Fly of the day: Murray's Hellgramite

For today's fly, I have decided to wrap up an old promise I made to a friend as he and his son began fly fishing for smallmouth bass in SWVA. I told him about a favorite I had read about in Harry Murray's book, Virginia Blue Ribbon Streams, and on his website, http://www.murraysflyshop.com/. Mr. Murray is one of the most-renowned fly-fishers of the area, so Ithought giving my friend one or two of this highly recommended pattern would be a safe bet for catching fish. Unfortunately, more than two years have passed since I promised those flies, but I have finally 'gotten around' to tying some of this pattern. Simple to tie and, though I have not fished one yet, I would imagine it to fish fairly simply as well. Hellgramites hug the bottom, so I have heavily weighted this fly. The one photographed below is tied on a #8 streamer hook, but I would readily tie these up to #0 or even #1/0.
Murray's Hellgramite











Tail, body, antennae: Black ostrich
Hackle: Strung black hen for woolly buggers
Thread: 6/0 black
Clip tail to uniform length and optionally clip hackle for rough look.