Thanks for viewing again, as I said I'm no expert but have learned to do all tying processes by hand and hope this is of use to someone wishing to give the snakes a go.




Blue Snake Charm


Materials

zap-a-gap

Pre-prepared snake fly body from Part 1

Sally Hansen Hard as Nails

Thread and bobbin holder

Scissors

Water proof superglue

Kingfisher blue bucktail

Grey Squirrel dyed black

Silver Fox dyed black

Golden Pheasant crest

Black Large mylar tubing

Jungle cock

1 strand of silver krystal flash (or similar)







First tie in a bed of thread along the shank of the hook.







Tie in GP crest and trim off the waste.







Measure a length of mylar tubing, making it (for beginners) slightly longer than required. This gives you plenty room for error.



Extract the cotton liner from inside the mylar tubing.







Slip the mylar tubing down over the eye and along the whole length of the fly.





You have already noted the importance of a flat thread bed on the body, now use this bed as your target area for tying in the mylar tubing, but stop a few mm short of the eye end to allow you to trim back the waste mylar with a pair of sharp fine point scissors.







Like you did on the first stage making the body, add a tiny dab or zap-a-gap, spread around the tying bed with thumb and forefinger and turn another 2 or 3 wraps of thread to secure thread. Trim off thread, and add another tiny dab of glue to secure everything in so far. Watch those fingers, they WILL stick together, or stick to the fly. You don't want to have wet glue running down your fingers when adding winging to the fly so take care to make it the tinest amounts only on the thread tying bed.





Turn the fly round, and come in behind the eye of the hook with your thread.





Again leave plenty room from the bottom end this time to trim off the waste, in this case I've added the GP tail so I have to be careful not to snip that with my scissors as i trim the mylar back.





Bed the thread down over the trimmed mylar and with touching turns build up a bit of volume on the tag.





Superglue the thread tag to secure, then give a couple of coats of varnish.





Cut and prepare some blue bucktail and some black squirrel tail. I don't use stackers but i sort of stack them in the hand, i find it better looking to have my hairwing slightly staggered in length rather than equal all over.





Turn the fly upside down and tie in the throat which is the bunch of blue bucktail, i've chosen about 2/3rds the length of the body.







Invert fly and tie in black squirrel to same length, or slightly shorter than the throat.





Tidy up head with touching turns to keep things even keeled and avoiding bulk.





And this is how it looks with throat and first wing.





Take a length of black shadow fox, separate the finer hair from the longer guard hairs and roughly stack in separate piles.





Tie in the lighter fuzzier fox hair, the stiffer squirrel below well support the next wing and help maintain the wing profile.





Getting there.





Half the strand of krystal flash and tie in to length of wing so far, run the thread down almost to the eye and back up to the wing, fold the flash back on itself to double up and tie in touching turns to secure.







Take the small bunch of stiffer shadow fox hairs and tie in over the top.





Add some jungle cock cheeks and trim off the waste stalks, after securing with touching turns.





Add a dab of superglue, dab dry, cut thread, add another dab of glue all over the head, taking care only to glue the thread, dab dry.





Add a few coats of hard as nails and you're fit to go.




Thanks for viewing.

well explained will have a go at tying some up

Very nice SBS..

thanks for the time in doing this

Andy

Well Done Sir, Well Done.

__________________
"The problems we face today are there because the people who work for a
living are now outnumbered by those who vote for a living." -- Anonymous

I must have lead a sheltered life in scotland in my village as ive never seen anything like that
That looks like a nice fly which no fish would get off if it takes it

Im gonna try this step by step my friend thx

Well done, very good SBS.. Thank for sharing

__________________
Eddie
"We look to Scotland for all our ideas of civilisation."
Voltaire

Great that GFL quite a bit of work invloved in that, cracking SBS, thanks.
S.

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"A glint of sun has warmed the air,The flies will soon hatch out, To lure and tempt from their deep lair, The bonnie speckled trout." SKB tackle supporter. I love Furled Leaders.