In the two previous lessons you have been told to place the hook in the vise and cautioned that you must tighten the jaws of the vise firmly on the hook to prevent it from slipping. You have also learned to measure off and wax the thread. You have been given a description of the method of attaching the tying silk to the hook, and told to wrap the tying silk back to the bend of the hook and attach it there with a half-hitch. This process was exactly the same in both previous lessons. These steps are the first ones to take for almost all flies that are tied. So, to avoid repeating the same basic instructions at the beginning of each lesson you are, unless other instructions are specifically given, hereafter to assume that this is the first step to take at the beginning of each lesson. Unless there are special variations to be brought to your attention we shall from now on start off each lesson on the theory that the tying silk is already half-hitched at the bend of the hook.

As the fly which you will tie in this lesson is a bit more difficult I suggest you use a No. 6 hook for this lesson. With the tying silk half-hitched at the bend of the hook you are ready to place on the hook the first of the materials. On this fly there is both a tip and a tail to be put in place at the bend of the hook.

The first material we shall place on the hook is gold tinsel, which will be used for the tip. Cut off 6 or 8 inches of narrow gold tinsel and tie one end of it on the bend of the hook where the tying silk is now half-hitched. The other end of the tinsel will extend out over the bend of the hook. Now take the tinsel in two fingers of your right hand and, using your left hand also to guide it, wrap the tinsel, clockwise, down over bend of the hook about 3/16th of an inch, rotating the tinsel around the shank. After you have gone about 3/16th of an inch down the hook wrap the tinsel back up the hook to the point where the tying silk is attached to the hook. With the tying silk cross over the tinsel at the same spot where the tying silk is now attached to the shank of the hook, make 2 or 3 turns around it and then a half-hitch. You may now cut off the remainder of the piece of tinsel. The next step is to put on the tail. On this fly the tail is made of fibres of dyed red hackle. You will remember, from the first lesson, that you must pull off all of the webby fibres at the base of the hackle feather before you remove the fibres to be used in making the tail. With the hackle feather free of webbed fibres you take 6 or 8 fibres, and pull them off the quill. Place them on top of hook, with the tips of the fibres extending out beyond the bend a distance equal to two-thirds the length of the shank of the hook. Now, holding the fibres in place between the thumb and forefinger of your left hand, tie them in place with the up and down sweep of the tying silk between the balls of your fingers and the shank of the hook. Wrap the silk around 3 or 4 times and make a half hitch.

Next, take about 8 or 10 inches of double-strand yellow floss from your spool and cut this off. This is material for the body. Also, take about 6 or 8 inches of narrow gold tinsel, using either the piece left over from the tip or cutting off another piece from the spool. Pick up both yellow floss and gold tinsel and place one end of each piece of material together so that ends of both materials are evenly matched. With free ends of floss and tinsel extending out over bend of hook place matched ends of the materials on top of the shank of the hook, at the bend of the hook, and tie them together with 3 or 4 wraps of tying silk and a half-hitch. After you have tied these on with the tying silk, wrap tying silk, in clockwise spirals, to a point 3/l6ths of an inch from the eye of the hook and attach it there with a half-hitch.

Place gold tinsel back over the bend of hook and pick up the yellow floss. Spiral the floss back over tying silk 1 or 2 turns to the spot where the red hackle tail is tied, covering all of the material back to this point. Then spiral the floss around the shank of hook very evenly to the spot where the tying silk is now attached to the hook; cross over the strands of floss with the tying silk and wrap 2 or 3 turns around the floss with the silk, and make a half-hitch. After you have done this you may cut off the surplus yellow floss.

The next step is to place the ribbing on the fly, another part which we first encounter at this time. Take the strand of gold tinsel, which you have placed over the bend of the hook while tying on the body material, and wrap it in widely-spaced, even spirals around the body material on the shank of the hook; take only 4 turns, no more, around hook up to the spot where tying silk is tied at the present time. There, cross over tinsel with tying silk and make 2 or 3 wraps around tinsel, finishing with a half-hitch, so that tinsel will be firmly attached and will not unravel. Cut off surplus tinsel and you have completed body of the fly.

The next step is to put on the hackle. The material for the hackle on this fly is brown hackle. This fly is a wet fly, one which will not stay on top of the water but will sink under its surface. Being a wet fly the hackle must be tied on "wet," in the manner that was shown in the second lesson. After selecting a feather of the appropriate size for this fly (in the way indicated in the previous lessons), you should tie the hackle feather to the hook with the convex — shiny —side facing you, and the cupped—dull—side against the body of the shank of the hook. Be sure to remove the major part of the webby fibres on the hackle feather before tying it on. Tie the base of the brown hackle at the spot where the tying silk is attached to the hook. Then, with your hackle pliers grasp the end of the hackle feather and wrap the hackle around the hook, at the spot where the tying silk is attached, making 5 complete turns around the hook. Remember that the shiny side of the hackle, as you wrap it on, must be toward the front, or eye, of the fly. After making 5 turns around the hook with the hackle, bring the tip forward in front of the tying silk, cross over the quill of the feather with the tying silk, making 2 or 3 turns around and then make a half-hitch. That completed, cut off the tip of the remaining hackle feather.

The next step will be placing the wing on the fly. This, also, is another part of a fly not encountered in previous lessons and it is a part which requires a great deal of care in placing it in position. One of the difficulties which the beginning fly tyer frequently encounters is that of not having adequate space in front of the hackle to tie on the wing. If you find that the hackle fibres of your fly extend forward, possibly out over the eye of the hook, you can get them out of the way in the following manner. With the thumb and fingers of your left hand held together, bring them back across the eye of the hook and over the hackle fibres, pushing them back so that you can make a very few turns of the tying silk against the base, and just in front, of the hackle fibres wrapped on the shank of the hook. This will help to direct the fibres back toward the bend of the hook, thus giving you more room in which to place the wings on the fly. Do not worry too much about the appearance of your first fly. The important thing is for you to get the idea of applying the materials on the hook. With experience you will see the faults in your tying method and you will do much better on the flies you make later. Never be satisfied with making just one fly of a pattern. Make five or six, or make enough, even to a dozen or more, until you are sure the fly is made correctly. You will be making flies for a long time and fishing with them. You want them to be good so your fishing will be better than it ever was when you bought other people's flies.

Before you begin to tie on the wings of this fly there is one other hint which I think you will find helpful. In tying a wet fly you place the wings over the top of the hackle which you have previously tied on the hook. To make more room for the wings I suggest that, with your fingers, you separate the hackle fibres on the top of the fly, pushing them down and back on each side of the hook. This opens a space on the top of the hook for the wing and eliminates the difficulty of the wing fibres becoming jammed against the fibres on the top of the hook.

Select a Mallard breast or flank feather, probably one that is fairly large as you are going to have a large wing on this fly. In selecting the feather be sure that the quill is in the center of the feather, or fairly close to the center of the feather. There are quite a number of breast feathers on a Mallard duck, but there are not too many of them that have the quill running right down the center of the feather. On one side of a duck the quills of the breast feathers are a little on one side, and the farther out on the side of the bird the feathers are the farther the quill is from its center. And, feathers from the other side of the duck's breast have quills which run off center on the opposite side of the feather. The breast feathers of all ducks are about the same as to the position of the quill in the feather, even though the markings on the feathers may be different. You will also find, as I have pointed out in the portion of this book devoted to fly tying materials, that the breast feathers of all ducks have a distinct curve, giving them very pronounced concave and convex sides. To familiarize yourself with the various materials used in fly tying you should read this portion of the book, as it will be helpful to you in recognizing the materials we shall use in the lessons which follow.

When you have selected a breast feather which you think will make a good wing, look at the feather closely. You will notice that at the base of the feather there are fibres that are fluffy; the tips of them are separated from the other fibres and do not stick together. With your fingers pull these fibres off, removing them until you come to the fibres that adhere together. Do the same on both sides of the quill of the feather, so that when you are ready to strip off the fibres to be used for the wing the fibres on both sides of the quill will be even. Now for the wing.

Take a good grip on the tip of the Mallard breast feather with the thumb and forefinger of your right hand. Hold on to this tip of the feather very firmly. With the thumb and forefinger of your left hand grasp the fibres on the left side of the quill of the feather. Holding tightly to these fibres so that they will not slip through your fingers, with a downward pull of your left hand pull all of the fibres between the fingers of your left hand off the quill of the feather. Place these fibres on the table. Turn the feather around, and holding the tip in your right hand remove the fibres from the other side of the feather in the same way. Place these fibres on the table, also. Now, look at the fibres on the table in front of you. You will see that one side of the fibres is cupped, or concave; and you will note that the other side of the fibres is rounded, or convex. You will also see that the cupped or concave side is rather dull, while the rounded or convex side is the brighter side. Look at them closely; study them, for much of your success in fly tying will depend on your knowing which is the dull side and which is the bright side of the fibres of these feathers. After you have studied the feathers until you are sure you recognize the differences in the two sides, pick up one side of the feather and place it in the palm of your left hand with the cupped side up. Place it in your palm so that the tip of the breast feather fibres point to the left and is curved down. The fibres must curve down or you will tie them on the hook the wrong way. The base of the fibres will be on the right-hand side, the tips of the fibres on the left-hand side, and the curve of the fibres must be downward. So much for the first piece. Now take the other portion of the feather from the table. Place it on top of the first piece in the palm of your hand. Place the second piece with the cupped surface down, the tip and the fibres pointed the same way as the first piece. Now, manipulate the top piece so that the base of the fibres of each piece are matched together on top of each other and the tips together.

No doubt you will find it difficult to match the pieces together in this manner. As you have placed them in your hand the two cupped sides of the fibres are together, so that they will not readily fit together. If you are having trouble, try, first, putting the tips of the feathers together and placing the thumb of your left hand on the tips. Now, if you will roll your thumb a little toward the base of the fibres they will stay in place a lot better while you are getting the base of the fibres together with the fingers of your right hand. When the bases of the two pieces are matched together take hold of them between the thumb and forefinger of your right hand, pick them up and look at them. The width of the wing should be a little greater than the distance between the shank of the hook and the point of the Barb. The tips of the fibres should be down. The bright sides of both of the breast feather fibres should be outward. The concave, or dull, sides of both pieces will be together, on the inner side. This is the way that the wing is supposed to be when it is tied on the hook.
 
Hold the two pieces together firmly without allowing them to spread. Place this wing on top of the hook and check the length. The tip of the wing should not extend beyond the middle of the tail. Move the wing backward, or forward until the tip is at this point. It doesn't make a particle of difference if a lot of the base of the wing extends over the eye of the hook; this portion will be cut off after you have tied the wing on. The only thing that is of interest to you is that the wing is the proper length.

After getting the proper length, note the angle of the wing. The tip of the wing should be very close to the tail of the fly. Adjust its angle, up or down, to put it into this position.

Another thing to bear in mind at this time is that after tying on the wing there must be room enough left to finish the head of the fly. All too frequently there is not enough room left for a properly tapered head. This should be watched and, if in doubt, leave more than enough room. Then, after you have mastered the first few steps and are acquainted with the materials and the method of applying them you can gradually make whatever changes you feel should be made to make a good, well-balanced fly. The balance of the fly is very important.

Let's go back to the fly and place the wing on it, tying it so it will appear on the fly as it does while held between your two fingers. Having checked the length and position of the wing, with the pieces held between the thumb and forefinger of your right hand, bring your left hand up and grasp the wing between the thumb and forefinger of your left hand and hold it, upright, on edge over the body in the proper position. Taking the tying silk in the fingers of your right hand, bring it up on the near side of the hook so the silk is between the wing and your thumb. Bring it straight up on this side and then take the tying silk down on the far side of the wing, between the wing and your forefinger. Remember, between the ball of your thumb and the near side of the wing and between the ball of your forefinger and the far side of the wing. Bring the tying silk down tightly, letting it slip between your fingers, so that the silk will cinch the wing down firmly on top of the hook. If you hold the wing very tightly there is only one way that it can go, and that is crammed or cinched down on top of the hook. There will be no way for it to slip around on the side of the body. Take 2 or 3 similar turns around the wing and the hook before you release the tension of your fingers on the wing. Then, after you have eased the tension take another 3 or 4 turns with the tying silk before making a half-hitch. There is one little trick that you must remember at this point. After you have completed the first two or three turns, holding the tension on the wings with your fingers, do not go back toward the wings when you make the rest of the turns with the tying silk. If you do, you will find the wing will either split or the wing will turn in the direction of the turns of the tying silk. If you do have a failure in tying this wing, the fault is yours. If you practice you will overcome your difficulty, whether it be of splitting the wings or making the wing turn. Remember, never go back toward the wing. Always make the later wraps ahead of the first two or three turns of the tying silk which you made on top of the wing while holding it between your fingers. Trim off the excess portion of the wing which is in front of the wrappings. Taper the head of the fly and whip finish the head as explained in the first lesson. Cut off the unused portion of the tying silk, lacquer the head and the fly is finished.
It is always a good idea to save one or more of the first flies you tie. You will find, when you compare flies you made on the first lessons with those you tie later, that the improvement you make is remarkable.

Remember, anyone can place a tail on a fly; and the same goes for the body. As stated before, a person who knows flies judges them by three things: First, a good tapered head; second, the hackle, the type that was used, its appearance in color and how it was tied on the hook; third, the wing, whether is was just thrown on the hook and whether it is the right wing for the type of fly you were supposed to have tied.

PROFESSOR (Wet)

Hook:               No. 6 - No. 18
Tip:                  Gold tinsel, narrow
Tail:                  Red hackle fibres, 6-8
Body:               Yellow floss, fairly thin
Ribbing:            Gold tinsel, narrow
Hackle:             Brown, tied wet
Wing:               Mallard breast or flank strips, on edge and over body

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