Fly Fishing West Georgia & Beyond

One of my favorite flies for bass and bream is Turck's Tarantula. The Tarantula was designed as a trout fly and won the Jackson Hole One-Fly contest a few years, but I like it for bass and bream. The Stealth Bomber is a foam diver/slider designed to duplicate the diving motion and the resulting bubble trail made when the Tarantula is given a hard strip (drives `em crazy).

Jack Dennis (yes, THE Jack Dennis) fished it all day at Callaway recently because, as he said, "I've caught so many fish on it, I can't bear to take it off ".

	Cut 2mm craft foam as shown. After tying, the corners at the left will be clipped to further the "stealth" shape (and to make it more aerodynamic in casting). The photo shows a #6 Gamakatsu B10S stinger hook and the appropriate sized foam, but it works well in sizes for #10 to 2/0. In the larger sizes, use thicker foam. The photo shows the approximate position in which the foam will be tied to the hook, i.e. with the base of the triangle just a bit behind the hook eye.
	Tie in a tail - shown here is black over white bucktail with a litlle "Bite-Me Flash" in between, but others can be substituted. Tie in the foam at the rear, add a drop of Super Glue. Check to be sure foam is centered and in alignment with the hook. Then advance the thread to mid-shank. The thread may be dubbed (shown here with Bite-Me dubbed lightly).
	Tie down the foam at mid-shank & add drop of Super Glue. Advance thread to hook eye, dubbing if desired. Tie down foam at eye. If the foam is correctly positioned, the tie down point will be just into the widened part of the foam at the base of triangle. It is not necessary to leave room at the eye for tying off the fly, as that is done at the mid-point of the shank. So run the foam right up to the eye.
	Return the thread to the mid-shank tie down point with a soft wrap over the top of the forward section. This will be covered and protected when the fly is completed.
	Fold the foam tab from the rear forward and tie it down at the mid-shank position. Catch just the tip of the foam with your tread.
	Now fold the forward triangle back over the fly and tie it down at the mid-shank position. Make sure it is centered over the hook and projectsa evenly over both sides. Trim the corners off the triangle with scissors.
	Here is a cousin - the "Carnival Cruise Missile". It's tied from some multicolored craft foam The fly can be tied in the color of your choice. I've done well with white and chartreuse, but don't have a name for those. "Stealth" hardly fits.