This is the Endrick Spider, like all spider patterns…. Ignore at your peril!!

HOOK – Wet fly #10-16
SILK – Pearsall’s Orange Silk
UNDERBODY – Copper Wire
TAIL - Cock Pheasant Centre Tail
RIB - Silver Wire
BODY - Cock Pheasant Centre Tail
HACKLE - Grey Partridge


STEP 1
Mount the hook in the vice, apply a small amount of superglue to the bare shank and over-wrap with fine copper wire. Leave room at either end for the materials to be tied in and for finishing the fly.



STEP 2
Catch in the silk at the shoulder and over-wrap the body, catching in the wire rib under the body and the tail fibres (about 6 fibres) on top as you go.



STEP 3
Catch in the body fibres (3 or 4 fibres) and wrap the thread to the shoulder. Apply some varnish to the thread wraps.



STEP 4
Wind the body over the wet varnish and tie off. Follow with the wire rib and tie off, do not cut the wire, instead hold it up and rotate until it breaks off.



By breaking the wire off you will not be left with the annoying piece sticking up that a cut wire leaves.



STEP 5
Select and prepare a Grey Partridge hackle for tying in by the tip, by stripping the flue away from the base and stroking the fibres out and down a little.



STEP 6
Mount the hackle.



STEP 7
After trimming the waste wrap the hackle, sweep the fibres back with every turn and tie off and trim the waste.



STEP 8
Whip finish and varnish for the finished fly.

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

Dear Scotfly

Thanks for this step-by-step. I've had problems with the durability of my Endrick Spiders, but having looked at your method I can see where I have gone wrong !

L.

Scotfly,

Thats another quality step by step from you Sir.

Well done. I will see this pattern is successful on my local river.

Keep up the good work.

The Kyp.

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Wild, Dangerous, Unfettered and Free

a very good friend of mine is the originator of this great fly, mr john harwood of milton of campsie.and you would be surprised to know that this fly is also a great taker of sea trout and salmon in a size 8.

jim

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The Fishermans Friend is the Flirty Fly,Fickle Food for Fleeting Fish.

Thanks Kyp
Jim, doesn't surprise me about Sea Trout, but not one I'd have picked as a Salmon fly. We live and learn, chears.

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

on the endrick of course,

jim

PS i have the story of it's beginings ,when i can get my act together,i'll post it.

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The Fishermans Friend is the Flirty Fly,Fickle Food for Fleeting Fish.

Be nice to get the history behind the fly, cheers Jim

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

Yea jim i saw a lad getting a salmon on one about 10 years ago on the gryffe
size 8 fishing it as a dropper above his shrimp fly also used to do well with this fly around august fishing through the night for brownies

ps paul it is successful some of us having been using it for 10 years or more
it was in i think the trout fisherman or trout and salmon one month as a readers fly around 1994/96

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FEAR NO FISH JUST THE WIFE

just had a go at tying it blinking great even made a good job of it cant wait to try it out

There is always a risk, of course, that such a fly, particularly if dressed on a size 8 hook with several layers of heavy copper wire as an underbody, fished on a late summer night over sea trout shoaling in the small holding pools of a drought stricken Endrick, might inadvertently hook fish in places other than the mouth, especially if fished on a sinking line.

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John Gray
www.trout-salmon-fishing.com