| February Fly of the Month - KH Mayan Warrior |
| Written by Ken Hanley | |
| Saturday, 19 January 2008 | |
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For the February Fly of the Month, the NCFFB is pleased to feature Ken Hanley's KH Mayan Warrior pattern. This fly is a small shrimp and baitfish imitation designed to target saltwater gamefish, like Tarpon and Snook. Though it is a saltwater design.....it also works fantastic for largemouth bass in the green or natural versions and river smallmouth bass also eat the orange version as well, imitating a small crawfish.
Ken Hanley with a Nice Baby Tarpon (Photo courtesy of Ken Hanley, copyright 2007, all rights reserved) The inspiration for this pattern came from Homer Rhodes and Chico Fernandez' Seaducer and my own Surf Shrimp pattern. I was asked by Marco Ruz Ceballos (co-owner of Yucatan FlyFishing Adventures) and Keith Kaneko (owner of Angling on the Fly) to design a small pattern for use in the turtle grass flats and mangroves of Isla Arena's "Ria Celestun Biosphere Reserve" and San Felipe's "Rio Largartos Biosphere Reserve". The result is the KH Mayan Warrior. Bait Imitated: generic shrimp and baitfish
(Photo courtesy of Ken Hanley, copyright 2007, all rights reserved)
KH Mayan Warrior Pattern Recipe: Hook: Saltwater #1/0 and #2/0 (examples include Gamakatsu SS15 # 1/0 standard, or Daiichi 2546 Thread: Yellow (options: olive, dark brown, orange) # 1/0 Flymaster Plus or Kevlar natural yellow Mouth: Squirrel Tail, Natural (options: yellow, orange, green) Optics: Barbell Mono, large black Head: Hare-tron, Golden Brown (options: caddis green, burnt orange) Body: 2 Hackles from saddle or cape, trimmed flat top (Options: Grizzly dyed tan, olive, yellow and orange)
Tying Instructions: 1. Attach eyes at approximately the 1/3 point of the hook slightly forward of the hook point using a series of figure eight wraps. For durability, you can add a drop of cement or Zap-a-Gap over the thread wraps. 2. Clip a bunch of squirrel tail. Tie the hair just behind the eyes extending beyond the tailset position approximately the length of the body of the fly. Fold the butts forward and secure them. 3. Dub the head to form a nice taper expanding to the eyes and extending just beyond the eyes on the fly. 4. Tie in 2 hackles, shiny side forward, dull side back (wet fly style). Wind each hackle forward to the front of the hook in tightly spaced wraps. Tie off and trim the excess. Clip the barbs on the top of the body to leave a tapered body. Whip finish and glue the head.
About Ken: Ken Hanley (CA DFG guide license #2596) has been conducting fishing and adventure specialty programs since 1970. Over 14,000 students have taken advantage of Ken’s varied programs both in the field and on the water. His award-winning instructional programs are well respected throughout the adventure industry. He’s a founding member of the “Pacific Pro Surf Association.” His popular instructional DVD and video are titled “Saltwater Salmon on the Fly” and “Coastal Fly Fishing with Ken Hanley & Friends.” He’s the author of six books. Ken also writes and photographs for national and regional publications in the outdoor industry. Ken’s extensive field experience spans the globe; from the highest peaks in Tibet and the Himalaya, to the remote wilderness regions of Asia, New Zealand, Mexico, Europe, and North America. From panfish to roosterfish, he’s caught over 90 different species of fresh and saltwater gamefish. He holds numerous Pro Staff positions, and is sponsored by the following companies: SAGE, SIMMS, Patagonia, Daiichi, Renzetti, and Umpqua Ken was chosen as the 2005 inductee into the NCC/FFF Fly Fishing Hall of Fame. For more than twenty years The Hall of Fame award has been presented to the individual who has made outstanding contributions to the sport of fly fishing. The criteria for this distinction include the improvement of the art, science, literature, techniques, enjoyment and conservation of fly fishing and the resource. Visit Ken's Pacific Extremes website at the following link: To see a short YouTube Video featuring Ken fishing this pattern for baby tarpon, click on the following link: |
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| Last Updated ( Sunday, 17 February 2008 ) |
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February Fly of the Month - KH Mayan Warrior
Jan 30 2008 02:09:35 This thread discusses the Content article: February Fly of the Month - KH Mayan Warrior
For the February Fly of the Month, the NCFFB is pleased to feature Ken Hanley's KH Mayan Warrior pattern. Ken is the owner of Pacific Extremes, an author with numerous books and DVD's to his credit, and is well respected in the Fly Fishing world for his expertise and willingness to share with many students. His award-winning instructional programs are well respected throughout the adventure industry. He’s a founding member of the “Pacific Pro Surf Association.” In 2005, Ken was chosen as the inductee into the NCC/FFF Fly Fishing Hall of Fame. For more than twenty years The Hall of Fame award has been presented to the individual who has made outstanding contributions to the sport of fly fishing. Please click on the following link above to read more about Ken's KH Mayan Warrior.  |
#5950 |
| gitt |
Re:February Fly of the Month - KH Mayan Warrior
Jan 30 2008 02:45:09 Funny that you post Mr. Hanley's fly today. I had bookmarked a YouTube Mayan King episode earlier and logged on today to enjoy Ken's antics on the water. Here is the URL for any of you interested- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BQLzR6GW0Jg While watching it again, I asked myself what the probable recipe was and what the heck was he imitating. You appear to have answered my questions. Nice job, Phil. Nice fly, Ken. Del Sabalo is now on the to do list.
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#5951 |
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Re:February Fly of the Month - KH Mayan Warrior
Jan 30 2008 03:06:15 Great find! I added the link into the article!
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#5952 |
| FeatherFisher |
Re:February Fly of the Month - KH Mayan Warrior
Jan 30 2008 17:01:06 Phil,
Thanks so much for these "Fly of the Month". That is a great addition to this Board and I really appreciate the effort you put into that. This looks like a great pattern. I have never done any salt water fly fishing, but I have been playing around with crawdad patterns lately. I am definately going to give this one a try. Thanks, Michael |
#5957 |
| KH |
Re:February Fly of the Month - KH Mayan Warrior
Jan 30 2008 18:13:17 Phil..... you did an excellent job with the layout.
Gitt..... yeeeeha! you would love the sight fishing aspect. Michael.... don't forget we designed this fly to fish primarily in extremely shallow environs (it is unweighted). The only weight is the hook choice you make. If you want to fish it deep, like many crawdad presentations require, I suggest using a sink tip style line. Enjoy. Experiment. Cheers, Ken |
#5961 |
| gitt |
Re:February Fly of the Month - KH Mayan Warrior
Jan 30 2008 21:37:39 Ken-
Did I detect you holding back on your excitement for camera's sake??  I went to a Spanish translator for days trying to figure out what you were saying under your breath en Espanol while playing out those baby tarpon. BTW, great video, you could not ask for better quality on the upload to YouTube.
Craig |
#5966 |
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Re:February Fly of the Month - KH Mayan Warrior
Jan 31 2008 23:38:55 what a great pattern. really no harder to make than a wolly bugger. you can change the hook and add a couple hen hackles to make crawfish patterns for bass or trout if you wanted. don't over look freshwater possibilities with that pattern
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#5989 |
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