Brassie

Materials

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Hook TMC 2457 #14-20
Thread Uni-thread 8/0 Black
Head Brass Bead
Body Medium Copper Wire
Collar Peacock Herl
Midge Pupa
Midge Pupa

Brassie

The Brassie has it’s origins in the 1960’s along the shores of the South Platte River in Colorado. A number of tiers such as Ken Chandler, Tug Davenport, and Gene Lynch were known to have experimented with copper wire bodies. The name “Brassie” is due to the first flies being tied with Brass plated wire. However, the material became obsolete and copper was substituted.

Weighted Segmentation

The fly has the advantaqe of being heavy to get down to the bottom of the stream quickly due to the weight of the wire and the thin profile. The copper wraps also gives the appearance of segmentation . With the availability of different wire colors, many color variations are possible to match a particular midge. Wapsi makes a number of colors within it’s Ultra Wire line.

Bead mimics Gas Bubble

Using two colors is usually referred to as a Two-Tone Brassie. Wapsi has a “Brassie” thickness that is between small and medium for sizes 18-22. The medium thickness works better for larger sizes 12-16. Peacock Herl is usually used to represent the gills and head of a midge. Metal or Glass Beads have been adapted to this pattern to provide some additional attraction. A white bead or a silver-lined crystal bead is often used to mimic the gas bubble prior to emergence. Some feel that the fly represents a small caddis pupa or midge pupa, others just think it’s an attractor.

Underbody dubbing

Another variation worth noting, is the use of an underbody beneath the wire wraps of either floss or a spikey dubbing. This will give a translucent coloration as well as resemblance to emerging appendages. Many Brassies were originally tied using a TMC 200R or TMC 3761 hook in sizes 12-18 which represented caddis pupa. These are used within stream or river situations. There has been a trend to tie the pattern onto scud-type hooks such as Daiichi 1260 or TMC 2457 in smaller sizes, 16-22, to mimic midge pupa.

A Searching Pattern

These patterns can act as a dropper within a river nymph rig or within stillwater applications. Ian Colin James designed a popular pattern called the Brass Ass Buzzer. According to the fly’s orginator,”The Brass Ass was developed for fishing off the breakwalls along the Gt Lakes for steelhead in 1993″. Ian considers the fly to be a searching pattern that will catch a dynamic range of fish. An important element of the Brass Ass is the epoxy thorax and illuminated cheeks.

Variations

Brassie, Copper
Brassie, Copper

Brassie, Copper

Hook TMC 200R #14-20
Thread Uni-thread 8/0 Black
Head Peacock Herl
Underbody Creamy Gray Haretron Dubbing
Body Medium Copper Wire
Brassie, Red
Brassie, Red

Brassie, Red

Hook TMC 200R #14-20
Thread Uni-thread 8/0 Black
Head Gold Bead
Body Red colored Medium Copper Wire
Collar Peacock Herl
Snocone Brassie, Red
Snocone Brassie, Red

Snocone Brassie, Red

Red colored Small Copper Wire
Hook TMC 2499sp-bl #16-18
Thread Uni-thread 8/0 Black
Head White Glass Bead
Body Red colored Small Copper Wire
Two-tone Brassie, Olive & Gray
Two-tone Brassie, Olive & Gray

Two-tone Brassie, Olive & Gray

Hook TMC 2487 #16-20
Thread Uni-thread 8/0 Black
Head Copper Bead
Body Olive & Gray Small Copper Wire
Collar Peacock Herl
Mercury Brassie, Copper & Gold
Mercury Brassie, Copper & Gold

Mercury Brassie, Copper & Gold

Hook TMC 2487 #16-20
Thread Uni-thread 8/0 Black
Head Silver-Lined Silver Glass Bead
Body Copper & Gold Medium Copper Wire
Collar Peacock Herl
CDC Bubble Brassie
CDC Bubble Brassie

CDC Bubble Brassie

Hook Daiichi 1260 #16-20
Thread Uni-thread 8/0 Black
Head Crystal Glass Bead
Body Medium Copper Wire
Collar Peacock Herl
Bubble CDC, white