Humpy

Materials

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Hook TMC 100 #10-16
Thread Danville Yellow 6/0
Body Danville Yellow 6/0
Shellback Deer Hair
Tail Moose Body Hair
Wing Deer Hair, divided
Hackle Grizzly and Brown, mixed

Humpy

Many fly historians believe the Humpy originated during the early 1940’s by California Fly Tyer, Jack Horner, in the Hat Creek area of the Northern Sierra. It was known as Horner’s Deer Hair Fly. The fly utilized very buoyant deer hair which could handle the fast water situations of the Truckee River. Jack fished the Truckee often with this fly and a bend in the river above Hirshdale is known as “Horner’s Corner”.

Early Beginnings

A similar fly at the time was the Canadian fly, Tom Thumb, which did not utilize a hackle or split the wing. The pattern made it’s way to the Rocky Mountain region and a Yellowstone Guide, Pat Barnes, popularized this pattern by referring to it as the Goofus Bug in 1943 for the “goofy looking” fly that his customer’s requested. For a period of time, the fly was referred to as the Goofus Bug in Montana or the Horner Deer Hair Fly in California.

At some point within the late 1940’s, the term “Humpy” was attached to the fly within the regions of Jackson Hole, Wyoming and the name stuck. It is probably one of the most successful attractor flies created. Boots Allen, the owner of a small fly shop in Jackson Hole, is thought to have come up with the name. Due to the hollow hair, the large profile, and the way the hair is utilized, the Humpy has great floatability and can be used in most western streams. Many variations have evolved from this fly.

Many Variations

The most popular is the Yellow Humpy. Tied in sizes 14-16, the Yellow Humpy can be used to imitate Little Yellow Sallies and small Golden Stoneflies. The basic body colors can be changed to red, green, or tan using Floss for the body material. Jack Dennis changed the body of Deer Hair to Elk Hair in the 1960’s and added a Black Elk Hair tail to call the pattern an Elk Hair Humpy and the Humpy is often tied with Elk Hair today. The Royal Humpy was a variation by Charlie Ridenour of Jackson Hole, Wyoming in the 1970’s. It brings the visibility characteristics of the Royal Wulff and combines the Humpy’s very buggy appearance.

A few more variations

The Adams Humpy is used for certain gray mayfly hatches as well as an excellent attractor pattern. The Black Humpy was a variation developed by Ramona Bressler in Jackson Hole, WY in the 1960’s and is particularly good during overcast conditions as a beetle imitation. The most recent variation is the Double Humpy which was actually a mistake at the vise by Joe Allen, the son of Boots Allen, in 1981 but ended up working so well on the stream that it became another pattern.

Tying Hints

Some consider the Humpy to be difficult to tie due to the proportions required. However, Al Beatty has a few hints to simplify the process. According to Al, “To get a properly, proportioned overbody and wings, the clump of hair must be equal to twice the length of the hook shank. Since the tail length is equal to the hook shank, the wing clump should align with the tip of the tail and clip the hair even with the eye of the hook. The wing hair should now be equal to twice the length of the shank.”

Place the butt ends of the wing clump at the middle of the shank and tie in with tight wraps. “As you wrap back to the bend, use snug wraps but not tight, holding wraps. You need to wrap over this area several times to form the body.” “Advance the thread to the one-third point on the shank, pull the hair over the top of the body and tie off the hair at this point to form the wings and the overbody.” Press forward the hair fibers from the bend rather than pulling the ends of the hair to get a tight overbody.

Variations

Horner Deer Hair Fly
Horner Deer Hair Fly

Horner Deer Hair Fly

Hook TMC 100 #8-14
Thread Danville Black 3/0 Monocord
Body Danville Black 3/0 MonocordoverDeer Hair
Shellback Deer Hair
Tail Deer Hair
Wing Deer Hair, Divided
Hackle Grizzly Saddle Hackle
Goofus Bug
Goofus Bug

Goofus Bug

Hook TMC 100 #4-14
Thread Danville Yellow 6/0
Body Danville Yellow 6/0
Shellback Deer Hair
Tail Deer Hair
Wing Deer Hair, Divided
Hackle Blue Dun
Royal Humpy
Royal Humpy

Royal Humpy

Hook TMC 100 #10-16
Thread Danville Red 6/0
Body Danville Red 6/0
Shellback Moose Body Hair
Tail Moose Body Hair
Wing White Calf tail
Hackle Brown Hackle
Adams Humpy
Adams Humpy

Adams Humpy

Hook TMC 100 #10-16
Thread Danville Gray 6/0
Body Gray Floss
Shellback Deer Body Hair
Tail Moose Body Hair
Wing Deer Body Hair
Hackle Brown & Grizzly Hackle
Black Humpy
Black Humpy

Black Humpy

Hook TMC 100 #10-16
Thread Danville Black 6/0
Body Danville Black 6/0
Shellback Moose Body Hair
Tail Moose Body Hair
Wing Moose Body Hair
Hackle Black Hackle