been good at home but was also very good on the rivers in Slovakia at last year's World Fly Fishing Championship. It seems to work best for me fall through spring but it's still worth a shot during the summer as well. I hope you'll give it a go on your local rivers and see if the trout you fish for find it the Blue Steel "ridiculously good looking."
Here is the recipe:
- Hook: Fulling Mill 5125 #18-24 (these run two sizes large), Fulling Mill 5045 or Fulling Mill 5140 sizes 14-20, or Dohiku 303 sizes 14-18.
- Bead: Silver Tactical Fly Fisher Slotted Tungsten Bead or Inverting Tungsten Bead sized to your weight preference.
- Thread: Black 16/0 Veevus thread. You could also use 8/0 Uni for larger hook sizes.
- Tail: Corzuno, Flor de Escoba, or Aconchado coq de Leon. You can pick from Hareline coq de Leon, TFF coq de Leon, or Fasna coq de Leon depending on our stock for each. All would be good options.
- Rib: Hareline Micro Tubing clear
- Body: Semperfli Perdigon Body iridescent blue
- Wingcase: Black UV Craft resin in either the brush or squeeze bottle
- Body Resin: Clear UV Craft resin