In this week’s episode of Tying Tuesdays, watch as Steve ties the Knuckle Dragger! "This variation of the Knuckle Dragger Golden Stone from John Newbury demonstrates a way of tying rubber-legged patterns that should be attempted by any fly tyer. As explained by Newbury, by leaving the forward-facing legs about twice the length as the rearward, you allow the fly to "swim" through the drift, especially when fished on a loop knot for maximum freedom of movement. I have tied many rubber-legged flies in the past, and have now adopted this style for any and all patterns needing some wiggly appendages. An additional benefit is that this leg configuration does not foul around the hook point like you often find with rubber legs on a jig hook. I encourage folks to check out all of the other variations of this pattern and its siblings on John Newburys website (

Prefer to read? Step-by-step write-up on the AvidMax blog.