~By: Lance Dean | September 14, 2014
My introduction to the Super X fly came during the summer of 2005 while fishing the Truckee River near the California/Nevada border. The slower than normal fishing caused my Dad to resort to untested flies. When he started catching fish he shared the fly he was fishing with me. The fly’s abdomen was olive chenille and its thorax was worm colored chenille. The shape of the fly’s rubber legs was that of an X. The legs were located in between the abdomen and the thorax. The head was made with a collar of hackle. The antron yarn tail gave the fly a bit of sparkle. I don’t know if it was the rubber legs or the sparkle in the tail that the fish liked but all of the sudden we were catching fish and not just a few we were catching more than we could keep track of.
On the way home from that trip I asked my Dad about the fly. He told me that it was called the Super X and that the creator of the fly intended it to be a Jack of all trades kind of fly. He recommended that I read the article from the magazine the fly was in. I found the article earlier this year. It was in the summer 2003 issue of Fly Fishing and Tying Journal. The fly was found in an article titled “Tying and Fishing the Super X” by Kevin Sack. The article explained that the fly didn’t represent one specific thing, it represented many things that fish eat.
One of the many things that I like about this fly is its simplicity. It is a pretty simple tie that has minimal materials and is an extremely effective pattern. I highly recommend this fly to beginning fly tiers. It can be tied and fished in whatever colors you can think of. I prefer to fish it in the colors of the natural insects of the area I am fishing. I highly recommend this fly to beginning fly tiers. I keep a dozen or so Super Xs in my fly box, from sizes 6-10, my favorite size is 12. Tie a few for your fly box and next time you want to avoid being skunked tie one on and watch the magic happen.
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| SUPER X | |
|---|---|
| HOOK: | TCM 5262 or 5263 size 12 |
| THREAD: | UTC 70 - Black |
| TAIL: | Antron Yarn - Wine |
| LEGS: | Rubber Leg Material - Medium Barred Grizzly |
| ABDOMEN: | Standard Chennille - Olive |
| THORAX | Standard Chenille - Worm Brown |
| Collar: | Hackle - gauged slightly longer thatn hook size |
Here I will demonstrate tying my favorite version of the Super X.
5. Secure the antron yarn to the hook by wrapping the thread around the hook and antron yarn from the eighty percent point of the fly to the bend of the hook and back to the eight percent point of the hook.
Note:I now cut them to two hook shank lengths. I think it gives the fly a bit more action.
15. Tie in a piece of hackle that is gauged at one and a half times the hook gap and tie it in at one eye length from the eye.
16. Wrap the hackle around the hook two or three times. Secure the hackle by wrapping the thread around it a couple times and cut the excess hackle.
