I hemmed and hawed over what to present for our September Fly of the Month for awhile. Though our pink run this year is less than stellar around the Sound, there are still enough out there to keep things interesting on a number of open rivers and it just didn't seem right to let an odd year pass us by without sharing a good pink salmon pattern recipe. For the record, I've taken a number or coho and chum salmon on this one over the years too. After all, what self-respecting anadromous salmonid doesn't want to eat a pink bug at some point in its life?
The Pink Torpedo has existed in some fashion in my box for several years, first using artic fox for the tail and shoulder hackle, adding beadchain or dumbbell eyes, using a body of pink Edgebrite, etc. I like the bead-headed version best as it casts really easily on the trouty rods I like to use for pinks, sinks efficiently and has that slight up and down jigging action that most salmon seem to find irresistible. Our buddy Jerry once told us that he does things for the "Glory of the glow from within". I think of that saying often when I'm tying flies and want an end product with a veiled flash and subdued glow, as though a light is emanating from inside the fly. Sure I fish the flashy trashy stuff too, especially in dirty water, but this subtlety of pizzazz in a diminutive salmon pattern like the Pink Torpedo really seems to hit the ball out of the park with the humpies.
The Pink Torpedo Recipe:
Hook: #6 Daiichi 2546
Thread: Fl. Pink 70 Denier Ultra Thread
Bead: 1/8" Hot Pink Bead
Tail: Hot Pink Marabou with some Pearl Krystal Flash
Body: Holographic Silver Diamond Braid
Collar: Hot Pink Ripple Ice Fiber spun in dubbing loop
Hackle: Fl. Pink Saddle Hackle
The Confluence Beer Pairing: We highly recommend drinking Sierra Nevada's Torpedo Extra IPA when you tie the Pink Torpedo. Besides being one of those staple hoppy beers that can quench a mean thirst on any scorcher of an afternoon, it, like our esteemed fly of the month also has the word torpedo in it.