Even though you have a large assortment of flies you will many times wish that you had a fly which represents a bee, with a black and yellow body. Watching the fish take bees which drop on the water while they are showing no interest whatever in any fly you offer them is a maddening experience, I know.

Without instruction in tying this pattern of fly you may wonder how a body of alternating colors can be tied. Once you understand the method you will see that it is easy to do, and you will want to have quite a few copies of this fly on hand, for use on lakes and streams.

The fly is tied fairly dry, but it does not have to be real dry. When first cast, the fly should float on the top of the water. But after floating for a while it takes up water and eventually sinks below the surface. As fish will take the fly under the surface, as well as on top of the water, it serves as a double purpose fly.

This pattern is customarily tied on hooks ranging in size from No. 6 to No. 12. In this lesson we shall use a No. 8 hook, as this is easier to work on. After you have mastered the tying of this fly you may make the flies in any size you wish. After placing a No. 8 hook in your vise, wrap the tying silk to the bend of the hook and attach it there with a half-hitch.

Cut off 4 or 5 fibres of mallard duck breast feather and 4 or 5 fibres of dyed red neck hackle. Make sure the fibres are dry. Mix the two types of fibres together, so that the two colors are intermingled. The length of the tail should be from 1/2 to 2/3rds the length of the shank of the hook. Tie the fibres on at the bend of the hook. Attach them to the hook with 4 or 5 turns, using the up and down sweep of the tying silk, and a half-hitch.

Black and yellow chenille is used for the body of this fly. On a No. 8 hook I like to use medium size chenille. Cut off about 6 or 8 inches of medium size black chenille and a piece of medium size yellow chenille of the same length. Take hold of the piece of black chenille between the thumb and forefinger of your left hand, grasping it close to one end. With the nails of two fingers of your right hand plack the fuzz from about 1/4 inch at the end of this piece of chenille. When you have done this there will be two strands of thread sticking out of the piece of chenille. Repeat this process with the piece of yellow chenille. Tie both pieces of chenille on at the bend of the hook, making the tie over the strands of thread which protrude from the pieces of chenille. The fuzzy portion is removed and the tie made over the bared threads because it is difficult to tie on the fuzzy chenille itself so that it will not slip. Spiral the tying silk to the point 1/4 of an inch from the eye of the hook and attach it there with a half-hitch.

Take hold of the yellow chenille and lay it on top of the shank of the hook, extended out toward the eye of the hook, and hold it in place there. Now take hold of the black chenille and wrap it over the yellow chenille and around the shank of the hook, making 3 or 4 turns around the shank and the chenille on top of it. Make each wrap close to the one before it. These wraps should cover the rear one-third of the shank of the hook, making that portion of the body black in color. At the end of the 3rd or 4th turn hold the black chenille straight up and make one complete turn around the black chenille with the yellow chenille. Then carry the black chenille along the top of the shank of the hook, toward the eye of the hook, and hold it in place there. Take hold of the yellow chenille and wrap it over the black chenille and around the shank of the hook, making 3 or 4 turns around the shank and the chenille on top of it, making each wrap close to the other. At the end of the 3rd or 4th turn with the yellow chenille hold it straight up and make one complete turn around the yellow chenille with the black chenille. Then lay the yellow chenille along the shank of the hook, toward the eye of the hook, and wrap the black chenille around both the yellow chenille and the shank of the hook, continuing this wrap until you come to the point at which the tying silk is attached to the hook. This gives you a striped black and yellow body, with the yellow stripe in the center flanked by black stripes at the rear and in front. Upon making the last wrap with the black chenille cross over both the black and the yellow chenille with the tying silk, make 3 or 4 turns of the silk and a half-hitch. Cut off the unused portions of both pieces of chenille. The body is now sealed on the shank of the hook and will not slip. The body is a full one which looks similar to a bumble bee.

For the wing of this fly some patterns call for turkey tail or mallard secondary feathers. In many areas the wing is made of white hair, which makes the fly more visible to the fisherman. In this lesson we shall put on an upright divided hair wing, which gives the greatest visibility. This wing may be made of any one of three materials. The first is either white bucktail or white deer body hair. Another is white calf tail, which gives a very crinkly wing. The third is polar bear hair; although this has a translucent appearance the hair is very solid which makes the fly go under the water's surface much more quickly. On the fly that you tie I suggest that you use either white bucktail or white deer body hair. Later on, when you have mastered the divided wing, you may wish to use calf tail or polar bear hair.

Cut off about 35 or 40 fibres of the white hair, cutting along the base of the hair next to the skin. When cutting off the hair grasp the center of the bunch of hairs between the thumb and forefinger of your left hand and, with the scissors in your right hand, cut along the base of the hair next to the hide. Hold the tips of the hair in the fingers of your left hand and, take hold of the base of the hairs in the fingers of your right hand. Pull the base of the hair away from your left hand, to pull out the short fibres, fuzz and pieces of hair that are not suitable for the wing. You may also pull out and discard the longer hairs in excess of 30 or 35, which is the number of hair fibres that should be put in this wing.

Grasp the base of the hairs between the thumb and forefinger of right hand and, rub your fingers together a little to thin out the line of hairs between your fingers. Place the hairs on top of the fly to measure them for length. The tips of the hair should not extend beyond the bend of the hook. Grasp the hairs between the thumb and forefinger of your left hand and place them in the proper position on top of the body. Tie on the wing, using the up and down sweep of the tying silk between your fingers and the shank of the hook. Make 4 or 5 wraps, tying the hair down tightly, and a half-hitch. Examine the hair wing to be sure that it extends over the top of the fly and is the full length of the body but no longer than the length of the body. At this point the hair wing extends turn in front of the wings, 2 turns out in a horizontal plane, over the body of the fly.

Now, with your right hand pull or arch the wing straight up and hold it there. Take hold of the tying silk and make 4 or 5 wraps around in back of the wing, to make it stronger and hold it in an upright position. Upon completing these turns hold the tying silk in back of the wings while you separate the wing into 2 equal parts, dividing it so that the tip ends are separated in the form of a V. Carry the tying silk from its position in back of the wings between the two parts of the wing, through the V to the front of the wing; continue on and wrap the tying silk one turn around in front of the wing. Then wrap the silk in between the wings, through the V, to the back of the wing. In making these wraps you have formed an X with the tying silk, the two legs crossing through the V of the wing. Continue the wrap around in back of the wing and again through the V to the front of the wing. This should be enough to hold the wings for the present; make a half-hitch in front of the wing.

Select a dry brown hackle feather, suitable in size for this fly. Pull off all of the web at the base of the feather and tie the hackle feather on just in front of the wings. Tie the hackle dry. Make 3 or 4 turns with the tying silk and a half-hitch. Wrap the hackle with concave side forward. Make 1 in back of the wings, and then 2 final turns in front of the wings. After making the two turns in back of the wings bring the hackle forward between the separated wings; this will help to keep the wings divided and in position. After making five turns with the hackle, cross over the tip with the tying silk, make 3 or 4 turns and a half-hitch. Cut off the unused portion of the hackle feather. Taper the head and whip finish. Do not forget to lacquer the head of this, and every fly that you tie. It insures against the silk slipping and fraying. If, after finishing the fly and lacquering the head, the wings are spread more than you like, place the wings at the angle you think best. As the lacquer dries it will help to seal the wings in the desired position.

The alternate-colored body, which I have described in this lesson, is more difficult to tie than the plain spiraled body. For the plain spiral body both colors of chenille are tied on at the bend of the hook, and both are spiraled together around the hook, giving the effect of a two-colored candy stick. When the head of the fly is reached the two chenilles are tied off in the same way as in the lesson you have just finished. Having learned to tie the more difficult pattern the easier one should be no trouble at all.

McGINTY (Dry)

Hook:               No. 8 - No. 14
Tail:                  Mallard breast fibres, 4 or 5, and dyed
                        red hackle fibres, 4 or 5
Body:               Black and yellow chenille, medium size;
                        black, yellow, black stripes
Wing:               White bucktail or white deer body hair, upright and
                        divided*
Hackle:             Brown, tied dry

*Alternate wings: White calf tail; while polar bear hair.

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