Overhand Worm "Improved!?"

by Les Albjerg
(Caldwell, Idaho)

Modified Overhand Worm

Modified Overhand Worm

One of my favorite places to fish is interesting. There are several ponds intertwined with one of the most beautiful creeks for fishing Tenkara. The ponds have a healthy population of Brook Trout that can be fished anyway you wish. However, the Creek is restricted to artifical lures or flies with one barbless hook. Everything except Brook Trout must be released. Last summer I found myself switching from the Overhand Worm on the Creek to real worms in the ponds. It was fun to fish a pond, switch to the Overhand Worm, work upsteam, and then fish the next pond. Yes, the Overhand Worm caught fish on the ponds, However, I was fishing two different rods as well. The TenkaraBum 40 is the perfect rod for the creek. The Keiryu Sawanobori 63 was the perfect rod for the ponds. Thanks to the collapsing nature of these rods and a good line holder, switching rods is easy.

So, is taking something that is so simple as the Overhand Worm and making it more complicated a wise idea? I'm not sure. I do know that this morning the trout at Wilson Springs slammed the new fly! So here is how I complicated the simplest fly to tie that I have ever seen.

I learned about Pebeo Porcelaine 150 on the blog. After coating some jig heads, I thought why not "camo" some hooks. So, I used the "Tender Pink" on the Cultiva SBL-35 size 12 "Wide Eye" hooks. This is one of my favorite hooks. I need to buy a better detail brush for doing hooks.

After treating the hooks, I tied a standard "Overhand Worm." Of course, I couldn't leave it alone! I then hit the knot with some Loon Red UV paint on the knot to create a hotspot. Last, I used a lighter to create some heat and put a tapered point on each end of the worm.

Does the new model catch more fish than the simple easy say to tie the Overhand Worm? I don't know. It does catch fish! It was a fun project. You can call me crazy, but I am having fun. I have a slightly darker pink, so my next step is to do some mixing to try to match the hook color more perfectly to the chenille. My endgame of the project is to create a super stealthy worm fly for Silver Creek this summer.



If you haven't tried the "Overhand Worm", you should give it a try. If you can tie a hook on your tippet, you can tie this fly. You don't need a vise. Even in its simplest form, it is deadly on fish. If you want to play around with it like me, have fun! I have tried several colors of chenille, but the pink seems to be the most deadly.

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