Created by Boston (USA) Master Fly Tier Dave Skok the Mushiemouth is not a particular pattern, rather it is a method of tying bait fish with blended synthetic materials which avoids tail wrapping of the materials, no matter how long you tie your creation. For practical purposes, the length of fly you are able to tie,is dictated only by the length of material you utilise in the tying process.
The perfect material for tying lots of bait fish patterns including the Mushiemouth, is Steve Farrar blend, which until very recently has been very difficult to obtain from UK outlets, save for a few basic colours, but fortunately Austen at UKsaltwaterflies.com has recently stocked up with the full range of SF blends from H2o products, so now the the aspiring fly tier is limited to the size, shape and colour combination of bait fish flies, only the limits of his imagination.
I have tied an Olive bait fish pattern in the SBS, utilising just SF Blend, a stem of Super Hair, a tiny bit of flash, and either Softex, Soft Body, or Plasti Dip
Dave ties most of his Mushies with just two large clumps of SF blend, usually a light colour underneath the hook, and a contrasting shade on top. Both clumps are secured at the mid point and tied hi and low tie style, however, I tie my Mushies with a series of Hi-Lo Ties, which I think makes for a neater fly, and one which you have more control in respect of the body profile you wish to achieve.

Hooks: Size 1 to 6/0. Your choice of pattern. I have used a Size 3/0 Gamakatsu SC15 in this sequence.
Thread: 8/0 White
Spine: White Super Hair and a little flash, thoroughly soaked in Softex,Soft Body or Plasti Dip, and stuck together to form a hard spine Body: SF Blends, Off White over Natural over Rainbow over Wild Olive. Two sparse mid ties of Light Pink, plus Softex.
NB I have used Softex throughout this tying sequence but both Soft Body or Plasti Dip are equally as good, and Soft Body, is also certainly the healthier option
STEP 1

Take a short clump of White or light Pink Super Hair (about 20 strands) and tie it in on top of the hook at a point level with, or a little before the actual hook point. Tie in several strands of Pearl Holo Chromosone or similar flash material at the same point, so as it surrounds the Super Hair.



STEP 2

Thoroughly soak the tie in point and both materials in?Softex, then stroke them together so they bind into one solid lump, and leave to dry and harden. The length of spine required depends on the length of fly you are tying. The overall length of the fly in the illustration



is just over 6" and the spine protrudes beyond the hook shank by around 2.5". The smaller the fly,the shorter the length of the spine.
STEP 3



Now take two separate lengths of Off White SF blend from the pack. This is best done by leaving the material in the package, grasping it in one hand, applying slight pressure to the whole bundle of material, whilst pulling out the desired amount and length with your other hand, while the main bundle remains under slight pressure. This way, waste will be kept to a minimum. Once you have your two lengths extracted, tie in the first length at the same point as your Super Hair spine but towards the bottom and slightly underneath the hook shank. Rotate the vice or turn the fly over and tie the other length in the same position, on the opposite side.The length of material protruding beyond the hook should be roughly double the length of the spine Trim off the excess material facing towards the hook eye, and then add a good dollop of Softex at the tie in point, and over wrap with several tight turns of tying thread for security purposes.
STEP 4

Thoroughly, and I mean thoroughly, soak the underside of your spine with another liberal dose of Softex by way of a bodkin or small brush.
STEP 5

Whilst the spine is still wet, carefully pull and stroke the two lengths of SF blend so the base material, nearest the spine actually sticks to it. This is a lot harder to describe than it is to achieve, and constantly pulling and stroking the materials with your clasped hand will easily achieve the desired effect. All you need to be careful of, is that you distribute the materials evenly on both sides of the hook.
STEP 6

The next step requires a single length of Natural SF blend, which should be tied in on top of the hook shank, and the excess material facing towards the hook then trimmed off. Having done so, give the tie in point a liberal dose of Softex, followed by a few tight over wraps with the tying thread for security. Now repeat exactly steps 4 and 5 , and you should finish up with these initial dressings looking something like the picture below.

STEP 7






Take another length of Natural SF blend, and as this will be tied HI-Tie style, secure it on top of the hook with around half the length . Protruding from the back of the hook, and the other half facing forward towards the hook eye.
STEP 8


With the aid of a bodkin, put a liberal dose of Softex on top of the length of Natural SF blend that you have just tied in, but only apply this from the tie in position to a point about 1/4" past the bend of the hook.
STEP 9


Now fold the forward facing length of material back over the the length you have tied in towards the rear, tie this down, and smooth? it all out with your hand clasped loosely around the whole of the material tied in thus far, until you are satisfied with the overall shape,and the Hi-Tie just completed has adhered loosely to the materials beneath it where you applied the Softex. You should then finish up with the materials thus far tied in, beginning to form a fishy shape, similar to that pictured above. At this point, it is worth mentioning that you can build a gradual taper into the top of the fly, by alternating the lengths of materials slightly in each Hi-Tie.In this particular example, when making my Hi-Tie, I have purposely made the initial length a little longer than the length I have then folded back and tied down. Then in the next Hi-Tie, I have reversed the sequence, by making the initial length slightly shorter than the length I have then folded back and tied down. Experiment is the name of the game here, for there is no set sequence, and by varying the lengths of materials and the sequence in which you tie them you can achieve many different profiles. Moreover, tying in this manner rather than making all Hi-Ties the same length, will help keep trimming the top of the fly, to a minimum, and may even make it unnecessary. I digres however, so back to the tying.
STEP 10


Rotate the vice, or turn the hook upside down, and on the underside of the hook shank add another length of Off White SF blend, and making sure the length beyond the hook is slightly shorter than the previous tie, cut off the excess material facing towards the hook eye. Again give the tie in point a liberal dose of Softex and over wrap tightly. With the aid of a bodkin, divide the back facing strands , equally either side of the hook gape, apply a dose of Softex, to the top of the previously tied in material, from the tie in point to about 1/4"past the end of the hook and then smooth it all out as per step 9, until you are satisfied the materials are roughly forming the fishy profile you are looking to achieve, as per the picture below.
STEP 11

Don't be too fussed at this stage as the fly will be trimmed to shape later.
STEPS 12/13


STEP 12. Switch to the Rainbow SF blend, and add another Hi-Tie, using the exact procedures outlined in Steps 8 and 9. This time and for all other Hi Ties, only apply Softex up to a point adjacent to the end of the hook shank.
STEP 13.







Now take a sparse length of Light Pink SF blend, and tie this in so as half of the length lays along the side of the hook shank, and the other half is facing towards the hook eye. Once secured, take the forward facing length of SF blend and carefully work it through the hook eye and shank until it is on the opposite side of the hook, and then secure with the tying thread, so as it lays along the opposite side of the hook shank. There is no need to add any Softex to these Mid-Ties, and they will blend in easily, with a few hand strokes.
REMAINING TYING SEQUENCE

Switch and continue to add hi ties of Wild Olive SF blend in the manner described above until you are about 1/8" from the eye of the hook, then add another length of Off White SF blend on the underside of the hook, following exactly the sequence described in Step 10, and making sure the length extending back is slightly shorter than the previous tying. Finally add one more Hi Tie of Wild Olive, build up a neat head with the white tying thread, apply a whip finish, and
with your creation looking something like the above, the actual tying sequence is finished. All that now remains is to finish the head, and add eyes. You can if you want, simply finish the head with a couple of coats of Hard as Nails, Loon Hard Head, or the head cement of your choice, but I like to finish?
the heads of the majority of my bait fish flies as though they were a continuation of the fly itself, rather than a contrasting point, hence I use White tying thread more often than not. Should you wish to go the same way, after whip finishing the head, leave the fly in the vice, and take a non-waterproof pen of the appropriate colour As per picture below, with this example being Olive and White, I have taken an Olive non-waterproof pen, and put a couple of dabs of colour
on the very top of the thread forming the head. Having applied the colour, slightly wet your fingers and smear and blend the colour slightly down teach side of the head, and you will finish up with a blended two tone head, similar to that of the fly dressing itself, which can then be finished off with a couple of coats of your preferred head cement. When the head has dried, you can then trim the fly to a more pronounced shape, and trimming is more easily achieved with a pair of quality long bladed scissors. If you do not have any long bladed scissors, you will find it a good deal easier to trim the fly, if you adopt my
(much maligned by many UK fly tiers) "Hair Spray" method. If you want to try this out, grasp the finished fly in a pair of hackle pliers, and give the whole of the dressing a real good
soaking of women's Hair Spray. Smooth the dressing into the desired shape, and then leave it in the hackle pliers with the head facing up and the tail facing down. When it has dried the whole thing will be a stiff as a board.

The fly after being given the Hair Spray treatment. In its stiffened state, the fly it is then very quick and easy to trim to the desired shape, after which a quick brush through, will get rid of the hairspray. Alternatively you can run it under a hot water tap. Now all you need to do is add eyes, and your fly is finished.

It is up to the individual as far as eyes are concerned, and personally I like to finish off my Mushies with Dome type 3d eyes, and all I do is take each eye off of the backing with the tip of my bodkin, and keeping it attached to the bodkin, turn it over so the flat side is facing up. I then add a little dob of Zap
Gel (Under no circumstances use the normal Super Glue)?to the flat surface, offer it up to the fly, and press it on the dressing with my thumb whilst withdrawing
the bodkin at the same time. You might like to coat over the eye with goop or epoxy for strength, but in all honesty, I have found that a bit of Super Glue Gel bonds the eyes to SF blend very well, and I don't bother with anything else. As usual, the tying step by step makes it seem as though it is a long and difficult process, but I can assure you, given just a couple of practice tyings, you should be able to knock one up from start to finish in well under 10 minutes, and whilst this is around double the time taken if you follow Dave Skok's original tying instructions, the above method will allow you to sculpt your creation into any number of differing profiles, (See Below) whereas Dave's original tying method is a little more restrictive, in that regard.