Bi-color Nymph

During a recent clean up of my external hard drive that holds my fly fishing and fly tying files that I have collected from many years of web surfing, I came upon a .PDF file of a pheasant tail nymph tied by a British fly tyer named Alan Bithell.. So I have decided to make this fly a new arrticle for this blog with a step by step tying instructions.

Hook: Nymph Style

Thread: Color to match body

Tail & Overbody: Pheasant Tail

Rib: Fine Copper Wire

Abdomen &amp: Thorax: Dubbing*

Tie in the pheasant tail fibers with the tips facing forward. The Pheasant tail should be about 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 hook shank long. Eventually these fibers will be pulled back to the hook bend and will make the back of the fly.

Pull the butt ends of the pheasant tail fibers forward and tie down behind the hook eye.

Pull the butt ends back towards the the hook bend and tie down. This is now the built up thorax area of the fly.

Trim off the butt ends of the pheasant tail fibers.

Tie in the copper wire and wrap the thread to the bend of the hook. Dub the thread with your favorite dubbing.

Dub the abdomen of the fly.

Dub the thorax with a darker color or use the same color as the abdomen. Your choice.

Tie off the thread behind the hook eye and trim it off.

Pull the pheasant tail fibers from the eye of the hook back to the bend of the hook and bind down with the copper wire.

Spiral wrap the copper wire forward and stop behind the thorax. Add a couple of half hitches or whip finish the wire and trim off the excess wire.

Top View

Side View

TYING TIP: When tying this fly, experiment with different colors of pheasant tail and/or different colors of dubbing. Use gold wire instead of copper or use the Ultra wire that comes in a rainbow of colors.

All Black Pheasant Tail

Natural Hares Ear

Worms, Worms & More Worms

Bucktail Streamers - A Pictorial

Reference: Forgotten Flies by Schmookler & Sils

Hornberg 88 (with Mallard)

The other day I received some mallard feathers from a member on a bulletin board that I frequent and one of the stipulations was to use it in a fly and post it to the bulletin board thread. After searching the world wide web for a  pattern that uses mallard, I settled on the Hornberg 88. The pattern on the world wide web called for wood duck, but like most fly tyers I opted to substitute the wood duck with the mallard. Since most hornbergs are tied with mallard, no harm - no foul. The result is as follows:

Hornberg 88 (with Mallard)

Hornberg 88

Hook - Mustad R74-9762

Thread - White for under floss body, brown for the head

Body - Red and green floss

Under wing - Natural brown bucktail

Wing - Mallard

Cheeks - Jungle cock (optional)

Reference: https://web.archive.org/web/20060512124618/http://www.invictaflies.us/Streamers/Hornberg%2088.htm

Puterbaugh Foam Caddis (October Orange)

Puterbaugh Foam Caddis

Hook - Dry fly style
Thread - Black
Body - Foam strip in your favorite caddis color
Wing - Deer or elk hair
Hackle - Brown or your choice of color

http://www.charliesflyboxinc.com/flybox/details.cfm?parentID=96

A Couple of Ashers

After learning thread control in the beginner fly tying classes I took many years ago, it was time to tie some new flies with 2 materials. The instructor chose the Orange Asher as a place to begin.

Orange Asher

Hook: Your Favorite

Thread: Black

Hackle: Grizzly

Body: Orange Floss

This was followed by a change in the body floss from orange to red to give you the "Bloody Asher". Thats the name I was told by the instructor, but I have also heard it called "Bloody Butcher".

Bloody Asher

Hook: Your Favorite

Thread: Black

Hackle: Grizzly

Body: Red Floss

Other variations would simply be tied using different colors of floss, tying it with peacock herl becomes the "Griffiths Gnat". I have purchased flies with a cream colored dubbed body and had tremendous success with it on the Green River in Utah. Another variation uses grizzly hackle fibers for a tail and also has a gold tinsel rib. Try tying it with different body materials and different colors of hackle. The options are all up to you.

Reference: http://www.evergreentrout.org/Flies/OrangerAsher.htm

A Pair of Queens

Queen Bess

Hook: Streamer Style

Thread: Black

Tail: Gray Squirrel

Body: Silver Tinsel

Wing: Gray Squirrel over Yellow Bucktail

Queen of the Waters

Hook: Streamer Style

Thread: Black & White

Tail: Golden Pheasant Tippets

Rib: Gold Tinsel

Body: Orange Floss

Wing: Gray Squirrel 

Hackle: Brown

Tying note: Use white thread under floss bodies to help prevent the floss from darkening

Reference: Forgotten Flies (Schmookler & Sils)

Twisted Leader

"Twisted Leader" or is it called a "Singapore Leader"

http://www.ukswff.co.uk/Tips_Singapore.shtml

http://castflys.net/Documents/Twisted.pdf

Powder Coating

Heres a quick tip for powder coating bead chain eyes to the color you want.

Bloody Butcher

Bloody Butcher

Hook - Mustad 9672, #4-6

Tying Thread - Black Nymo - Size "A"

Tail - Scarlet & Yellow Hackle Fibers

Body - Peacock Herl

Hackle - Scarlet & Yellow Saddles, Palmered

Rib - Fine Gold Wire

Wing - Gray Squirrel

Head - Peacock or Ostrich Herl, Full

Tying Note

The scarlet and yellow body hackles should be "doubled" or "blended" together prior to tying in by the tips at the tail end of the fly, and then wound on as a single hackle, wet-fly style, over the peacock herl body.

The process of doubling, setting, or bending a hackle, as it is variously described, is quite easily accomplished by putting a hackle plier over an upright post and then catching the hackle tip or tips in the hackle plier jaws, which leaves both hands free. The butt end of the quill is held with the right hand and the hackle fibers are folded over from the butt to tip with the left hand.

                                                        Montana Trout Flies - George F. Grant

Bloody Butcher

Tail - Crimson red hackle barbs. 

Body - Dubbed with gray rabbit fur. 

Hackle - Yellow and crimson red mixed and tied palmer-style over the body. 

Wing - Gray squirrel tail tied over the body. 

The Bloody Butcher originated as a wet fly in England in 1838 and you might say that it has been butchered ever since. This is a steelhead version that has been in use for more than fifty years.

 Fish Flies: The Encyclopedia of the Fly Tier's Art - Terry Hellekson

Crazy Goof

Per the recipe in the book

Crazy Goof

Hook - Mustad 9671 size 6-8

Thread - Black - heavy size "c" - .008

Under body - Yellow chenille or wool

Over body - Natural deer body hair

Ribbing - Heavy black tying thread (crisscrossed)

Hackle - Grizzly - tied full but not dry fly style

(Size "c" thread is probably no longer available, so use whatever thread you like)

Tying note

Deer hair back and tail are an integral unit. Tie in the hair at forward body termination as for wing and then tie down to bend with open spirals of heavy black tying thread.

Take 3-4 turns of thread at tail to secure and cause the tail hair to flare. Return the thread to shoulder in criss-crossing pattern with previous winds. Give turns of thread at tail several coats of lacquer.

History (from the book)

Legend has it that this fly was the creation of an amateur fly tyer in the Bozeman, Montana area and this could well be for it is very popular on the Gallatin River.

Dan Bailey of Livingston, Montana was tying a similar fly as early as 1940, calling it the "Yellow-Bodied Grayback" and still carries it in his current catalog (remember this is in a book from 1972).

There are several similar patterns, such as the Horner Deer Hair, the Goofus Bug and the Humpy. Which is a variation of the other is a moot question, but the fact remains that they are all basically the same and all are excellent.

Most of the above-mentioned deer hair patterns are tied with upright hair wings and in comparatively small sizes as they are essentially dry flies. The "Crazy Goof" on the other hand, is one of the very best flies to use when big hoppers are being blown on the water and is probably at its best when it is used in a large size.

The name of the fly is not at all appropriate as the dressing is extremely sane. The coloration is moderate and the liberal use of deer hair makes it a good floater.

Thats it from the book.

Montana Trout Flies by George F. Grant has a copyright of 1972 so some of the tying threads called out in the book are probably no longer made or hard to acquire. I guess that if one looks hard enough you could find some spool of "nymo" thread.

The heaviest I tie with is 6/0 so that's what I used for the fly in the photo.

Happy Tying

Hackle Color Charts

This post will try to cover hackle color charts from the major hackle producers.

Whiting Farms

http://www.whitingfarms.com/colorchart/

http://www.campfirelodgewestyellowstone.com/hackle-color-wall.asp

http://www.campfirelodgewestyellowstone.com/hen-hackle-capes-saddles.asp

Collins Hackle Farm

http://www.collinshacklefarm.com/

Metz

http://www.petesflyshop.com/catalog/popup-MetzColors.htm

Keough Hackles

http://www.taimen.com/mt/product_info.php?products_id=470

http://www.orlandooutfitters.com/online-store/product-info/rst-sd.asp

http://www.orlandooutfitters.com/online-store/product-info/k-hn-sadd.asp

Conranch Hackle

http://www.conranch.com/capes.html

Trout Rock Streamers #1 - #6

Heres a few bucktail streamers, originally tied by Bert Quimby of Maine.

Trout Rock Series

Trout Rock #1

Hook - Mustad R75-79580

Thread - Black

Tail - Red hackle fibers

Ribbing - Flat silver tinsel

Body - Black floss

Wing - Black over white bucktail

Shoulder - Jungle cock

Trout Rock #2

Hook - Mustad R75-79580

Thread - Black

Ribbing - Flat silver tinsel

Body - Black floss

Wing - Black over red over yellow bucktail

Shoulder - Jungle cock

Trout Rock #3

Hook - Mustad R75-79580

Thread - Black

Tag - Flat silver tinsel

Body - Brown wool

Wing - Brown bucktail

Shoulder - Jungle cock

Trout Rock #4

Hook - Mustad R75-79580

Thread - Black

Ribbing - Silver wire

Body - Flat silver tinsel

Wing - Red over white bucktail

Shoulder - Jungle cock

Trout Rock #5

Hook - Mustad R75-79580

Thread - Black

Tag - Flat silver tinsel

Body - Brown wool

Wing - Black bucktail

Shoulder - Jungle cock

Trout Rock #6

Hook - Mustad R75-79580

Thread - Black

Body - Red floss

Ribbing - Flat silver tinsel

Wing - Gray squirrel tail

Shoulder - Jungle cock

James Wood Bucktail

James Wood Bucktail

Hook - Mustad 3366

Thread - Black

Body - Yellow chenille

Wing - White bucktail

Thorax - Blue chenille

From what I can gather from searching the internet, 

Harry Murray adapted this fly from Pete Perinchief's bonefish fly "The Horror".

Tie this fly in different color chenille

San Juan Midge

San Juan Midge

Hook - Mustad 3906, Tiemco 101 or equivalent, size 14-26

Thread - Black

Rib - Gold or copper wire

Body - Pheasant tail fibers

Wing - White uni stretch

Tying Notes

The recipe above is for the “Pheasant Tail San Juan Midge” pattern.

There are numerous variations in tying this pattern

Use different styles of hooks.

Use different color wires for the ribbing.

Use dubbing, biots, stripped peacock quill, floss, uni stretch, spanflex, tinsel, turkey tail fibers, other species of pheasant tails or even thread for the body material.

Use different wing material such as Uni stretch, Z-lon, Darlon, poly yarn, Hi-Viz etc.

Add a bead and make it a bead head pattern

Most importantly is to tie the fly using your tying style and preferences.

Fishing Notes

This fly can be fished as a nymph down deep or as an emerger, just below the surface. It’s your choice.