1. Adams (Parachute)
Parachute Adams
Hook: Any standard dry fly size 12 – 20
Thread: Grey or Black
Tail: 3 to 4 grizzle and brown hackle
Body: Grey muskrat under fur
Wing Post: Polypropylene yarn
Hackle: Grizzle and Brown cock hackles
Tie in the wing post as shown. I like to use Niche’s Siliconised polypropylene yarn
as it doesn’t ‘fray’ with time. It stays nice and straight the lifetime of the fly.
Tie in the two hackles. Tie them up the post.
1

2. Take the thread down to the hook bend and tie in the tail.
Dub a little muskrat under fur onto the thread and dub the entire length of the hook
right up to the hook eye.
2

3. Make three turns and then tie in the grizzle hackle.
Make another three turns with the brown hackle and tie down.
3

4. Trim the excess hackle and whip finish. You’re done.
A few more for the box.
4

5. A variant of the Adams on a size 17 hook. The tail and hackle are golden grizzly
while the body is Adams grey Fly-rite dubbing. Easier to tie in the smaller sizes due
to one hackle.
5

6. ADAMS DRY VARIATIONS
ADAMS
Material
Hook - Mustad 94840 or similar hook size 10-18
Thread - brown or black
Tail - Grizzly and brown hackle mixed
Body - Grey dubbing
Wings - grizzly hackle tips
Hackle - grizzly & brown.
6

7. 7

8. ADAMS DOWNWING
8

9. Hook - Mustad 94840 or similar hook size 10-18
Thread - brown or black
Tail - Grizzly and brown hackle mixed
Body - Grey dubbing
Wings - grizzly hackle tips
Hackle - grizzly & brown.
9

10. 10

11. ADAMS FEMALE
Hook - Mustad 94840 or similar hook size 10-18
Thread - brown or black
Egg sac- SULPHUR YELLOW DUBBING
Tail - Grizzly and brown hackle mixed
Body - Grey dubbing
Wings - grizzly hackle tips
Hackle - grizzly & brown.
11

12. 12

13. Good Tying everyone
Part 2 Adams Variations
ADAMS HAIRWING
Hook - Mustad 94840 or similar hooksize 10-18
Thread - brown or black
13

14. Tail - MOOSE BARB (BODY HAIR)
Body - Grey dubbing
Wings - White Calftail
Hackle - grizzly & brown.
14

15. 15

16. ADAMS MOOSETAIL
Hook - Mustad 94840 or similar hook size 10-18
Thread - brown or black
Tail - MOOSE STRANDS OF MOOSE BODY HAIR
Body - Grey dubbing
Wings - grizzly hackle tips
Hackle - grizzly & brown.
16

17. ADAMS PARACHUTE
17

18. Material
Hook - Mustad 94840 or similar hook size 10-18
Thread - brown or black
Tail - Grizzly and brown hackle mixed
Body - Grey dubbing
Wings - grizzly hackle tips
Hackle - grizzly & brown.
18

19. PArt 3 next
__________________
ADAMS REVERSED
19

20. Material
Hook - Mustad 94840 or similar hook size 10-18
Thread - brown or black
Tail - Grizzly and brown hackle mixed
Body - Grey dubbing
Wings - grizzly hackle tips
Hackle - grizzly & brown.
20

21. ADAMS SPENT WING
21

22. Material
Hook - Mustad 94840 or similar hook size 10-18
Thread - brown or black
Tail - Grizzly and brown hackle mixed
Body - Grey dubbing
Wings - grizzly hackle tips
Hackle - grizzly & brown.
22

23. 23

24. next part 4
__________________
PArt 4 Adams Variation
ADAMS THORAX
Material
Hook - Mustad 94840 or similar hook size 10-18
Thread - brown or black
Tail - Grizzly and brown hackle mixed
Body - Grey dubbing
Wings - grizzly hackle tips
Hackle - grizzly & brown.
24

25. 25

26. 26

27. DELAWARE ADAMS
This is my favorite dry fly pattern in the #14. 16 & 18
History
Mr. Dette was an exceptionally gifted fly tier. And for almost three-quarters of a century, he, along with his wife,
Winnie, and their daughter, Mary, have been part of the tradition of Roscoe, a center of fly-fishing, and are the last of
the renowned school of the Catskill fly tiers.
Mr. Dette, along with Rube Cross, is a major link in a chain that reaches back to Theodore Gordon, long considered
27

28. by many as the father of dry-fly fishing in this country. In 1928, when Mr. Cross was one of the acclaimed
professional fly tiers in the East, Mr. Dette approached him with an offer of $50 if Mr. Cross would reveal the
technical processes involved in the construction of his flies.
"He told me to go to hell," Mr. Dette said, "even though I'd promised him I'd not tie commercially and thus compete
with him, nor would I divulge his techniques to anyone else." Figured It Out
Dressing flies was a jealously guarded secret during that era. This did not discourage the young Dette. He began
purchasing flies tied by Mr. Cross and others. While his soon bride-to-be, Winnie, took notes, young Dette
meticulously untied the Cross flies, one turn of thread at a time, in order to learn their construction.
Unlike Mr. Cross, however, Mr. Dette shared the procedures with any and all who asked. Thus, not only was a wealth
of technical knowledge preserved but in his willing students it was also eventually spread throughout much of the
country. There is no doubt that Mr. Dette has directly, or indirectly, affected all who fish with the fly today.
The flies tied by Mr. Dette and his family were considered to be of the best not only in beauty and precision but also
in posture and durability when fished.
Anglers and collectors have been buying the Dette flies for more than 60 years. The only frustration most collectors
encountered was that no one in the family would say who tied what. Shared the Honors
Although many of his innovations would fill a book on pioneering fly tying, the Dette name does not, with one
exception, appear on any of the patterns he has designed. Of those which have achieved popularity over the years,
the Delaware Adams and the Coffin Fly (the spinner of the Green Drake) are perhaps the best known.
There are few, if any, awards or accolades in Walt Dette's name alone. Those who sought to honor him knew that to
be able to do so, Winnie and Mary must also be included. In 1990, for example, the Eastern Council of the
Federation of Fly Fishers presented their prestigious Lifetime Achievement Award to "Walt, Winnie and Mary Dette,
the First Family of Catskill Fly Tying, for their untiring dedication to the sport of fly-fishing and their efforts to
preserve the Catskill fly tying tradition."
Material
Hook - Mustad 94840 or similar hook size 10-20
Thread - Grey or black
Tail - Grizzly and brown hackle mixed
Body - Olive floss or dubbing grizzly hackle palmered
Wings - grizzly hackle tips
Hackle - grizzly & brown.
28

29. 29

30. Hope you enjoyed all 4 part of the adams variation (dry)
Balloon Caddis
Hook: Any dry fly, this is a Partridge Roman Moser Barbless #12
Thread: Any to match dubbing, I've used UTC 70 Olive
Dubbing: Seal fur, SLF whatever takes your fancy.
Wing: Deer Hair
Head: Foam
Start thread and wrap down to bend.
30

31. Dub thread, bright green for egg sack first then whatever colour your caddis are (The caddis on the Welsh
Dee are dark olive).
Wrap dubbing to about the 2/3 point.
31

32. Take a pinch of deer hair and even the tips in a stacker.
Measure to size and trim the butts.
32

33. Tie in with the tips facing back using the pinch and loop method, don't tie too tight as you have to
manipulate the hair next.
Rock the hair between finger and thumb to spread it evenly around the top half of the fly.
33

34. Now tie down butts tight and tie in a piece of foam just behind the eye.
Leave the thread at the eye and dub, I've used Olive Mosiac here because I like a bit of sparkle in the thorax.
34

35. Wrap dubbing back over hair butts to start of wing.
Bring foam over to make thorax cover and tie off, whip finish at same point.
35

36. Stretch tag of foam and snip with scissors. Job done.
36

37. Brambridge Caddis
This is the Brambridge Caddis, a fairly simple fly to tie and a good introduction to tying small flies.
HOOK- TMC103BL #21 (Or any light wire hook)
THREAD – UNI-Thread 8/0
BODY – Super Fine Dry Fly Dub (#2 Grey) Or any fine synthetic dubbing or natural such as Mole Fur
WING/HEAD – Bunch of Cock Pheasant Centre Tail
STEP 1
Mount the hook in the vice and attach the thread.
STEP 2
Tie in a small bunch of Pheasant Tail fibres, tips pointing over the eye as shown.
These should be long enough that when folded back they reach a little beyond the hook bend.
STEP 3
Trim the butts of the Pheasant tail at an angle, then tie down with the thread to leave a tapered body. Then add a
small amount of dubbing to the thread.
37

38. STEP 4
Wrap the dubbed thread up to the eye then back to the position shown, this will leave a pronounced head area.
STEP 5
Fold the Pheasant tail fibres back over the head and body and tie down at the point shown in step 4. Then add a
whip finish for the completed fly.
That’s it, as with most small flys the tying is fairly simple.
38

39. I always soak flys like this one in “Water Shed” when I tie them, allowing them to dry before putting them in the
fly box.
You can alter the body colour to suit a variety of Micro Caddis.
39

40. Detached Bodied Daddy Long Legs
Detached Bodied Daddy.
The pictures are a bit long sorry
Hook: Dry Fly size 10
Thread: Tan or Brown
Body: annoying to say the least - Deer Hair
Legs: Knotted Pheasant Tails approx 8
Hackle: Ginger Hackle
Thorax Dubbing: Brown Fur
Step1
Insert a needle into the vice
Step 2
Wind on some thread – not too tight and not to slack
Step 3
Select a bunch of deer hair and tie it on to the needle
40

41. Step 4
Fold the hair over – one half at a time and tie it in near the tips. Repeat this for the bottom half.
Step 5
Wind the thread up the body in open turns so that it looks a bit like a barber’s pole. Wind down in roughly
the same way to make a criss cross.
Step 6
Once you have whip finished you can coat the entire thing in a flexible coating or as I prefer varnish the
thread at either end. Leave it to dry, once dry pull it off. It is better to hold the body and pull the needle
rather than the other way around.
41

42. Step 7
Mount a hook in the vice and wrap on some thread
Step 8
Add some legs – knotted pheasant tail fibres
Step 9
Now tie in the body and dub over it with some sort of brown fur. And add the front legs
42

43. Step 10
Add a ginger hackle and whip finish plus some varnish
The Finished Thing
You can be Very Proud – I am anyway
43

44. Comments are welcome
44

45. Emerging Ephemerella Invaria
Although, in my experience it is rare that the Sulphur Mayfly Dun (Ephemerella Invaria, Ephemerella
Dorothea) is actively sought by feeding trout, I did experience a day this summer on the River Hodder when
the trout did switch onto the Yellow May Dun (emerging) in preference over a sporadic (but present) adult
sedge hatch. That evening I returned to my vice and tied a few Yellowhamers, Foam Emergers, and this
pattern, which is based on one of Steve Thornton’s Emerging Mayfly patterns.
Hook: Turral Sedge/Waterwisp Dry Fly 8-12
Thread: Dyneema/Spiderweb
Tail: Porcupine Guard Hair Tips
Abdomen: Translucent Nymph Skin (Coloured with Yellow & Brown perma pens)
Thorax: Cream CDC (Dubbed)
Thorax Cover: Yellow Foam
Wings: Pearl or Polythene sheet
Para Wing: White Cock Hackle
Eyes: 25lb Yellow Mono
Step 1
Insert the hook in the vice in an inversed position, attach the thread.
45

46. Step 2
Attach 3 Porcupine Guard Hair Tips at the eye of the hook.
Step 3
Re-insert the hook the correct way around, run the thread 3/4 of the way up the shank and tie in a 3-4cm
section of nymph skin.
46

47. Step 4
Take the thread back to the eye of the hook, stain the nymph skin using a yellow perma pen, wind the
nymph skin down the hook shank gradually increasing the tension and secure at the head.
Step 5
Rotate the hook in the vice, using a brown perma pen run two lines along the back of the abdomen, and re-
attach the thread.
47

48. Step 6
Tie in a 4mm wide section of yellow foam, and a white cock hackle.
Step 7
Tie in a wing either side of the fly, in this case I've shaped the wing from a pearl sheet, but a translucent
poly sheet would be a closer representation.
48

49. Step 8
Using a dubbing needle, split the thread and dub some cream cdc (MP Magic Tool Style) in between the two
strands.
Step 9
Dub the thorax using the cdc, 1/2 way along the thorax pull the tag left over from the pearl sheet and shape
into a curved wing shape (you should now have two small wings on each side on the thorax).
49

50. Step 10
Turn the fly on it's side, using the foam post rotate the cock hackle around the base (Klinkhamer Style) to
form a parachute wing.
Step 11
Secure the cock hackle in place, pull the rear foam post toward the head of the fly to form a thorax cover,
secure in place, and trim the excess.
50

51. Step 12
Tie in a short section of 25lb mono, trim each side to leave a 2-3mm stub on each side.
Step 13
Use a hot point, melt the mono eyes to form a small set of eyes. Pull the front foam section back over the
eyes leaving a couple of cdc strands pointing forward, secure, and remove the excess foam. Colour the foam
thorax using a yellow perma pen to darken it slightly.
51

52. Run a dubbing needle through the thorax to loosen a few strand of the cdc, add a drop of varnish to the head
and tail at the tie off points.
52

53. Hopper and Bubble Hopper
I have now redone this one, but I have had to split it in two due to size limits in posts.
The Hopper and the Bubble Hopper. I have tied the Hopper with a cock hackle, if you want to tie the wet
version simply follow the instructions, but substitute a hen hackle for the cock. I don’t use genetic cock hackle
on my Hoppers, the hopper is meant to be tied sparse, genetic hackle would be too dense…. IMO.
I have tied the standard Hopper black and the Bubble Hopper is the Red Arsed version
Instructions assume right-handed tyers.
Part I
The Hopper
HOOK - Kamasan B170 #12
THREAD - Black
RIB - medium flat Pearl Mylar
BODY -Black Seals Fur (sparse)
LEGS - Knotted Pheasant Tail
HACKLE - Black Cock (not genetic)
STEP 1
Mount the hook in the vice, attach and wind on the thread, catch in the rib as you wind towards the bend of the
hook
STEP 2
53

54. Add a touch of dubbing to the thread. .
And wind on too form the body.
STEP 3
Follow with the rib.
54

55. I like to give the body a rub with Velcro at this point.
STEP 4
Take your hopper legs. In true Blue Peter style here’s some I made earlier.
Select four legs. I hold them as shown below.
55

56. Then slip them under the hook so that two go each side of the thread. I then grip them in this position.
And tie in.
56

57. STEP 5
Tie in the hackle, near side of the hook, shiny (good) side towards you.
STEP 6
Wind the hackle towards the eye and tie off.
57

58. STEP 7
Finally, form a small head, whipfinish and varnish for the completed fly.
__________________
ukflydressing A UK based fly tying site packed full of flyting tips and photographic step by steps.
Now with added fly fishing section.
scotfly
PART 2
The Bubble Hopper.
HOOK – Kamasan B170 #12
THREAD – Black
RIB - medium flat Pearl Mylar
BODY – Red and Black Seals Fur
BUBBLE – 2 Natural CDC Feathers
58

59. THORAX – Black Seals Fur
LEGS - Knotted Pheasant Tail
STEP 1
As STEP 1 above
STEP 2
Dub the thread. You can dub the red first and wind it on followed by the black, or you can dub both on at the same
time, as I have done.
Then wrap to form the two part body.
STEP 3
Rib the body and tie in the legs as in STEPS 3 and 4 above.
59

60. STEP 4
Tie in two CDC feathers, by their tips on top of the hook shank.
STEP 5
Dub on another pinch of black seals fur and wrap to form the thorax.
STEP 6
60

61. Pull the 2 CDC feathers over in a loose loop towards the eye and tie down.
STEP 7
Trim waste and whip finish.
Both flies side by side for comparison
61

62. When tying in the legs it is important to tie them under the shank, I see many with the legs tied on top, that IMO is
wrong.
To fish the standard hopper, simply gink up the hackle and fish static or twitch occasionally.
Do not treat the bubble hopper and fish either static or with the occasional twitch, or for something a bit different give it a sharp pull and
it will go under the surface then pop back up, on occasions the fish will find this irresistible
62

63. hief
Clan Chief
I have been going on about this fly for a while so I thought that I would do a step by step for it.
Hook: Hayabusa # 10
Tail: Orange Floss over Yellow Floss (Globrite No. 4 over Globrite No. 11 (I think))
Body: Black Seals fur or Sub
Rib: Silver Wire
Body: Hackles: Black over Red and wound together
Head Hackle (Optional): Black
Step 1:
Wind on a layer of thread down the hook shank to the bend:
Step 2:
Tie in a tail made of yellow floss
63

64. Step 3:
Tie in another tail made of the orange floss over the yellow one
Step 4:
Tie in your rib of silver wire
64

65. Step 5:
Dub on your black seals fur or sub *tip* make the first part of your dubbing MEGA sparse then dub
at “normal” thickness.
This prevents a bump being caused by the bulk of the two tails. It should give you a nice even body
Step 6:
Tie in a black and red hackle together
65

66. Step 7:
Wind the hackles down the body and secure with open turns of the rib.
When palmering I like a turn of rib over each hackle turn so when you have caught a few fish the hackles will
(if they do) only unwind one turns worth – if you see what I mean !!!?
Step 8:
You could just form a head and whip finish here but I like to add another black hackle at the head.
66

67. Step 9:
Whip Finish, Varnish and clip the tail (cut the tail longer than you think and it will look right once you’ve done
it.
It’s annoying if you cut it too short because it took some time and you get angry!!!
This fly is good in a hatch of buzzers. A good varient of this fly is to replace the body with
claret slf and the red hackle with a claret one.
Makes a good top dropper fly.
67

68. Grouse and peacock soft-hackle type thing
Looks a bit like a hackled version of the Alder, an old winged wet. Among other things
Dressing
Hook : As you like, I’ve used a Tiemco 200R # 16 here
Thread: Brown Danville’s Flymaster 6/0
Body : 3 strands Peacock herl ( this can vary with size of hook etc.), twisted with one of Olive Lure flash
“Twinkle”
Hackle: Well marked Red Grouse back or rump feather
68

69. Method
1. Tie in thread, , pass to rear and back once.
2. Catch in 3 strands of herl (by tips) and twinkle( note - trim off the fine tips, say the last 4 cm - it just
snaps when you try to twist it.
3 Carry the herl and twinkle to the rear, atop the hook shank.
69

70. 4. Take the thread back up to the eye-end
5 Lock the tips of the herl and twinkle in your hackle pliers
Twist the herl and twinkle into a rope (clockwise if looking to the floor) - just try
to get a nice chenille effect for a working length of , say 4cm i.e. don’t try to spin up a
dense cord all the way to your fingertips.
70

71. 6. Wind the cord up the body in butting turns . You may have to impart further twist into the cord as
you go to achieve an even effect. Tie off.
7. Catch in a prepared hackle.
71

72. 8. Sweep back the hackle fibres, then wind them on, three to four turns,or according to taste.
9. Whip finish
72

73. Job done.
I vary the proportions and hook choice quite a bit:
Lightly weighted version ( a caddis larva, perhaps)
73

74. Bead-head version ( ascending caddis pupa)
74

75. Heckham Butcher
Sticking with the “one of my own patterns” theme, this is a fly which gained me second place in a fly tying
competition a few years back.
My inspirations for both the name and the design are obviously the Heckham Peckham, attributed to an Aberdeen
angler called William Murdoch and the Butcher, most famously attributed to Messrs Jewhurst and Moon of
Tunbridge Wells.
As you will see it is a traditional style fancy fly. One to put on as an attractor pattern.
Instructions assume right-handed tyers.
HOOK – Kamasan B170 #12
THREAD – Black 6/0
TAIL – 8 Strand Glo-Brite Floss #4 (scarlet)
BODY – Silver Flash Bright
HACKLE – Black Hen
WING – White Tipped Outer Coverts of a Mallard Drake (Butcher Blues)
“SOMETHING EXTRA” – Red Permanent Marker Pen.
STEP 1
Attach the thread and tie the hackle in at the shoulder.
STEP 2
Wrap the thread to the hook bend catching in the tail as you go.
75

76. STEP 3
Trim the tail to length then add a pinch of dubbing to the thread.
Then wrap to form the body.
I normally give the body on this one a rub with Velcro.
76

77. STEP 4
Wrap and tie off the hackle.
STEP 5
Using your finger and thumb, sweep the hackle fibres down and take a couple of wraps of thread to secure them in
this position ready for the wings.
77

78. STEP 6
Take corresponding pieces from the white tipped outer coverts.
And tie in for the wings.
78

79. STEP 7
Trim the butts, form a small head, whipfinish and varnish.
STEP 8
Finally to add that “something extra” take a red permanent marker and colour the white tip of the wing for the
completed fly.
79

80. Picric JC Cruncher
1. Form a tail with 6-7 strands of Picric dyed pheasant tail. Leave the long pheasant tail strands intact (these
will form the body) and return the thread to the eye.
80

81. 2. Catch in a strand of UTC hot orange wire and lock in towards the bend, stopping at the base of the tail.
3. Form a tapered body with the thread.
4. Wrap the pheasant tail and rib with the UTC wire.
81

82. 5. Form a thorax with ice dub leaving plenty of room at the eye for the hackle. I like Jan Siman's Golden
Green Ice dub (shade 27) but standard peacock ice dub is fine.
6. Split a chartreuse jungle cock eye evenly and tie in as a cheek on either side of the thorax.
7. Select a hackle from a natural jungle cock cape.
82

83. 8. Catch in the hackle tip first with 6 or 7 tight turns and trim the waste. Give the hackle 1 or 2 turns
depending on your preference.
9. The finished fly. This is a great pattern for fishing straight-through or as part of a washing -line set-up.
Please be careful when using materials dyed in Picric Acid as it is a carcinogenic substance.
83

84. Sunburst Dabbler
Haven't tried this one yet but am hoping it might be good for the Sonaghan on Lough Melvin next year.
1. Tie in a short tail of Globrite floss. Tie it down the shank to maintain an even body profile but stay well
away from the eye.
84

85. 2. Add in an over-tail of dyed orange mallard.
3. Catch in a strand of sunburst micro-straggle 'n' gold and form rear half of body. This stuff will hit the
shops in the next few weeks and will be the material next season.
85

86. 4. Catch in the tip of a sunbust genetic cock saddle hackle.
5. Dub on some dubbing and palmer the font half of the body with the hackle. Note the space left for the
cloak - this is the key to getting a neat head.
86

87. 6. Take a bronze mallard feather, strip the **** from the base and stroke 15-20mm from the central section
out from the stalk.
7. Trim the section from the feather taking care to keep the end aligned. the angle of the cut doesn't matter
as long as the ends stay level. Fold this section in half as you would a piece of paper.
87

88. 8. Cloak the fly with the bronze mallard using a pinch and loop to secure. This example shows a 180 degree
cloak but you can do less or more depending on your preference. Trim the waste and form a small, neat
head.
88

89. The Snip [Another hackled wet (no name)]
“Second verse, same as the first………”
Another one I like. I have to say, …….. it’s not really very far from the last one I posted . However I hope
it’s of use to someone.
I’ve used the dubbing spinner again ( and again follow Scotfly’s comprehensive thread -
http://www.flyforums.co.uk/showthread.php?t=2296 -serves the subject well ) only applying the dubbing to
both sides of the thread. I like this one a bit on the chubby side.
Dressing
Hook : Partridge SLD, TMC 902BL or similar #14-16
Thread: Uni-thread 8/0 red
Body : SLF Finesse Masterclass Blend shade 8 “Ephemerella”
Hackle: Blotched feather from outside of Snipe wing
Method
1. Tie in thread, and mount the hackle by the tip.
2. Trim waste/Take thread to rear,
89

90. 3 Catch in dubbing loop, take thread just forward of hackle
4. Wax both sides of loop - I’ve used BT’s dubbing wax , and apply dubbing to both strands (or insert a thin
mat of dubbing between)
5. Spin up the looped cord
6. Wind the spun cord up, in butting turns. (if you find the spun body slightly irregular, a very light scrub
90

91. with a Velcro pad may resolve it for you). to the eye side of the hackle stalk. Tie off with a few turns of
thread.
7. Sweep back the hackle fibres, then wind them on three to four turns,or according to taste.Whip finish.
Job done.
91

92. 2 Tone UV Brassie
Hook - 12 to 18
Body - Black and Lime Green Wire
Thorax - Black UV straggle fritz
Thread - 70 denier black
Tie in both strands of wire and run both down the shank. Put superglue on the shank.
Wind both stands of wire up the hook at the same time, making sure the superglue is still wet. Once secured
cover in superglue again.
92

93. Tie in the staggle fritz once the body has dried.
Wind the fritz on, secure, whip finish and superglue then varnish the head
Smudge
93

94. Back to Basics Buzzer
I have posted several tyings for buzzers using various man made synthetics and I thought it time that I went
back to what our grandads used to fish with and not a single sparkle or flash in sight.
This is a basic stripped hackle stalk buzzer, (see posting about stripping hackle stalks) the good thing about
then is that you can use almost any longish hackle feather that you have lying around. This is in Olive as it is
one of the colours that I prefer for buzzers of this type so go grab that 5 quid cape and we will get started.
Apologies again to the left handed tyers as it is a right handed jobby again, if I had been ambidextrous then
things could have been more interesting!
Materials -
Hooks - from size 18 to 12s Kamasan B100s
Thread - UTC 140 Olive
Hackle - in this case - Olive ****** piece - the muckle big ones that were no good for anything but lures
Wingcase - Cock Pheasant Tail Fibres
Thorax - Hot Olive Seals Fur
Run your thread down the hook of choice into the bend, on smaller sizes allow the thread to flatten out and
reduce bulking
94

95. Cut your hackle stalk at the appropriate thickness - experience will make this easier
Tie in the hackle stalk at the bend and return the thread to the thorax area in tight touching turns
Wind your hackle stalk in touching turns to the thorax area and tie in with a couple of turns before cutting off
the excess
Catch in your pheasant tail fibres and secure with a couple of turns. I use about 7 or 8 for a size 12 and
reduce this to about 4 or 5 for a size 16
95

96. Dub on your seals fur to form a thin rope, wax the thread beforehand on the larger sizes of hook. If you find
that your rope is too long and going to bulk the thorax just pull the excess from the thread and keep for the
next one
Form the thorax and leave a little space behind the hook eye
Gently pull the pheasant tail fibres forwards and secure with a couple of turns of thread
Trim of the excess length and whip finish before varnishing. To reduce bulk try whipping 3 turns followed by
a fresh whipping of 3 more
96

97. As a good rule, practice the rule of 6, tie 6 in each size before progressing to another fly, this gives you good
practice
Another good rule is to tie up in several sizes as I did here
97

98. Flexi Floss Black Buzzer
Step 1 : -
98

99. Start your thread where you intend to start the thorax.
Step 2
Run the thread to the farthest you intend to tie the fly around the bend.
Step 3
Tie in your flexi floss at the bend do not worry too much about thread build up. I have use Olive Flexi Floss.
99

100. Step 4
Tie in your shell back pearl, I have used Siman Magic Shrimp Foil no 25
Step 5
Pull the shrimp foil over the back of the buzzer and tie in. Do not trim off
Step 6
100

101. Wind up the flexi floss in even turns, usually about 6 is enough on a size 10 hook.
Step 7
Tie the pearl back backwards towards the bend trapping it down as this is your thorax cover.
Step 8
Take 2 Fl.Lime Goose Biots, I use my own Definite Advantage Range and tie in one at each side.
Step 9
101

102. Side view as the biots should look
Step 10
Tie in the biots one at a time, pull forward do not use excessive pressure as they may break and tie in. Trim off
both and whip finish once. I whip finish at this stage as I do not want the thread to drop off and the biots to come
loose.
Step 11
102

103. Blushing and Near Perfect Buzzers
It’s another 2 for 1. This time the Blushing Buzzer and the Near Perfect Buzzer. The Blushing Buzzer is obviously
tied to represent a black buzzer. In his book Trout & Salmon Flies of Scotland, Stan Headley describes it as “death
on a hook” I wouldn’t disagree with him! The Near Perfect Buzzer is designed as a close copy of the lighter
coloured greyish midge which appears later in the season. Stan describes it as “extremely effective” I would
disagree this time and describe it as “more death on a hook”
The tying method for both flies is nearly identical. The only differences being in the body and the colour of the
hackle.
Instructions assume right-handed tyers.
103

104. Blushing Buzzer
HOOK – Partridge K14ST (Oliver Edwards Emerger)
THREAD – Black UTC70
BODY - Two layers of thread well varnished
WING BUDS – Four strands of Glo-Brite No 8 either side
THORAX – Two strands of Peacock Herl
HACKLE – Two turns of Black Hen
STEP 1
Attach the thread and wind down round the bend and back to the thorax. Whipfinish and detach the thread.
STEP
Apply two or three coats of varnish to the thread wraps and allow to dry.
STEP 3
Reatach the thread.
104

105. Then tie in four strand of Glo-Brite under the shank with figure of eight wraps.
STEP 4
Tie in two strands of Peacock Herl
Then twist into a rope and wrap towards the eye.
105

106. STEP 5
Bring four strand of Glo-Brite up one side and tie off. Repeat with the other side and tie off.
STEP 6
Tie in the black hen hackle.
Then wrap, no more than two turns, and tie off.
106

107. STEP 7
Whipfinish and varnish for the completed fly.
The Near Perfect Buzzer
HOOK – Partridge K14ST (Oliver Edwards Emerger)
THREAD – Black UTC70
BODY - Varnished stripped Peacock Quill
WING BUDS – Four strands of Glo-Brite No 8 either side
THORAX – Two strands of Peacock Herl
HACKLE – Two turns of Grey Dun Hen.
STEP 1
Tie in and wrap the quill to form the body, then tie off and whipfinish as above.
107

108. STEP 2
Apply two or three coats of varnish to the quill and allow to dry.
STEP 3
Follow STEPS 3,4,5,6 and 7 steps above, substituting Grey Dun Hen for the hackle for the completed fly.
Both Buzzers side by side. Near Perfect on the left and Blushing Buzzer on the right.
I usually form the bodys on several of these first, completing the tying when the varnish has dried
Don’t forget to allow the varnish to dry between coats.
108

109. The GB Damsel Nymph
Here is at last the finalised version for tying for the Glass Bead Damsel Nymph that I trialled with several
members of the forum with some really spectacular results for some.
I would like to thank all who helped prove this pattern and sent back their results of the testing, without
their help I would not be able to say that this is a proven fish taker. I read in TF one time that a fly is not a
fly unless it has caught at least 50 fish in different circumstances and waters, well this has managed to do so
easily and I feel confident enough to release it for your perusal!
First, the testimonials -
"Brief opinion of lure……Very nice smooth action in the water, very visable, gets to depth at a good pace.
Very invoking early in retrieve .Brought several fish out from deep lies"
Fished in 3 venues with a total of 14 fish up to 6lbs in weight
“I have had a play at my local fishery with the new fly, I had 10 the first time I tried it, in about 1.5 hrs,
second time 5 same time span, then the last time I went 8, mainly on floating line.
I also got a novice to give it a go, he usually catches 2-3 a day, he had that in a hour”
“Good news and bad news in reference to your glass bead fly. Went on a little trip to Carsington yesterday.
Its a very big reservoir. Started fishing at 8.30am. By 11am.....nothing (please take into consideration
having never fished there before). Tried all kinds of things, and still nothing. Out came your fly. A fish came
to the fly after 10 mins. To cut a long story short. Caught 7 fish, and 6 of them were on your fly. The 7th
wasn't on your fly, because, when casting toward some bank trees, it must have got caught on a sunken tree
root, or something, and the only way to get free was to break myself and leave the fly on the root
somewhere. My friend who was at the side of me all day, didn't catch a fish. He would maybe consider
himself the slightly weaker fisherman out of the 2 of us, but not to the point where he would blank and i
would have a good day.More likely he would blank and i might have 1 or 2, or i would have 7 or 8 and he
would have 3 or 4. I had quite a few knocks, and he didn't really have any, while fishing something as close
as possible to your fly (gold head damsel). Hope this gives you some indication of how it performs
(intermediate line, figure of 8 medium retrieve).”
And from yet another tester who fished at seven different fisheries and caught at all with one going to 14 lb
on a floating line, “ Good all rounder, great for Damsel fishing, would like to see more with different beads,
Cheers!”
“Gave your flee a go on Saturday at Rescobie but the fish were hard on the buzzers, so it wasn't the best
time. Gave it 1/2 hour without a touch but I was getting frustrated with so many feeding fish all around.
Eventually decided to strip it in and put buzzers back on when a large pike (10lb +) took it right at the boat -
I just about sh1t myself
Anyway had the pike on for a couple of minutes before my leader gave way.
Sorry for the brief test but at least it went out in style”
“A great little lure, I would say call it the STN - See through nymph
Had some success with it. Took three lovely fish, all rainbows to the STN !!
26th May - Carsington water - Only had one fish all evening to the STN, a few taps and pulls but only
managed to connect to the one Rainbow. Floating line, long leader
4th June - Club water (4 acre pit) - took four fish, 2 to the STN and 2 to Montana - Floating line, long leader
- very fast retrieve
Not had a good time of it lately, the club lake has plenty of damsels hatching off but the shallows are filling
up with weed/algae scum only way to hit the fish I’ve found is with a fast retrieve to keep the flies nice and
high above the weed..”
109

110. "A nice looking lure, worked quite well. I liked the CDC hackle but did not stand up to the trout's teeth for
too long"
Long enough to manage 44 fish for this tester at 2 venues over 6 visits though!
On with the tying!
Assuming as always that right handed tying prevails.
Materials -
Hook - Kamasan B830 or B800 size 10
Thread - UTC Black & UTC OLive
Tail - Olive Marabou
Underbody - SIiver Mylar Tinsel
Body - Translucent Green Beads
Hackle - Mid Olive CDC
Thread up your hook with the black thread up to the start of the bend.
Catch in the silver mylar tinsel and return the thread to a point behind the eye
Follow this with the silver mylar right up to behind the eye.
110

111. Build up an 'eye' with the thread and whip finish, cutting off the thread. This step requires a little practice to
get right as the first bead has to pop on to this 'eye'
Slip the eye bead onto the hook and pop into place over the eye, I use the handle end of my scissors to do
this with the eye resting on the table.
Select a CDC feather with longish mobile fibres and tie this tight behind the eye bead ensuring that the fibres
face towards the eye - the opposite of most tyings
111

112. Make a tapered whip finish and remove the thread
Slip on the remaining green glass beads and re-attach your thread making a stop for the beads.
112

113. Select the marabou for the tail and tie in, there is no need to tidy this up as it adds to the fly
Whip finish to a taper
113

114. Varnish at least once with SHHAN to complete the fly.
Note - you can use beads that are already silvered through the hole and omit the silver mylar stage.
114

115. Headlamp Damsel Nymph
After fooling around with the other stuff for the Bead Swap I started in on these as they have been working
well this year for me when fished deep and slow, so get yourself at the vice and we will get it on.
Materials -
Hook - Kamasan B175
Thread - UTC 140 Olive
Tail/Body - CDC Medium Olive feather
Rib - Fine Black Holographic Mylar
Hackle - Olive ****** Hackle Tips (left overs from Murragh!)
Eyes - Small Silvered Light Green Seed Beads
Before starting on the tying it is advisable to prepare the headlamp eyes first for as many as you are going
to make up.
Take two of the beads and slip them on to some fine nylon, in this case 6lb Drennan Double Strength, and
tie an overhand knot pulling it tight to place the beads side by side, follow this with another two overhand
knots making sure each is as tight as possible without breaking the nylon. If you are making a few, just use
one length and keep adding pairs of seed beads leaving a gap of about 1 1/2" between each pair.
Prepare the thread on the hook taking it about halfway down from the eye and trim off the tag
Cut a set of eyes from the prepared string by cutting in the middle of the gap. Catch these in at the end of
the thread by holding the nylon tags and wind your thread towards the head
115

116. Adjust the position of the eyes backwards by pulling the nylon tags or forwards by pulling the eyes before
lashing into position with a few figure of eight turns. If the eye is not level, level it up now before returning
the thread down the shank to the start of the bend
Catch in the mylar for the rib with a couple of turns
Pull your CDC feather through your fingers to draw the fibres back towards the tip
Place on the hook and catch into position with the thread with a couple of turns that are not too tight
116

117. Pull the feather through until you get the desired tail length and secure with two tight turns then return the
thread to behind the eyes under the feather
Wrap the feather up the shank to behind the head and secure with tight turns (you could leave it like this
and whip finish for an interesting parachute fly!)
Cut off the excess feather and then with a couple of turns of the mylar over the thread, run the rib up to
behind the head and secure in position
117

118. Catch in your hackle tip and run the thread back down the body for a couple of turns, this helps ensure the
fly does not fall apart in use!
Wrap the hackle round the body with about 4 - 5 turns to produce a reasonable sized thorax
Trim off the remainder of the hackle tip and whip finish the head from above the eyes before cutting the
thread. Now you can get rid of any straggly looking bits before varnishing the head by just pulling them off
in the case of the CDC or trimming with scissors if you want a perfect looking nymph.
Taking your dubbing needle, as I do, dip it into the varnish and let the first big drop fall off back into the
bottle and then apply the second between the eyes, the varnish will soak back and then add another droplet
that will seep into the hackle base giving a better thorax definition. Job done!
118

119. 119

120. Hydropsyche
Bit of a pigs ear this one but it was tied between reinstalling windows and all other progs, don't you just love
these viruses.
Hook: Curved grub
Thread: 8/0 to match colour of insect.
Body: Latex sheet/thin skin/body skin etc
Gills: Ostrich
Legs: Pheasant tail fibres pulled sideways off the stem.
Extra bobbin needed to tie off body.
Weight hook and smooth off body.
Turn hook in vice so you can get to the bend and tie in a fluffy feather from the back of a partridge feather.
Snip off stem to make a V shape and trim to size
120

121. Put hook back to normal position and tie in body, then tie in gills under the hook. Leave bobbin at tie in
point.
Wind on body, first two turns have a bit of pressure on then ease off, when you get two turns from the head
put pressure back on. Tie off with other bobbin
121

122. Tie in gills by winding the thread at the back of the overlaps, make sure the gills stay in the middle of the fly.
Turning the vice as you do this helps.
Tie in legs by slipping under the thread, pull to size
122

123. Put some tension on the thread and the legs pop up, take one turn forward. Snip off butts.
Tie in other two sets of legs the same way, colour fly with marker and varnish head.
123

124. Take your time with the legs and get the feet pointing the same way and brush out any gills that are tied
down (not like this one).
124

125. Little Pinkie
As I've just got my hands on a new camera(actually an old one from a forum member-cheers Brian), I
thought I'd try and post a "how to".
Appologies for the pictures, I don't have anything like a studio set-up but at least you'll get a pretty good
idea. I still need to learn about white balance, depth of focus, lighting etc. Any tips welcome.
LITTLE PINKIE a Shrimp obviously.
Hook-Curved shank scud #18,#16(shown here),#14,#12. Whatever you have knocking about, I really rate
the Varivas 2200 but this was what was to hand, it'll catch me fish or the bottom!
Thread-GSP(whatever make you prefer!)pink or white coloured pink with a marker
Bead-Tungsten slotted black, sized to suit the hook/weight required. 2.3mm for this one.
Extra ballast-Square lead wire.
Back- Clear "Flexi body" plactic strip, cut to a taper at one end (the tying in point).
Flashback(optional-Isn't everything?)-Opal Mirage Tinsel in medium or large for the big boys
Dubbing-70% Roman Moser Gammarus pink, 30% Hareline Ice Dub UV Fl. Hot Pink. 100% Ice Dub for extra
bright, dirty water, bugs.
1. Flatten the barb, if your chosen hook has one, thread on a bead, jam it in your vice and lay down some
thread base.
125

126. 2. Add lead wire. Be gentle with the thread tension if you arn't used to GSP as it will easily "cheese cut" the
lead.
Keep it on top of the hook shank. Tie in the front section first, leaving the rear half of the lead free of thread.
The front secured cut the lead at an angle and tie down...extra gentle on the fine cut section. Soak with
cement.
3. Repeat with a shorter length of lead....keep it all on top! This gives a nice slim(flat profile) which I like in
my shrimps, the grayling seem to aswell.
4. Tie in back followed by the opal .
126

127. 5. Take thread back to just behind the bead, add your dubbing and wind back to the "shell back tie in point".
6. Spin the thread to cord it, pull the back and flash over and tie it down with firm open ribs. Try to keep the
flash central. This can be tricky, especially on smaller ones like this, and the humped back tries to throw the
flash to one side...patience now!
7. Tie down behind the bead. Pull the back (and flash) as you cut it close in the crease of the bead. Whip
finish and add cement to the wraps.
127

128. 8. Now get picking the dubbing out with whatever pointy tool you prefer, to give the finished bug some leggy
action.
Flash back....whooo drug history!
These are small but weighty little critters that cut through turbulent water really well. It has been my top
grayling pattern for the last twelve months and I'm counting on it for a few more in the morning.
You can use a mono rib if you prefer but I don't like tying off mono, if I can help it...always builds bulk. The
GSP is pretty tough stuff so doesn't suffer too much from "trout tooth abuse".
It is easier to tie using more elastic back materials(Scud Back etc) but I've found these perish if left for a few
seasons, so I don't use 'em.
If you get through flies quicker than daddy trout in May then this won't be a problem for you. I tend to tie in
bursts, making lots of a pattern to last forever, just topping them up when required...may be years for rarely
used patterns.
A Rhyac teaser...
128

129. Heptageanid nymph...
Both the above are from my nymph box, they are used patterns both having caught fish.
These how toos can wait till my camera work improves.
129

130. Lumi Headed Cruncher by Request
This fly has caught me a lot of fish not only on Rutland but Grafham and Chew.
Top dropper pattern and deadly, tied with peacock instead of pheasant.
Dressing: -
Hook: - B175 I have used a 10, you can go smaller
Thread: - UTC 70 Fl.Yellow
Tail: - Greenwells Hen hackle fibres about 10 off them, I have used a whiting hen neck
Rib: - Fine Silver Oval 4 turns only
Body: - 2 Strands of peacock herl, I have used Dyed Flame Red by myself. Definite Advantage Range
Hackle: - Same as tail 2 turns only and pulling back as you wind.
Head: - UTC 70 Fl.Yellow
Step 1 : - Insert a B175 hook and run your thread to just past the point of the hook as shown: -
My Cape
Step 2: - Tie in your 8/10 strands of Greenwells hen hackle as shown: -
130

131. Step 3: - Tie in your silver rib making sure you only do so with 2 turns of thread so not to bulk up at the butt
of the fly: -
Step 4: - Tie in 2 strands of peacock Herl tips first and then run the thread to 3/4mm before the eye of the
hook. I then add a few drops of varnish to the thread and leave to get tacky for added security on the
peacock herl: -
131

132. Step 5: - Run the peacock in touching turns to the eye of the hook and tie down and trim: -
Step 6: - Be Careful here and trim the peacock into a carrot shape as shown, I usually only do one clip on
the top and one on the bottom with very sharp scissors: -
132

133. Step 7: - Rib the peacock with 4 turns of Silver Oval fine: -
Step 8: - Tie in your greenwells hackle as shown, you should get about 4 crunchers per hackle if you use a
whiting's: -
Step 9: - 2 Turns of hackle at the head pulling it backwards as you wind it and tie down and trim, then whip
finish and then varnish. Finished thats you first one tied Jim and I guess i'll need to stick them on my site
now
133

134. Oliver Edwards hydropsyche larva
Ok im gonna give it a try if i can post it.
Put an shrimphook in your vise and wrap flat lead on it
On the back of a partidge feather you find a small puffy feather,take this small feather.
Cut a small piece from the tip so you get a V shaped form.
134

135. Tie this in at the end of the hook,this it the tail
Take some nymphskin,cut it like this.
Tie this in at the end of the leadwrap,when tying in you pull the nymphskin.
Tie this to the tail.
135

136. Now tie in 3 ostrich herls at the underside of the hook.
Make a whipfinnish,dont cut of your tyingthread.
Now pull aside the ostich herls and tyingtread.
Wrap the nymphskin around the hook like this.
When u reach the hookeye make sure you stop on top with the nymphskin.
136

137. Above on the hookeye you fasten the nymphskin with very thin tread(i use spiderweb here)
When you got the nymphskin tighten a lil you can overwrap it with the tread and secure it,with spiderweb
you can use alot of thread without getting to bulky.
Whipfinnish the thread,now it should look like this 8) .
137

138. Now back to the end of the hook.
Try to wrap the thread into the wraps from the nympskin.
The ostrich herls you pull this way into the nymphskin,you have to pull a lil harder to make the thread pull in
deep.
Do this all the way around.
Tie like this around,stop when u have 3 segments over,wrap the first of the last 3 segments just with the
thread.
Cut of the ostrich herls.
Now the legs,pull of some pheasantfibers so u keep the lil hooks at the end of the fibers.
138

139. Pull one by one the pheasant fibers under the thread.
Pull them to lenght,then pull harder on the thread and make a wrap to the next segment.
By pulling harder on the thread the legs will come up straight.
Tie in this way all the legs.
Make a whipfinnish at the hookeye.
139

140. Collor the head section black and the body the collor that match the collor of the insect in your own water.
At last you secure the legs by putting on some headcement/varnish between the legs and the nympskin.
Ready is your fly.
140

141. Oliver Edwards yellow may emerger
Another one from his book.
Put an swimmingnymph hook in your vise
Wrap some flat lead on it
141

142. Now use very thin thread( i use spiderweb) and tie in the tails,any fibers you want.
Cut of a piece of flexibody,about 3 millimeter wide.
Tie this in behind the lead and come back to the tails,as you tie it in you pull it a lil.
142

143. Put on some fine dubbing and wrap till about 2/3 of the hook.
Wrap the flexibody over the dubbing and whipfinnish.
On the underside you tie in 2 pair of legs on each side,take any fibers you want.
143

144. Put on some fine dubbing and wrap behind and in front of the legs,this way the legs stand up .
Cut of a piece of swiss straw/raffene,about 5 millimeter wide and 5 cm long
Fold this in lenght and wide,tie in op top of the hook.
Pull the wings a lil down so they stand on the side of the body.
Tie on this a cdc feather.
144

145. Make 2 wraps with the cdc feather and whipfinnish
Cut of a piece of swiss straw/raffene,about 6 millimeter wide and 5 cm long.
Tie this in on top of the hook,try to keep it flat,this will come over the head section.
145

146. Make the eyes from mono and a lightner.
Tie in the eyes on top,just behind the hookeye.
Put on some fine dubbing and make the head,bring the thread back to the cdc feather.
146

147. Fold the swiss straw/raffene over the head,if you make it a lil wet it stay's smooth,and make a few wraps.
Put on some fine dubbing and wind towards the head.
Whipfinnish here and cut of the thread.
To bad just 20 pics can be in 1 topic,others in next posting
147

148. Quick GR PTN
This little nymph has been my saviour on many occasion and even during caenis hatches when all else fails.
Simple in construction and deadly in operation when fished high up during a caenis hatch for some reason.
My preferred tying is to use hen pheasant fibres but as you can see I have run out of them at present and
am using cock PT fibres. Enjoy!
One of these days I will reverse all the photos for you left handed tyers out there but let us assume right
handed tying for now.
Materials -
Hook - Kamasan B175 size 12
Thread - UTC Olive
Rib - Hot Yellow UTC brassie wire
Tail, abdomen, wingcase - 5 or 6 long PT fibres - hen or cock
Thorax - Gorse Yellow Seals Fur
Thread up your hook to the end of the shank
Catch in your tail fibres with a couple of turns and pull to length before tightening - about the length of the
hook is what I find best as it stops false takes
148

149. Catch in your wire rib with a couple of turns
Raise the fibres and run the thread up to the thorax point
Follow this with tight turns of the tail fibres and secure with thread
Make about 4 turns with the wire rib and tie in to the hook and break off by waggling the wire - this is a
good tip from Scotfly that does not leave any small stub sticking up that you get with cutting
149

150. Wax your thread and dub on a small amount of Gorse Yellow Seal's Fur
Wrap this tight to the fibres and return the thread up behind the eye of the hook
Pull the fibres over to form the wing case and wrap a couple of turns before cutting off the excess and double
whip finish the head. You can tidy up the dubbing by cutting away the excess around the thorax for a neat
finish but this is not really necessary
150

151. The finished GR PTN. I do not varnish the head as the nymph only lasts for about 4 fish before they have
damaged the tail whisks and it loses it's effectiveness.
Head for the nearest caenis hatch and be the envy of all other fly fishers around you as you successfully beat
the "White Death"!
The Pupa
Hook: Size 12 Curved Shank, Hayabusa used below.
Thread: White GSP or Powersilk
Underbody: Sticky back lead
Wing Buds: Raffia
Antennae: Porcupine Hair or Thin Cock Pheasant Tail
Abdomen & Thorax Cover: Nymph Skin
Gills: White Ostrich herl
Thorax: CDC Rope
Eyes: Yellow Mono (25lb)
The Pupa
Step 1
Lead the hook shank using lead sheet or wire.
151

152. Step 2
Attach the thread (leaving a tag at the tail) and tie in two strands of White Ostrich herl (tip first), and a
section of nymph skin.
Step 3
Wrap the nymph skin up the body to form a wasp shaped abdomen.
Step 4
152

153. Colour the abdomen and thorax cover using permanent marker.
Step 5
Varnish the abdomen and leave to dry.
Step 6
Pull the Ostrich herl forward (one on each side) and secure into place by wrapping the left over tag of thread
forward, following the body segments created by the nymph skin.
153

154. Step 7
Tie in the raffia wing buds, either brown/black, or as in this case a white raffia that has been coloured using
perma markers.
Step 8
Dub some grey CDC to form a rope (MP Magic Tool), and form the thorax, pull the tag of nymph skin back
over at this point to form the thorax cover.
Step 9
Take a small section of yellow mono (25lb) and burn the ends using a lighter to create a small set of eyes,
tie in place and colour the end of the eyes using a black perma pen.
154

155. Step 10
Pull the nymph skin tag back over the eyes, secure in place, then tie in the antennae. Whip finish and add a
drop of varnish to the thorax cover.
Finished Pupa - Top
Finished Pupa - Underside
155

156. Thin Skin Damsel
Ok here goes,
Hook: Kamasan B800 Size 10
Thread: Danvilles Light Olive, & Danvilles Spiderweb
Eyes: 12LB Nylon with 2 Brown Beads
Wing Case: Light Olive Thin Skin
Thorax: Mini UV Straggle Olive
Abdomen: Same as Wingcase
Tail: Definite Advantage Sunburst Collection Damsel Olive Marabou
Legs: Wapsi Span-Flex Medium Olive
Veniards Adhesive Lead Foil
Step 1
Fix Hook in the Vice, and using adhesive lead foil about 2mm thick start to wrap it in touching turns up the
156

157. shank. Stopping just short of the hook eye, double back and form a small thorax.
Step 2
Catch in the light olive thread behind the shoulders of the hook and form a thread base finishing up at the
thorax
Step 3
Catch in the Thin Skin Wing Case and pull forward. Note: the strip should be about 2mm thick. Run the
thread forward and stop behind the eye
Step 4
Catch in the eyes
Step 5
Run the thread all the way down until it comes off the lead foil
157

158. Step 6
Catch in the Marabou Tail not to much though as Damsels don't have big bushy tails, but be careful not to
put it up the shank, or on the lead, trim off the waste and take the thread up to the thorax and back down
making a nice even underbody. Take the Thin Skin for the abdomen about 2-3mm thick and cut a tying in
point and catch in at the tail as well
Step 7
Now run the thread up to the point behind the thorax
Step 8
Wrap the Thin Skin in overlapping turns up to the thorax to form a segmented body and tie off
Step 9
158

159. Tie in some UV Micro Olive Straggle. Take the thread behind the straggle as you will need it for the wing case
to sit properly
Step 10
Form the thorax making sure you cover the lead foil and finish where your thread was left in the previous
step
Step 11
Trim some of the Straggle to suit. Now turn the fly or vice 180 degress so that the fly is upsdie down. Catch
in your Spiderweb at the back of the thorax, a couple of turns should do and catch in the first and second
and third pair of legs.
Step 12
Using a Olive marker pen colour in any thread that you can see
159

160. Step 13
Switch back to your light olive thread catch it in at the back of the thorax, and pull the wingcase over and
secure with a couple of wraps with thread
Step 14
Colour the thread in with the marker pen, and take off the vice and hold it up so the the fly is facing the
ceiling, and using a fly tyers hotpoint buckle the legs. Be careful you don't amputate it!
Step 15
Do the same for all 6 legs so the it looks like so, and trim the legs to length
160

161. And thats your fly complete
And there ya go.
You can use a red bead for the head etc etc whatever tickles your fancy. The good thing is the legs give it
plenty of movement so that it looks like the real thing.
161

162. Video Buzzer
This is the Video Buzzer, shown to me many years ago by my great friend Barrie Cook.
It is my most successful buzzer, beating every buzzer I have tried by a country mile, that includes flexi
buzzers, epoxy buzzers etc.
Instruction assume right-handed tyers
HOOK - Kamasan B175 8-16
THREAD – Black UTC 70
BREATHERS- glo-brite fluorescent multiyarn (or similar)
BODY- 2mm wide strip of Video tape (Taken from an old VHS video)
RIB -Silver wire
THORAX -Peacock Herl
STEP 1
Mount the hook in the vice and attach the thread.
162

163. STEP2
Tie in a length of multiyarn. Bind down about half way, then cut some of the yarn away. This stage is
optional, if you want to leave the yarn as a full strand you can.
Continue wrapping round the bend, catch in the silver rib as you go.
STEP 3
Cut a length of video tape into a 2mm wide strip and cut a point on the end.
Tie in, taking the thread back to the point shown.
163

164. STEP 4
Wind the Video tape to form a neat body.
Followed by the wire rib. I usually cut the tail breathers to length at this point.
STEP 5
Catch in 2 or 3 Peacock Herl fibres.
164

165. STEP 6
Twist the Herl into a rope and wind towards the eye, tie in and trim off waste
STEP 7
Form a neat head, whipfinish and varnish. Trim the breathers to length for the completed fly.
Unfortunately the pictures do not do justice to the body of this buzzer, it really glistens when wet.
165

166. It's Another Wire Buzzer
It's Another Wire Buzzer.
My first attempt at a Step by Step with acknowledgement for much help and advice from Scotfly.
I first saw this particular pattern at the Dutch Fly Fair in September 2002 where it was being demonstrated
by Elie Beerten, so I do not claim any originality for this fly.
Materials you will need:
Thread : Black UNI-Thread Size 8/0
Hook: Size 12 to 16 Curved Grub Hook - Hyabusa 384 or equivalent
Body: UTC Ultra Wire – I use the BR size on 12’s
166

167. Wing buds: Orange glo-brite floss No 7
Thorax: Black or very dark mole dubbed onto thread
Step 1
Fix the hook in the vice with as much of the shank showing as possible. Prepare the wire strands by
measuring off lengths of about 4 to 5 inches. Use several lengths of the same colour to achieve the desired
effect. In this example, three black, one gold and two red have been used
Step 2
Keeping tension on the wire, place the strands over the shank and begin to wind them along the hook. Do be
sure to keep the strands flat as you make each turn. There should be no overlap. Note that there is no
thread on the hook at this time.
Step 3
Add further wraps and push the earlier wraps back round the bend of the hook until two thirds of the shank
has been covered.
167

168. Step 4
Apply a touch of superglue along the wire to fix it in place and leave to dry.
Step 5
The excess wire should then be removed and this is best done by cutting the wires (with an old pair of
scissors) as close to the hook shank as possible.
Step 6
Using a pair of long nose pliers, the ends of the wires should be turned in the same direction as the wraps so
that they lie flat along the shank of the hook
168

169. Step 7
A couple of coats of Sally Hansen or similar varnish should then be applied and again left to dry.
Step 8
When the varnish is dry, tie on some black thread behind the eye and catch in two strands of the orange glo-
brite floss on either side of the body.
Step 9
Take a pinch of black mole and dub it onto the thread. Wind this fur up to the eye to form a slim thorax.
169

170. Step 10
Pull the strands of orange floss up to the eye so that they lie along either side of the thorax then bind them
down and trim the excess
Step 11
Finally build a neat head, whip finish and varnish.
I find it easiest to do stages 1 to 7 for several flies, so that when the last one has reached stage 7, the first
one is ready for the varnish. I apply the varnish and then set aside for another day so there is no chance of
spoiling the gloss finish by handling it whilst the varnish is wet.
170