This fly was one of the first reversed-wing flies developed for bonefish. It is still a great fly that has proved itself again and again over the years. The Horror was developed by Pete Perincchief in the late 1950's. It is ideal for dropping on a spooky bonefish as it makes a soft landing.

HORROR INVERTED HOOK PATTERNS.  Hook size 6 & 4 - $US each

Flies that hit the water with little impact are more effective than those that strike heavy and spook the fish. Pete allegedly named this fly after his daughter. It is designed so that the hook rides above the shank in the water. The idea is that the hook does not get caught on the bottom. By adding a relatively stiff wing material near the hook eye which covers the hook point, the fly becomes nearly weedless. Other inverted hook patterns are dressed to create inversion by bending the hook, by adding weighted eyes on the hook shank opposite the point and/ or by using relatively buoyant materials to cover the hook point. Any of these three techniques can cause the fly to ride inverted. If tied with sparse materials these flies can be made to sink very fast.

The sea hatches few insects. Saltwater flies are various types of streamers that represent baitfish and many types of crustaceans like shrimp, lobster or crabs, They range from one inch (2.5cm) to over a foot in length (30cm). You have to offer the fish something that makes it feel it is worth chasing. A big sailfish is not going to eat a small fly you would use to catch a bonefish. A large meal for a salmon is a tit-bit for a shark. A general rule of thumb that usually works is use a dark fly on a dark bottom and a light pattern on a light bottom. The local small shrimp and fish are normally camouflaged to match their surroundings. If that does not work then try to stimulate an attack with a brightly colored attractor pattern. There are times when a brightly colored fly that looks like nothing on earth brings results.

Because the Horror fly rides hook up it consequently does not gill hook many fish unlike the conventional hook down fly. Although the fly was not designed with this feature in mind it has increased the amount of fish that can be caught and released. In nature if you can be seen your dead. Most prey species of the bonefish are very well camouflaged. Your fly must not mimic nature too well for if it cannot be seen you will not catch fish.

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