Hey all, Before I begin, let me just say this, this is a pattern that is not for the fly purist at heart. If you love to tie with only real furs, feathers and hairs then I suggest you turn back now. I call this bad boy the "Silver Serpent Dahlberg" and as the name implies it is my attempt at taking the shape and body of the very sucessful Dahlberg Diver pattern and using new and exciting materials to "spice" it up a bit. I have so far been very successful with pike and bass as well as the odd walleye with this pattern. Since I have only been experimenting with it late last season and this season it is still in a "beta test" stage. Enjoy... First take a heavy and stong pike hook, such as the size 1 salmon fly hook I have used above or any streamer type hook. Tie on either a cone head, bead head or barbell eyes on the bottom side of the hook shaft (important to reduce turnover). Next tie in a length of tail that is approximately double the length of hook shank. Add some flash as well. In the above example I used silver EP fibres mixed with silver and holographic flashabou. Now the fun begins!!! Tie in a length of christmas tree garland near the bend of the hook. Bring your thread all the way back up to the eyehole of the hook. I noticed that garland is held together much the same as a dubbing loop and the material is "locked" between two thin wires. Apply the garland as you would hackle. Ensure that you allow enough room near the eye of the hook to whip finish. Once garland is wrapped, tie off thread and whip finish. Trim the garland to your liking... you will find that "spun" garland acts exactly as deer hair does and you can create many strange and exciting minnow type bodies. The final product. Let me say this... these things are insanely flashy! It is nearly impossible for fish to not see these even in murky waters. One more thing to mention, since garland comes in a variety of colors the possibilities are endless with this stuff. For example, I have a green garland that I am currently working on to make a deadly frog pattern. ;D :-X For this pattern I have had my most luck trolling it along weedbeds and near structure. When I see fish chasing minnows, I will throw one of these into the minnow school with fantastic results. Good luck, James.