Mr. H.G. Tapply of Tap’s Tips

Mr. H.G. Tapply of Tap’s Tips Blog- Murray’s Fly Shop

Mr. H.G. Tapply of Tap’s Tips fame in Field and Stream Magazine was a fine write, a great angler and a superb fly designer. I considered him a special friend.
We wrote often and exchanged flies and tips for his column. I even guided his son, Bill on Armstrong spring creek in Montana.  I have a great selection of flies he designed. These flies show how he could easily get to the bottom of the problems of facing the fly tyer in order to produce the flies which would catch fish.
Today I want to discuss the Tapply Deer Hair Surface Bass Bug.
This bug is so easy to tie that I teach my beginning students in my fly tying classes to tie it. As they go through the various tying steps I explain why each one helps to produce a bug which is both effective and durable. When they have all completed their Tapply Bug I explain that the bug in their vise will easily hold up to catch one hundred smallmouth bass for them.

Tying Recipe
Hook: Mustad 9672 size 4 and 6 (or similar)
Thread: Kevlar (colors to suit)
Body: Deer Body Hair (colors to suit)
Tail: Bucktail (colors to suit)

Angling Tactics: I dress both the Tapply Bug and the leader with Bug Float. I fish these with a slow strip-pause-strip action along the shaded river banks. The water is three to four feet deep over cobblestone river bottoms. Another hot spot is the pool tails at dusk. A slow upstream presentation with a very slow swimming action brings up the big bass.