Complete White River Fly Fishing Website

Step 1.

As you can see I've already started the thread and tied the tinsel up to the eye. If you want to learn how to do this step go to my Mickey Finn pattern and it will show you how to do this step.

You’ll want to tie the bottom (belly) first. The key to measuring the length is to make it just passed the bend of the hook. You can do this two ways, but I like to cut my ends before tying it in. If you’re not comfortable with that then tie in the bucktail and cut the excess off after you tie it in real good. Also, if you notice I leave enough room behind the eye so you can have the head form after you fold the bucktail over.

Note: It may take you a few times to get the measurement to the desired length that you want. One way I do this is make a few turns to secure the bucktail then fold the front back and see where the bucktail aligns with the bend of the hook. If it's too long you can pull it forward or back to gage the desired length you want. Once you have done that you can secure the bucktail.

Step 4.

Tie in the chartreuse the same way you did the white. Now advance your thread back to the stopping point (where the ends you cut off facing towards the bend of the hook) to get ready to fold over the chartreuse. Don't try to fold both over at the same time.

Step 5.

Turn the hook upside down and tie down the white bucktail. The thread should still be in the same place from tying down the chartreuse. If you notice any small pieces sticking out from the eye then you didn’t get them out when you were prepping the bucktail. It’s pretty crucial that all are long and the same length.

Step 6.

Make a little thread base and whip finish the thread off. It’s really up to you, but sometimes I’ll color the thread with a red prismacolor marker to form a gill.

Make a nice even coat of epoxy. I also run it over the red thread to make it stand out more.