One of the things I've always enjoyed is taking ideas, mixing them and
coming up with a good fly pattern. I think this is one of them.
Last Saturday while tying in the clinic someone asked me one question that
led to several answers and ultimately this pattern. (The question was about
a wiggle nymph, which turned into a damsel nymph and then the stone.
Interesting transition, but I digress, which is how I create flies.)
One of the goals I have in instructing is to make tying easier. The patterns
I come up with are supposed to be pretty easy to tie for most of us, and I
hope you'll find this so. I'm going to make as detailed as possible notes to
help. If you have any questions, please drop me a line at
angler@peakpeak.com. We're also
offering samples of the flies and a tying kit. Call the shop for info, or
fill out the form at the end of the instructions.
Thanks! Have fun tying flies.
Materials in order of application.
Hook: 200R or other equivalent
nymph hook; barb off
Thread: 6/0 or 70 Denier tan,
brown, olive or gray.
Wing Pad: Turkey wing or quill
Eyes: Mini black bead chain
Tail: Olive or golden yellow turkey or goose biots.
Body: UTC brassie wire: two strands of olive; one of amber.
Dubbing: yellow, golden yellow or tan; use something coarse.
Legs: Dark mottled hen back, partridge or other soft material.
1. Remove barb;
mount hook in vise, as shown. The point of the
hook should always be exposed.
2. Start thread
behind eye of hook and wrap back, covering about half of the hook shank.
Move thread back forward to back of the eye of the hook.
3. Select wing
pad material and trim to thickness for the hook
size
you'll use. As a basis, use the gap of the hook for proportions. Once the
feather is selected and prepared, turn it over so the tip is to the back of
the hook and the top of the feather is down. Tie in at proper thickness of
feather - most turkey feathers have taper - and move thread back. Leave the
butt of the turkey fibers over the eye, as shown.
4. Move thread
behind eye of hook several wraps. Take black mini-bead chain, clip apart
every other stem that
separates them and tie in one set of eyes in position shown at right by
wrapping thread over the stem that separates the eyeballs. Wrap thread in
front of eye closest to you and behind the eye away then behind eye closest
and in front of the eye away. This is called a figure eight. After several
wraps in each direction make several in front of and then behind the eyes
and move thread back, covering the shank of the hook. The thread should hang
just behind the point of the hook and over where the barb was, as shown.
5. Select two
turkey or goose biots. Clip from stem and
separate. Put the tops of the
feathers together and even the tips. Holding the feathers in the right hand
with tips extending to the left, or back, of the fly, come under the hook
shank with the tips extending at an angler that is pointing up slightly. The
hook shank will split the biots. Make a loose wrap of thread around the
biots and hook shank, then pull tight towards you. Move thread forward about
three adjacent wraps, as shown
above. Clip the butts of the biots behind the eye of the hook.
6. Now we select the tie in the wire. I use three strands for this pattern
in this size - which is about a #10 in the pictures. Two are pale olive, and
one is amber. Use whatever colors you like to tie the fly. Tie the wire in
so the length extends to the back of the fly and the short ends are behind
the eyes we tied in. Wind thread forward to the back of the eyes, as shown,
keeping wire on the side of the hook shank.
7. Wind the wire forward. The three strands will lie next to one
another,
chasing one another along as they are wound forward. The first wrap should
cover the thread that tied in the tail. See how the wire looks as it is
wrapped? Continue winding forward until wire is to the thread, then tie off
and clip excess.
8. Select dubbing and dub onto thread. We're going to make a small ball of
dubbing, then tie in the legs, then dub again. Move
the thread back over the wire - which is there along with the bead-chain
eyes to get the fly on the bottom of the streambed - until it is in front of
the 1/2 point of the hook shank, as shown. Dub forward about half way to the
back of the eyes. The dubbing is to fill space and give the fly color; it
also separates the legs, as we'll see in #9, which follows step 8.
9. Now come the legs. Select a hen feather - usually a hen back works best
for this. Clip out the tip of the feather without cutting any of the fibers
behind it and pull all of the fibers back. Pull a few fibers forward from
each side of the stem, as shown, to make the legs. See the set of pictures
below. One feather will usually tie multiple flies.
10. Hold the
feather on top of the hook shank with the tips of the legs pointing to the
back of the fly. The hook shank and dubbing
will separate the legs. The feather tips should point down slightly. Tie
them in in front of the dubbing ball with two wraps of thread, then check
for length. If they are too short, tie them in again; if too long, gently
pull back on the butt of the feather, keeping the proper amount of tension
on the thread to hold the
feathers
on either side of the hook shank. This takes a bit of practice but is an
excellent way to make legs on nymphs.
Clip the excess
feather away and note the feather can now be prepared to tie more legs on
more nymphs. Cool, huh?
11. Dub more
dubbing on the thread and wind forward to the
eyes, then in front of the eyes to the back of the hook eye, then back again
with the thread ending behind the eyes. There should be dubbing in front of
the legs, which keeps wing pad and legs separate, as we shall see.
12. Now pull the
turkey back over the top of the fly to create the wing pad. Be sure to pull
it through
the
eyes, which will form the width properly. Tie down with three wraps of
thread, then put a little dubbing on the thread - very small amount on lots
of thread - and make several wraps to cover the thread. Pull the thread
forward under the body of the fly and whip finish behind the eye of the hook
to finish. Clip the butts of the turkey behind the dubbing and over the
abdomen to the length you'd like. Done!
I like this fly
very much and am confident it will fool trout.
Options: add
weight to further sink the fly; add a bead or cone head for even more
weight; dub behind eyes and taper towards tail to make abdomen taper more -
it's tough to taper wire. Tie them in black, brown or olive.
Any comments on
these instructions? Any at all? Please fill out the form below and send it
back. I won't even know who you are unless you tell me.
hook should always be exposed.
size
you'll use. As a basis, use the gap of the hook for proportions. Once the
feather is selected and prepared, turn it over so the tip is to the back of
the hook and the top of the feather is down. Tie in at proper thickness of
feather - most turkey feathers have taper - and move thread back. Leave the
butt of the turkey fibers over the eye, as shown.
separates them and tie in one set of eyes in position shown at right by
wrapping thread over the stem that separates the eyeballs. Wrap thread in
front of eye closest to you and behind the eye away then behind eye closest
and in front of the eye away. This is called a figure eight. After several
wraps in each direction make several in front of and then behind the eyes
and move thread back, covering the shank of the hook. The thread should hang
just behind the point of the hook and over where the barb was, as shown.
separate. Put the tops of the
feathers together and even the tips. Holding the feathers in the right hand
with tips extending to the left, or back, of the fly, come under the hook
shank with the tips extending at an angler that is pointing up slightly. The
hook shank will split the biots. Make a loose wrap of thread around the
biots and hook shank, then pull tight towards you. Move thread forward about
three adjacent wraps, as shown
above. Clip the butts of the biots behind the eye of the hook.
another,
chasing one another along as they are wound forward. The first wrap should
cover the thread that tied in the tail. See how the wire looks as it is
wrapped? Continue winding forward until wire is to the thread, then tie off
and clip excess.
the thread back over the wire - which is there along with the bead-chain
eyes to get the fly on the bottom of the streambed - until it is in front of
the 1/2 point of the hook shank, as shown. Dub forward about half way to the
back of the eyes. The dubbing is to fill space and give the fly color; it
also separates the legs, as we'll see in #9, which follows step 8.
will separate the legs. The feather tips should point down slightly. Tie
them in in front of the dubbing ball with two wraps of thread, then check
for length. If they are too short, tie them in again; if too long, gently
pull back on the butt of the feather, keeping the proper amount of tension
on the thread to hold the
feathers
on either side of the hook shank. This takes a bit of practice but is an
excellent way to make legs on nymphs.
eyes, then in front of the eyes to the back of the hook eye, then back again
with the thread ending behind the eyes. There should be dubbing in front of
the legs, which keeps wing pad and legs separate, as we shall see.
the
eyes, which will form the width properly. Tie down with three wraps of
thread, then put a little dubbing on the thread - very small amount on lots
of thread - and make several wraps to cover the thread. Pull the thread
forward under the body of the fly and whip finish behind the eye of the hook
to finish. Clip the butts of the turkey behind the dubbing and over the
abdomen to the length you'd like. Done!
