What it is
Hareline Double Pupil Lead Eyes are lead dumbbell eyes with a double pupil finish. Being lead, they’re heavy and they add a lot of weight up front, helping a fly ride hook point up and get down in the water column. They also give a streamer a more realistic eye look than a plain painted eye.
What to tie with it
Tie them in as dumbbell eyes on streamers to add weight and to help the fly dive and track deep. They’re commonly lashed in on top of the hook shank with figure-eight wraps and then built into the head as the main “face” of the fly. If you’re tying patterns in the Clouser family, these are the eyes that do the work.
Flies and the fish they're for
The classic pattern for these is the Clouser Minnow, where the lead eyes both invert the hook and provide the sink rate that makes the fly fish like a baitfish. Clousers are fished for smallmouth and largemouth bass in rivers and lakes, striped bass in current and open water, and for redfish and other inshore saltwater species on flats and along grass edges when you need a fly to get down.
How it compares
Compared with Hareline Painted Lead Eyes, the Double Pupil Lead Eyes look more like a real eye instead of a solid painted eye with a pupil. The weight is still the point in both, but the double pupil finish is the more realistic look.
