Rupert Harvey Flies

Beast Cheat Cones

Everyone knows a Beast Fleye and everyone strives to to master tying on Mono extension. For me what has always been the biggest issue is the quality of bucktail needed to create the hollow tie. Where I live those soft tails with a 6-inch hair they are like a mythical creature.

So, I started experimenting with ways of building Beasts with subpar tails and always came down to the same issue the bucktail being stiffer wouldn’t create a neat hollow tie it always busted out and ruined the fly.

Enter the Beast Cheats Cones a series of angled cones that replaces the need for a thread damn and is strong enough to tame and hold the bucktail in the hollow position, yet light enough not to add weight.

These will work on 40 to 100lb mono but for me I found the 60-80lb mono seems to be the sweet spot.

The Full set contains one of each of the following cones 20° 25° 30° 35° 40° and 45° in the order that they are needed.

Each pack contains 5 Strings of A full set of 6 cones 9/10inch beast fleyes.

How to use?

1)Lay a base of thread down on the mono 8mm or so secure it with a drop of superglue, wipe off any excess glue so that it doesn’t soak into your materials.

2) tie in your clump of bucktail, short hairs and any under fluff removed, I recommend no more bucktail than 3/4 the diameter of the Beast Cheats Cones. Just over half the diameter is what I normally use. A few loose wraps to hold the hair in place and the manipulate the bucktail evenly 360° round the mono making sure to keep the hairs parallel to the mono. Once you are happy tighten down and secure the hair as with any hollow tie make sure the thread wrap is 90° to the Mono to get a clean fold back. Tie off and cut your thread.

3) Pull the bucktail back and make sure the the fold is tight up against the thread wraps use your nail to crease the hare.

4)Take your Beast Cheats Cone and place it on the table flared side up. Place you bodkin in the centre hole a push it through to widen the hole remove it an immediately put it onto the mono, flair side towards the bucktail. Push it all the way back to the tie in point holding the bucktail back so that it’s fits snugly into the base of the bucktail.

5) as with any buck tail fly, do a load of stroking to line up the hairs, the once you are happy pull back the bucktail and pull the come forward a few mm to get a drop of CA glue in the push the cone back into its final position and stroke the hairs some more.