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Galloup’s Zoo Cougar – a paradox as it floats underwater
Galloup’s Zoo Cougar
Tying Instructions
Tying Instructions: Zoo Cougar
1. Tie the thread at the 1/3 position of the hook shank and trim the tag end off. Starting the thread here is important as it is where the body will end and the head will be constructed.
2. Wrap the thread to the bend of the hook. This is the tail tie-in position which is standard for many patterns. You can check this location by dropping the bobbin and see that the thread is just at the base of the barb.
3. Select a marabou plume. Wet the plume to make it easier to handle. Measure the plume to that the tail length will be equal to the length of the shank, ie from the eye to the bend of the hook.
4. Tie the marabou in the the bend of the hook with the material against the shank closest to you.
5. Wrap the thread around the marabou against the shank up to the 1/3 position. Trim off the excess marabou and wrap the thread back to the tail tie-in position
6. Next, tie in a second plume of marabou for the tail on the far side of the shank. Position the tail so that it is even with the first plume. Secure the material with thread wraps against the shank up to the 1/3 position. This will really help bulk up the body. Trim off the excess. Wrap the thread back to the tail tie-in position.
7. Tie in Pearl Diamond Braid at the tail tie-in position. You can also use Pearl Estaz or Pearl Crystal Chenille or Pearl Ice Dubbing. Bring the thread up to the 1/3 position.
8. Wrap the Diamond Braid forward to the 1/3 position. Keep these wraps tight! I tend to overlap the material slightly more as I wrap towards the eye in order to get a slight taper. Secure the tag end and trim.
9. Clip a section of calf tail hair that is fairly straight. Clean the underfur out with a fine comb. Measure the material so that it is the length from the 1/3 postion to the end of the hook at the bend. Trim the base of the hair in a slant cut so that all the the hair butts lay equally upon the hook shank just in front of the body. Secure with tight thread wraps.
10. Select a mallard flank feather which has a straight guill. A lot of the flank feathers have a twist which will not work on this pattern. Postion the flank feather to the top of the shank so the the guill is in line with the shank. The end of the mallard flank should be barely longer than the tail. Secure with thread wraps. The quill is flat so this really helps to get the feather to lay flat, too.
11. Select a second Mallard Flank feather with the same attributes. Lay this feather exactly on top of the first one. The end of the feathers should just go beyond the tail. Secure with thread wraps and trim off the butts.
12. The flank feathers should lay flat and lined up with the hook shank. This is critical in order to get the pattern to retrieve without twisting. The pattern is designed to move in a side to side manner with the pearl body always positioned down.
13. Cut a section of Yellow dyed Deer Hair. Make sure that you have good hair from a early season hide without a lot of underfur and one that has good markings. The hair should be corse and have a slight waviness to the hair at the base. Use your comb to clean out any underfur.
14. Place the fur tips down in a hair stacker to even the tips. Note the distinct band marks of the hair. Remove the hair with your left hand by the tips so you can measure the needed length.
15. Transfer the hair section to your right hand and measure the hair so that it is about 1/3 the shank length. Bring your left hand and secure the exposed hair between your thumb and index finger. Now trim off the butts, leaving a section of hair in your left hand that is the proper length and the tips are even.
16. Position the hair butts just in front of the underwing. Secure with 3 tight wraps about 1/8 inch from the end of the butts. Lay these wraps directly over each other. Now, use your thumb to push the collars hairs back and lay down. Secure the rest of the butt ends with thread wraps. A drop of super glue upon the wraps will help to secure.
17. Cut another section of Deer Hair and trim off the tips. Use your comb to get all the underfur out. Don’t worry about stacking, it’s all getting trimmed. Place the hair just in front of the collar.
18. Now, Let’s spin! Make three wraps around the center of the bundle with each one getting a little tighter. On the second one you should see the hair rotate around the hook shank. The third and fourth turn should lock it in and keep it from shifting. Make a few more turns as you wind through the hair coming forward to tie in the last clump.
19. Push the hair back with your thumb nail against the shank just behind the eye. This stacks the hair but we don’t want to stack too tight. After all, this is a underwater streamer that needs to be able to sink. Just create enough room for a second bundle of hair.
20. Spin a second bundle of hair like you did the first one. Bring the thread forward and secure with a few half hitches behind the eye.
21. Trim the head. Kelly Galloup prefers a double edge razor blade but these are almost impossible to find. The bottom should be trimmed first with a flat cut about 1/16″ below the shank. Next, trim the upper head with an eliptical shape, not round, but sort of squashed.
22. Finished Product.
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| Materials
to Order Material, click the link |
|
|---|---|
| Hook | TMC 300, #6-8 |
| Thread | Danville 6/0 Yellow |
| Head | Yellow Deer Hair , clipped |
| Body | Pearl Diamond Braid |
| Underwing | White Calf Tail |
| Overwing | 2 Mallard Flank Feathers dyed Yellow |
| Tail | Yellow Marabou |
| Collar | Yellow Deer Hair |
Kelly Galloup
Galloup’s Zoo Cougar
Kelly Galloup is widely known and recognized for his creative, innovative patterns. The Galloup’s Zoo Cougar is interesting because of its dual personality. It is designed as a floating fly, but Kelly fishes it beneath the surface with a sinking line. The pattern represents the sculpin family and it is meant to be presented no more than 2 feet beneath the water column. The important aspect of this pattern is the flutter movement it provides within the current even when not stripped.
A sinking Floating Fly
Here is what he has to say: “The Galloup’s Zoo Cougar has without a doubt been the most productive fly for really big trout I have ever fished. This fly was the first of the floating fly concept and has still been the best of the bunch. A floating fly is a fly designed to be pulled under by the sinking line, as opposed to weighting the fly. This allows the fly to be kicked and pushed by the currents when it’s not being stripped, giving the fly a very real and erratic movement.”
As Kelly makes clear in his book on fishing streamers for trophy trout, the actual tie is really only half the game – the other half is learning how to fish it effectively, as the issue of casting and retrieving technique is just as important as the fly itself.
Presentation
Because the Galloup’s Zoo Cougar is unweighted, Kelly advocates fishing it on a sinking line with a short leader. The fact that the fly is unweighted (among other things) means that it flutters and ungulates as it stripped through the water in a more natural way – more in motion – than it would if it were a heavy fly tied with a lead tape or lead-wrapped body. The broad head and flank feather wings provide a tapered slim body profile. The wide head will catch the current and cause the pattern to dart and weave with a swoon on the retrieval pauses. By casting the Galloup’s Zoo Cougar right to where fish are likely to be holding, and then stripping it fast like a bait fish that wants to get the hell outta there, is key to getting larger predators to chase and hit it. Kelly rightly notes again and again the importance of understanding that large fish are predatory meat eaters, and that, as alpha fish, are tuned-in to opportunities to kill and eat wounded and confused baitfish.
Variations
Zoo Cougar, White
| Hook | TMC 300, #6-8 |
| Thread | Danville 6/0 Yellow |
| Head | Yellow Deer Hair , clipped |
| Body | Pearl Diamond Braid |
| Underwing | White Calf Tail |
| Overwing | 2 Mallard Flank Feathers dyed Yellow |
| Tail | Yellow Marabou |
| Collar | Yellow Deer Hair |
Zoo Cougar, Olive
| Hook | TMC 300, #6-8 |
| Thread | Danville 6/0 Yellow |
| Head | Yellow Deer Hair , clipped |
| Body | Pearl Diamond Braid |
| Underwing | White Calf Tail |
| Overwing | 2 Mallard Flank Feathers dyed Yellow |
| Tail | Yellow Marabou |
| Collar | Yellow Deer Hair |
Articulated Cougar, Heifer Groomer
| Hook | TMC 300, #6-8 |
| Thread | Danville 6/0 Yellow |
| Head | Yellow Deer Hair , clipped |
| Body | Pearl Diamond Braid |
| Underwing | White Calf Tail |
| Overwing | 2 Mallard Flank Feathers dyed Yellow |
| Tail | Yellow Marabou |
| Collar | Yellow Deer Hair |