My Attempt at an Articulated Sparkle Minnow

If you read yesterday's post, you know how excited I was about tying Svend Diesel's Articulated Sparkle Minnow!  Last night, I attempted to tie an articulated sparkle minnow last night.  Before you look or judge, please know that I had to make a few substitutions because I didn't have the exact materials that Svend had.  For example, I didn't have the jig shank or the right size bead head.  Instead, I went with a normal shank and dumbbell eyes.  I also didn't have the dubbing and went with chenille instead.  However, even with these substitutions, I'm fairly happy with how things turned out especially considering that this was my first attempt at this fly.  If you are a fly tyer, you know that the first attempt is usually your worst attempt and part of the learning curve.  I can't wait to throw this in front of some bass this weekend and check out the "wiggle and jiggle" as Mr. Diesel referred to it!  I also used the rubber band trick and holy cow did it work!