OnLine Fly Tying Course Part #5
On Line Fly Tying Course Part #5 Tying In A “Wispy” Trailing Shuck Of Antron Yarn
For many, catching a trout on a dry fly 
represents the ultimate fly fishing experience. In fact, there are scores of fly fishers who will use nothing else believing that it is the only "pure" way to pursue the sport. As their name suggests, they are patterns meant to be fished on the water’s surface, as opposed to underneath it. There are several methods and materials that incorporated into a fly to make it float, but they all pretty much rely on one, or both of the following~#1 Buoyant materials. Whether man made materials that have air bubbles trapped in them, like closed-cell foam, naturally occurring versions of that same idea….like animal hair fibers that are hollow, the point is that they trap air. Tie them onto/into a fly and you’re off to a good start! #2 Surface tension of water. Its hard to imagine the surface of water to have sort of elastic properties, but it does. There is lots of information available on the science involved, but imagine the types of objects that seem to float effortlessly. I found this description that does a pretty good job of explaining it~
If the solid object is *hydrophobic* ("water fearing"),the unfavorable interactions between the water surface and the object make it difficult to wet the surface. Two forces now come into play — the energy it would take to overcome this repulsion and the force of gravity.
If the force of gravity is strong enough, it will prevail and the object will sink (assuming that the object has a density greater than water). If the gravitational force is less than the surface tension then the object will float on the surface of the water.
So, fly patterns are designed to exploit this. Hackled dries use materials similar in dimension the size of insect legs to keep afloat.
Dry flies that incorporate CDC (cul de canard) do the same, with the added advantages of being slightly oily, and having a natural ability to trap tiny air bubbles. It would be impossible to describe even a fraction of the ways tiers have come up with to keep their patterns floating, so it’ll move on….cut to the chase!
Dry flies are fun to use and, at the right times, can be the most effective way to catch fish. I think they are essential to any fly fisher’s arsenal of fly patterns, but they need not be difficult, expensive or time consuming to tie. Some dries fall into the category of "realistic" (hatch-matching) others into the category of "attractor." Some anglers fish this latter category of attractors most often as they tend to have a generic, "bugginess" to them and might suggest any one of a number of natural insects. To many, myself included, this is an advantage that works more often than not. In this fifth installment, I’ll be illustrating one of the most effective attractor dry fly patterns in my fly box. It is a variation of a pattern given to me years ago by a stranger on one of our busiest trout rivers here in Southern Ontario. It rides low, like an emerger, but is quite visible due it’s wing. I’ve seen almost identical patterns since, but its a deadly pattern just the same.
The "Trailing Shuck" tail. This is a winning idea! Adult, air breathing aquatic insects like caddis flies and mayflies emerge from their pupal/nymphal skin/shucks on, or near the surface of the river or lake just prior to taking flight. In fact, depending on the weather/temperature, they can remain trapped…half emerged for some time. Trout are used to seeing these bugs with this shuck still attached and can even key in on them, refusing patterns WITHOUT this feature. The beauty of this pattern is that you can fish it with this tail, or trim it off. You can tie it in this color, or in specific hatch-matching colors. Bigger/smaller/different color wings….wing materials….curved shank hook and short wing to suggest an emerger…
LESSON #5
This one will address;
1.Ting in a "wispy" trailing shuck of antron yarn
2.Cutting, and preparing deer hair for a wing
3.Using the above (and other skills form this series) to tie a GREAT dry fly!
Dry Fly #1
Hook:Any standard dry fly hook, size #20-#14
Thread:Rusty dun 8/0 (tan or grey is fine)
Tail:Antron yarn, rusty brown/dirty yellow
Body:Synthetic dubbing, light olive (Scintilla #30 used here)
Wing:Coastal Deer hair
All three of these are fine, coastal deer hair. The bottom is natural (the one I use most) the middle is "light" and the top is "bleached."
This material is not expensive and each patch will yield 50 or more flies. Deer hair is naturally buoyant and does a great job of floating this pattern. We’ll be using it for the wing.
With your hook in the vise, start your thread and wind it back to the bend. Prepare your antron. Actual antron yarn is 4 ply, but the spooled antron works well too. Separate the fibers and clip a short length from the bunch.
Tie it on, creating your tail/trailing shuck. It should look sort of "whispy" and uneven at the end and be almost as long as the hook itself. (shorter if you prefer)
Dub a body slightly thicker near the bend, tapering smaller towards the eye of the hook.
Preparing your deer hair. This photo illustrates both the deer hair and the fuzzy underfur. Deer hair~good. Underfur~not so good.
Grab a small bunch of deer hair by the tips and pull it perpendicular to the hide. Trim the bunch close TO the hide as shown.
With the tips still pinched, "flick" the butt ends a few times, or until the underfur starts to separate from the bunch as shown.
Simply remove as much as you can and discard it.
Grab the butt ends, as shown, and remove any underfur visible. If there are any hairs that are visibly longer than the rest, remove and discard them. NOTE:There is a great tool called a hair stacker that is designed to align the tips of the hairs perfectly. I use hair stackers often, but never for this pattern.
Holding the butt ends of the bunch of hair, measure the tips against the fly. They should extend past the bend by about the size of the hook’s gape. NOTE:Pinch the hair, and the fly as shown. This will help to keep the hair ON TOP of the hook shank where it belongs.
Using your left thumb and forefinger, pinch the fly and tips of the deer hair to hold it in place.
Remove your left hand to reveal the butts of the deer hair and hook eye.
Its important to have less than 3/4" of thread between the fly and the tip of the bobbin before you do this. Bring your thread up and slip it between your thumb and forefinger as shown. Pinch the thread.
Pull a little bit of thread from the bobbin, rotate it (slack) behind the eye of the hook and start to increase the tension. Repeat. You’ll notice that the butt ends of the deer hair begin to flare upwards.
Still pinching, slide your fingers back to expose the tie-in point of the deer hair and make 3-4 tight wraps of thread. Release your
fingers~this is what you’ll see.
NOTE:Some underfur is still present, but it does not seem to bother the fish! (I tie these fast, fish them with no fear of losing them!)
Pinch the butt ends of the bunch of deer hair and pull them back as shown. Make several tight wraps of thread. This not only secures the deer hair a bit more, but it helps to keep the hook eye exposed. (makes tying this fly on a little easier!)
Make 2-3 half hitches just behind the eye of the hook. Cut the thread.
Add a drop of diluted head cement here….
and here at the tie-in point of the deer hair.
Trim the butt ends off as shown, leaving some hair in place.
The finished fly!
There you have it! A great dry fly pattern that is VERY effective and not too difficult to learn. Materials are inexpensive and readily available. This is a fly I tie/use in some quantity and fish it in size #20-#22 for blue winged olive hatches in the spring/fall and during caddis hatches all season long. I do carry variations that use elk hair for the wing, one even uses bleached moose mane. (beautiful rust color…) Tie it to suit the size/color of the naturals you find in your own rivers.
Good Luck!
