This week’s fly pattern was submitted by Robb Nicewonger. It is a fantastic streamer that can be modified to target a number of different warm-water species. The photographs in this post will certainly back that up! Robb tells the story better in his own words, so he will take it from here…

The Roman Candle was initially tied as an imitation of a conventional spinner bait. I wanted something with maximum flash to attract the attention of pre-spawn bass. The first ones had a flashabou tail and eyelash yarn body. The eyelash yarn is key—it’s a combination of stiff, holographic tinsel and embroidery floss, and when palmered makes a bulky, bright body. Hobby Lobby makes it in a few different colors, and they all do damage. It has become one of my favorite tying materials; I incorporate it into a lot of my streamers. 

This original pattern worked great. Largemouth ate them up, and I quickly found out that big panfish and pickerel liked the fly too. I made a few tweaks—adding an attractor red bead and dubbed red collar. The lightly weighted version is my go-to fly as soon as the pond has open water. The plastic or glass bead gives the fly an irresistible, slow-sink action. It’s hard to fish incorrectly—fast retrieve, strip-and-pause, no retrieve, and drifted under an indicator all have caught plenty of fish. Don’t be afraid to throw this one at trout, too. Surprisingly, I’ve caught some good ones with a tungsten bead version. 

The Roman Candle

Here is the current rendition, along with a couple of variations:

Pattern Recipe:
Hook: Firehole 860 #6 (any 2-4xl hook will work, I like this in a size 4 or 6 best)

Bead: Red plastic or glass

Tail: Northern Lights Flash

Body: Hobby Lobby Holographic Eyelash Yarn

Collar: Red roe Letera’s Magnum dubbing

Tying Instructions:

1. Add bead

2. Tie in tail material right behind the bead and wrap back to the bend to make smooth underbody

3. Tie in eyelash yarn in the same way

4. Palmer yarn forward, pulling fibers backward as you wrap 

5. Dub a thin noodle and make a small collar, whip finish

6. Optional: with a piece of Velcro, brush the yarn body to separate strands of embroidery floss

The Roman Candle (Panfish Version)

If I’m targeting bluegills specifically, I often omit the tail. The abbreviated fly looks like a flashy wooly worm and Is just as effective as the larger one with the panfish. 

Pattern Recipe:

Hook: Firehole 860 #8

Bead: Red plastic or glass

Body: holographic eyelash yarn

Collar: Red roe Letera’s magnum dubbing (can also use Chinese Red UniYarn)

The Full Dress Roman Candle

The “Full Dress Roman Candle” incorporates a center-tied dubbing head instead of a collar and fish mask that results in a more minnow-like profile. I like this version, but I’ll be quick to point out it’s not any more effective than the original and is also a little more complicated to tie. But I like the way it looks! Pickerel go nuts for this version. 

Pattern Recipe:

Hook: Firehole 860 #4

Head: Fish mask size 5, secured with Solarez UV resin. Eyes are added and then coated again with Solarez. 

Tail: Northern Lights Flash

Body: Hobby Lobby Holographic Eyelash Yarn

Collar: Two different colored clumps of magnum dubbing, center-tied and then pushed back over itself toward the rear of the hook. Pick your favorite colors—I like red or neon orange as the throat with any shade of gray, purple, green.