Beaucatcher Fly Fishing
Premier Fly Fishing Services
Menu:
Blue RAT Atlantic salmon hairwing
Poul Jorgensen pattern
tied by Bruce E. Harang
Materials:
Hook: Salmon
Iron to suit (illustrated Partridge Salmon Double Code Q)
Thread: Gudebröd 6/0, light color, here BCS 94 Tan
Tag:
Gold Oval Tinsel, size fine
Tail:
Four short peacock sword fibers
Rib: Gold
Oval Tinsel, size to suit
Body:
Rear half, silver doctor blue floss; front half, peacock herl
Veiling:
Length of blue floss over rear body half
Wing: Gray
Fox guard hair, not stacked
Cheeks:
Jungle cock eyes and blue kingfisher (or substitute)
Hackle:
A small bunch of grizzly hackle fibers tied over the wing, with a similar bunch
tied in as a throat,
both well spread out
Head: Gudebröd 6/0, BCS 0085 Red or 0F85 Fluorescent Red
Tying Instructions:
1. Mount an up eye return loop salmon double hook (or other salmon iron of your choice) in your vise.
2. Attach the thread at the point the wings will be tied in and wrap a smooth flat thread base to a point just above the point of the hook. If you are using an in-line rotary vise an easy method is to use one finger of your working hand as a moving thread bobbin holder and use the off hand to turn the vise while moving the thread rearward. If you start with an untwisted thread and let the bobbin hang free you will create a very thin flat thread base. I prefer to use a very light working thread such that if the materials over it become translucent in the water their colors are not muddied by a dark background.
3. At the point midway between the hook point and the point of the barb tie in the fine gold oval tinsel on the bottom of the hook. Wrap the oval tinsel about 5 turns toward the back of the hook and bring the tag end from the underside of the hook shank through the double hook points and over the top of the tinsel wraps tying it off at the front of the wraps on top of the hook shank.
4. Tie in four peacock sword fibers for the tail having a length no longer than to the end of the hook bends as well as a length of gold oval tinsel of a larger size than the tag, bind all down including the tail fiber butts on top of the hook shank and the ribbing butt on the bottom of the hook shank to the middle of the hook shank cutting off all remaining butts.
5. Tie in a length of silver doctor blue silk floss with a butt facing forward of about one inch. Then wrap the floss back to the tail tie in point and up tight against the tinsel tag and then back to the starting point. Tie off the floss with two or three wraps of tying thread.
6. Fold the floss butt back over the floss body and tie down over the floss body tie down point with several tight thread wraps. Finally, cut this floss veiling at the midpoint of the tail.
7. Form a dubbing loop of tying thread up against the front of the floss body and then tie in three peacock herls by their cut back tips. Twist the three peacock herls and the dubbing loop thread together to form a chenille wrapping the resulting chenille forward to the wing tie in position slightly behind the hook eye and tie off with tight thread wraps and cut off the excess.
8. Cut a small bunch of
hair from Gray Fox hide piece by first separating the bunch and holding
it at right angles to the hide before cutting. Now remove the short
hairs and most of the under fur by holding the tips in one hand and
pulling these unwanted portions out with the other hand. For a right
hand tyer mounting the wing is easiest done if the right hand is used to
pull out the unwanted materials.
9. Grasp the cleaned bunch of
hair by the butts and hold over the hook shank to measure the proper
length reaching from the wing tie in point to the end of the tail. Then
switch hands and holding the hair bunch just to the rear of the tie in
point cut the butts in a clean square cut.
10. Without releasing your grip on the hair with
your off hand place the hair on top of the hook shank at the tie in
point, apply a little cement (here Dave's Fleximent diluted water thin
with solvent) and bind onto the hook up against the front of the peacock
herl body with four or five tie thread wraps. Release the hair and
inspect to see that all the hair is on the top of the hook shank and
that there remains room for making a small proportional head. Then bind
down the butts of the hair, whip finish the working thread, and cut off
the working thread.
11. Tie in the red thread which will be used to
make the head and wrap a layer of red thread over the exposed working
thread back to the wing tie in point.
12. Tie in a jungle cock nail on each side of
the wing reaching back to the midpoint of the wing and then tie a blue
kingfisher feather reaching to the middle of, and over, the jungle cock
nail on each side.
13. Tie in a grizzly "false hackle" throat
by tying in a small bunch of grizzly fibers on the bottom and similar
bunches on the lower sides of the hook shank and another small bunch on
the top of the hook shank such that the jungle cock and kingfisher
cheeks are not covered.
14. Wrap a small proportional head,
whip finish, coat with a penetrating head cement, and several coats of
Sally Hansen Hard as Nails polish.
© 2010 Bruce E Harang
Contact
360-903-4693