G & H Sedge,

Hook: Down Eye Dry sizes 14 to 8
Thread: 6/0 or stronger usually black I’ve used red for clarity
Under body: Fluorescent green dubbing.
Body: Spun and trimmed deer hair
Hackle: Two natural red game hackles.

Well not a difficult fly to tie, but impossible if you can not spin deer hair. Spinning deer hair is not difficult if you understand what is going on. If you have never spun deer hair before I would advise having a practice before hand, on a large hook. Just to get a feel for what is going on.


Start the thread at the bend end of the shank. Make sure it is very secure. If you like put a drop of varnish onto the thread. If this comes loose then the whole fly will fall apart.


Form a loop of thread. Make a normal turn of thread but go around a finger then back to the hook shank. Notice in the picture that the two “legs” of the loop are on opposite sides of the hook. This gap will let dubbing fall out of the loop when it is spun.


Close the loop by taking one full turn around the loop then around the hook shank. See how it has brought the legs together.


Now to start spinning the deer hair. You need some medium to coarse deer hair for this fly. Cut it off and stack the tips of the first bunch. Either in your fingers or in a stacker. Then place on top of the hook shank. Take three loose turns around the bunch and the hook shank.



Then start to pull the thread tight. As you do so the hair will first start to flare then to spin around the hook shank. Let go of the hair when you feel the thread grip it and let it spin. Why does deer hair spin? Why not how is a question that is hardly ever asked or answered but knowing what is going on will make the process easier to get to grips with.

It is often said that deer hair is hollow. It is hollow in the same way a Crunchy Bar is hollow but on a microscopic scale. These tiny pockets of air can be compressed. This causes the hair to flair, but not to spin.


Here the strand of hair is being compressed in one spot by the tip of my dubbing needle against the table top. The ends are standing up. This is flaring. It is only half the picture of what is going on when we spin deer hair. Remember we took three loose turns around the bunch of hair? Well imagine you mark one spot on the thread on the first turn. As you pull the thread tight how will that spot move? It will move in a rotary direction around the hook shank. Also it will close on the hook shank. The rotary action of the thread is what causes hair to spin, while the tightening onto the hook shank compresses the hair causing it to flair. This is one of the times that doing two things at once is unavoidable.


Once the thread is tight ish take a couple of turns around the hook shank in front of the hair them push them back with either your index finger and thumb nails or a hair packer.


Lay 4 or 5 turns of thread down along the hook shank in front of the hair and spin a second bunch on to the bed of thread you just made.


Continue adding bunches of hair until the hook shank is covered to within about 1/8th inch (3mm) of the eye. Whip finish and cut out the thread.


Now to start trimming the hair to shape. I always start by trimming the hair under the hook shank flat as close as possible to the hook shank. Be careful not to cut off the loop of thread hanging out the back of the fly. (You thought I’d forgotten about that didn’t you.)

Cont...

...Cont.


Then trim up the sides and top to a sort of tent wing shape. Exactly what shape this is is entirely up to you.


The original called for a length of thread dubbed with “Arc Chrome Wool”. I’ve never found out the exact colour that is so I usually use some fluro green Glo Brite floss chopped up and prepaired for dubbing.


This I place into the loop of thread and spin to form a rope.


Pull the rope forward under the deer hair body and tie in at the head, so that you have a line of green dubbing under the body. Trim off the excess.



Prepare two natural red game hackles by stripping the shafts. Tie in on top of the hook shank and wind as one.


Tie off the hackles. Trim out the excess and trim off the stems to represent the antennae of the natural. I make mine quite short as they can badly affect the action of the fly on the water.


Some people like to trim the hackle under the body. I don’t know if it is a part of the original dressing to do this but it does make the fly sit better on the water.


The finished fly.

Cheers
Alan.

Thats one chunky fly ^^

Looks good, nicely written and such. Unfortunately it looks too difficult for me - only tied around 7 flies to far, mostly just freestyle, with one exception yesterday of a B&P Spider, posted here by braveheart =)

Will definately give it a try when I get a bit more competent tho

Tom,
The man who first taught me recommended tying three flies a day when you get home from work. It is good practice, it helps you relax and in a year you'll have best part of a thousand flies.

You are right save this one for a bit. When you feel the learning curve leveling a little have a go.

Cheers
Alan.

Alan,

The G+H Sedge image in my Goddard book has the hackle trimmed on top, not bottom.

Also it lists olive seal's fur for the rope. Where does your Arc Chrome wool reference come from? I am curious now.

Cheers,
Hans W

i think arc chrome wool was an early flourescent material, but i am not sure of the supplier.

"The man who first taught me recommended tying three flies a day when you get home from work. It is good practice, it helps you relax and in a year you'll have best part of a thousand flies."

Excellent piece of advice. I have been going to a fly tying class for about 6 years now but had self taught myself the basics a year before that by doing what you say here, through watching fly tying videos and some good books. My efforts over the first six months were pretty poor but I stuck at it. I just kept reusing the hooks of crappy flys I had tied previously.

Most people who come to the fly class only tie a couple of flys on the evening of the class and nothing during the rest of the week.
Lots of them then give up because they don't see immediate results. I try to tell them that the only way to get good is constant practice but modern living for most people doesn't seem to give them time to do that.

Hans, the Arc Chrome wool comes from I think The International guide but as all my books are in storage at present I am working from memory, so I may well have it confused with another pattern.

I knew the hackle was trimmed somehow. Again the joys of working from memory. There is nowt down for this getting older lark!

Cheers,
Alan.

According to "The Trout and the Fly" the hackle is as Hans' says trimmed on top,I never trim it though. The underdody is described as dark green seals fur(or any other colour to match the hatch)
In his latest book, "The Trout Fly Patterns of John Goddard" JG says he no longer ties in the seals fur underbody, instead he colours it with a marker pen, and he make no mention of trimming the hackle.
I could be wrong, but I'm sure I read somewhere that "arc-chrome" is a pale orange colour, but as I said I could be wrong, to quote Alan.. "There is nowt down for this getting older lark"

__________________

ukflydressing A UK based fly tying site packed full of flyting tips and photographic step by steps. Now with added fly fishing section.

Be careful Alan - your begining to pick up the Yorkshire dialect!

Be buying a ferret and a flat cap next