I know what you've been thinking. You've been thinking "this fella must have a job-lot of bucktail he needs to use up". So for a change I got the feathers out and have tied another of the classic saltwater patterns - The Sea-Ducer (aka The Semper Fleye). Really simple to tie and a delightful action in the water. I would imagine it would make a good Pike fly too. Not one I tie in smaller sizes, but if you want to tie size 4 and smaller then use a long-shank hook.
Hook: Standard saltwater (Long shank size4> )
Thread: Danvilles flat-waxed - colour to suit.
Tail: 6-8 saddle hackles, flashabou.
Body: Palmered hackle.
Step 1: Lay a base of thread along hook shank to bend. Although not essential, I find this base gives the body materials something to grip and use it on most of my salty flies.
Step 2: Tie in 6-8 saddle hackles as a tail. It's not particularly important how the feathers are tied in. Praying hands, flared outwards or round the clock are fine. Just try and keep them fairly even.
Step 3: Add 6 strands of flashabou along each side of the tail.
Step 4: Form body by palmering a nice webby hackle fowards. Repeat until 2/3rds of the shank is covered. When tying off each feather pull the fibres backwards and add a couple of turns of thread over the end.
Step 5: Finish body by palmering another webby hackle. You can continue using the same colour, although this fly is most often finished with another colour. I have used olive grizzly but traditionally red was used. It's all down to your preference.
Sea-Ducer.
Linear Mode
