Overview

The Megalopsicle is a tarpon fly from Umpqua signature tyer Dave Student, inspired by the classic Toad. It has a synthetic tail, a zonker collar, a spun deer hair head with eyes and a weed guard.

It is an attractor, not a copy of one baitfish. The deer hair head slows the sink, so the fly hovers and suspends in the water column, which suits tarpon that often feed from below. The rabbit collar and tail keep moving even when the fly is barely drifting. It works on adult and juvenile tarpon in back bays and mangroves, and on snook, jacks and bluefish.

How to Fish It

• Slow strips: make long, slow strips with pauses so the fly swims and hangs in front of the fish.
• Get ahead of the fish: lead rolling or cruising tarpon so the fly crosses their path, moving away from them, never toward them.
• Mangroves and backcountry: the weed guard lets you work it along mangrove edges and over grass.
• Strip set: set with a hard strip, not a rod lift, and bow to the fish when it jumps.

Choosing Color and Size

Chartreuse/Yellow Small is a bright choice for clear water over sand and for juvenile tarpon and snook. Purple/Black Small gives a strong silhouette in low light, dirty water and when fish are looking up against the sky.

Both colors come in the Small size, which suits juvenile tarpon, snook and laid-up fish that spook from bigger flies.