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Calcasieu Pig Boat

tied by Old Hat
Fly Type: Attractor Pattern,
Target Species: Freshwater Bass,
Recommended Region: Other,
Imitation: General Baitfish,
Material List: Hook: Mustad 3366 #1
Thread: black
Weed Guard: mono (optional)
Underbody: Lead wire
Body Hackle: black stiff saddle hackle
Body: medium black chenille
Hackle: black rubber legs (56)
Head: black thread built up and painted eyes
Tying Instructions: Pretty straight forward. Attach weed guard to hook shank bring it down around the hook bend. Attach wraps of lead as needed along body. Form smooth tapers of thread over shank on ends of thread wraps, cover lead with thread and super glue over the fly. Tie in hackle and chenille at rear of hook shank. Wrap chenille and hackle forward leaving plenty of room for the legs and head of the fly (cover about 2/3 of shank).
I don't know how Tom Nixon tied in his 56 legs. After trial and error I'll describe the way I found to be most proficient for me. Strip off 2 bunches of rubber legs in unseparated clumps of 14 and 4x the length of the hook (about 6 inches). Lay one clump of 14 lengthwise on top of hook. You will want to tie this in tight against the front of the body and almost at the middle of the clump. I say almost because you will want the half hanging over the eye to be just slightly longer, so when you bend it back over, it will be the same length as the legs already extending backwards. Tie it in tight. Do the same with the second clump of 14 along the bottom of the hook. Pull all the legs back jam thread in front of the legs to hold them in place. Start building up the head just a bit. Now bring the end of the weed guard mono up and forward and push it through the hook eye from underneath and bend it back over the fly. Build up the thread head tying down the mono centered under and over the head. This both helps form a nicely shaped head and makes sure the mono is not coming out. After the head is formed trim the end of the mono, separate the individual legs and paint the eyes.

Feel free to pm me if you have any questions.