Thread: Spiderweb
Hook: Tiemco BL103 (size 19 or 17)
Tails: Microfibbet from watercolour wash brush
Body: Niche Microfine dubbing
Wing: Tan Polypropylene floating yarn
Hackle: genetic cock in grizzle or ginger/red game



Catch on thread and run to just behind 2/3rds position of shank


Pinch and loop a length of floating yarn (split out suitable thickness from the full hank) onto the top of the hook shank


The front tag should project forwards over the hook eye


Fold the forward tag firmly over a dubbing needle which is held perpendicular to the hook shank


Trap down with thread wraps until the front and back "legs" of the loop wing touch at their bases


Cut off the waste from the forward facing tag and then trim 2/3rds of the thickness of the rearward tag right next to the rearward "leg" of the loop wing


Move the scissors back a little further and cut about half of the remaining thickness of the tag (this will form a taper when bound down with thread wraps) - move a little further back along the hook shank and snip off the remaining strands of yarn


Run the thread up and down using soft to moderate tension to allow the thread wraps to gather and taper the yarn fibres (don't use more wraps than necessary)


Select 3 microfibbets from a synthetic fibred watercolour wash brush (about £3 from hobbycraft for about £50 to £100's worth of microfibbets if bought separately in packs of 6!!)


Make sure the tips are lined up and that they project approximately the correct length behind the fly before pinch and looping all 3 microfibbets onto the top of the shank in a tight bundle (you can pull them to the correct length after trapping down)


Tails bundled and set to length:


Now splay the tails using pressure from your thumbnail at their base


Lay thread wraps between each splayed tail (pull them into position and lock down with interwoven thread wraps) to set the horizontal splay:


You can see the locking thread wraps a bit better here (from above)


and here from above/side (try not to use more thread wraps than necessary)

Select a short-barbed cock hackle from the neck of a decent cape (this is grizzle but I also use ginger for this pattern)


Catch in at the base of the wing


Now use thread wraps to climb up onto the wing post and trap the hackle in a vertical direction (out of the way of the dubbing procedure which will come next)


I'm using shade number 3 for this one as I'm getting ready for the LDOs


Tease out and twist up the finest "noodle" of dubbing that you can manage


Pinch and loop this onto the hook shank at the start of the hook bend (trimming off the tag) - this helps to keep everything as slim as possible (important at size 19 with a poly yarn underbody from the wing)


Twist/dub the noodle onto the tying thread (because the butt end is trapped in by the pinch and loop - each twist will tighten and narrow the dubbing spindle)


Dub up to the eye and then back to the wing base before sloughing off the excess dubbing and climbing the thread onto the base of the wing post


Turn the vice (or hook) on its side so that the bobbin hangs down off the wing post and then attach the hackle pliers and wind around both legs of the loop wing post


Put on about 5 turns of hackle and then pull the tip of the feather directly down (i.e. towards the hook-gape)


This allows you to wind the thread directly around the base of the wing post and trap the tip of the feather without catching any of the hackle barbs in the "parachute". Having snipped off the feather tip; add a whip finish - again around the base of the wing post (and NOT the hook shank; so that no hackle barbs are trapped)


Use the hooked end of the whip finish tool to guide the final loop into position without catching any hackle barbs as you pull the knot tight


Trim off the tying thread and use your thumb nail to make sure that the hackle turns are all seated close together and in the same (horizontal) plane


Applying a thin film of mucilin (or vaseline) to the hackle fibres and tail fibres - BUT ESPECIALLY TO THE LOOP WING in this material - gives this fly much quicker "re-float-ability" after catching a fish compared to CDC. Roll cast twice to rinse (away from a target fish!!) and then false cast snappily to dry. This can be done on several fish before the fly needs to be dried off fully and re-treated with floatant.

Lovely fly and a great sbs

__________________
Derek

You looked things over and were not yet beat
Then changed flies again and were ready to repeat
The next try was poor because you rushed the cast
You hold your breath in solemn anticipation
You must be a fly fisherman!

~by George W. Harvey, A Fly Fisherman (last 20 lines), in "Fly Fisherman" magazine, December, 2002~

>>>>>>>MEMBER OF THE S.S.F.D.<<<<<<<<<<

Excellent SBS, detailed and informative! Thank you for taking the time to put this post together.
I need to get some more LDOs tied, and this pattern is on the agenda!
That method of tying the dubbing noodle in before spinning it on the thread is dead right mate!

__________________
"Angling may be said to be so like mathematics in that it can never be fully understood" - Izaak Walton

What a great effort you put in Paul, really easy SBS to follow. Glad you find us the time. thanks so much.

great sbs , you must have put in some time to get all those pics ups , thanks very much for this one.

__________________
dont you just love nature

Thanks for the kind comments guys. I am trying to work my way through providing a sbs for each of the flies that feature as a quick frame at the end of my DVD (coz there's no flytying in it - just a list of patterns with a picture).
Also I know Phil Holding (Spidersplus) has had a couple of clients asking him to tie these for them after seeing the fishing vid so I thought it'd be helpful if the instructions were out there for anyone who is interested.

Sorry for the several blurred pics, I took quite a few and sometimes was difficult to check when I did it on the timer/tripod when I needed both hands for tying!!

Tight lines and let me know how you get on with any that you do tie (pics welcomed!)

Paul