These X-Heavy flies are designed for big hard pulling pelagic fish in Lake Pend Orielle ID, the Great Lakes, and in saltwater. This classic black/white design mimics baitfish everywhere. The original pattern was tied on request from mackinaw anglers wanting a fly to represent kokanee in western reservoirs. The fly has UV flash as well as holographic purple to reproduce the purple hue that most deep water baitfish exhibit. Kokanee are the standard meal for big rainbows in LPO Idaho and predator fish from spotted bass to brown trout where ever kokanee are planted.

The design of this fly is based on Gamagatsu SP-11, 3x long - 3x heavy saltwater billfish hooks. Front hook is #2/0 and the rear is #1. The large front hook has a .625” gape on a .068” stainless shank. A strong blue water hook. A 5/8” gape acts as a keel which is important to maintain balance when high-speed trolling. The wire attaching the hooks is a loop of 27# stainless steel. Attaching with a loop allows for more wiggle in the tail. Male predator fish are notorious suckers for tails that wiggle. The beads between the hooks are glass with a silver core. These beads add some weight as well as flash. The eye on the fly is a 3D “Living Eye” inside a resin head for durability and weight. A feature I was after in the design was a heavy fly for planer board trolling, targeting big fish in heavy chop. This X-Heavy version of my standard Tandem Arctic Fox Trolling Fly is 50% heavier than the original. I wanted to avoid adding snap-on-weights to keep the fly submerged near the surface in white cap conditions.

This entire fly is built with the best materials to produce a premium, durable fly.