Bodkin / Patterns

Adams

Dry Fly · Trout · Intermediate · 6 versions

Adams fly

Classic Recipe

  • Hook Standard dry fly, 12-18
  • Thread Gray 8/0

Materials

  • Hackle Grizzly & Brown, mixed (2 feathers)
  • Tail Grizzly & brown hackle fibers (small bunch)
  • Body Muskrat dubbing (sparse)
  • Wing Grizzly hackle tips (2 matched)

How to tie it

  1. Mount hook, start thread one eye-length behind the eye and lay a smooth base back to the bend.
  2. Mix 4-5 grizzly and 4-5 brown hackle fibers and tie in at the bend, slightly splayed. The tail should equal one shank length. Measure it against the hook before you tie it down.
  3. Dub the thinnest noodle of muskrat fur you can manage. Use half what you think you need. Wrap forward in touching turns with a slight taper, stopping at the 60% mark to leave room for wings and hackle.
  4. Select two matched grizzly hackle tips for wings. Tie in upright with pinch wraps, then divide with figure-8 wraps until they stand apart at about 30 degrees.
  5. Tie in one grizzly and one brown hackle behind the wings, shiny sides forward. Fiber length should be one and a half hook gaps.
  6. Wrap both hackles. 2-3 turns behind the wing, 2-3 in front, each wrap snug against the last. The mixed grizzly-brown blur is the Adams magic.
  7. Build a small head with 4-5 wraps, whip finish, cement.

Substitutions

  • Hackle instead of Grizzly & Brown, mixed: Grizzly only — Still effective, slightly less buggy look; Brown only — Works fine, loses the barred look; Cree hackle — Multi-colored hackle, replaces both in one feather; Dun hackle — Good BWO-crossover color
  • Body instead of Muskrat dubbing: Adams Gray Superfine dubbing — Easier to dub, floats better; Gray rabbit dubbing — Close to muskrat, more available; Medium dun Hare-Tron — Adds sparkle, still buggy; Gray poly dubbing — Floats much better than natural fur
  • Tail instead of Grizzly & brown hackle fibers: Coq de Leon fibers — Stiffer, better support on water; Micro Fibbets — Synthetic, very durable, great flotation; Moose body hair — Stiff and durable
  • Wing instead of Grizzly hackle tips: White calf body hair (parachute post) — Turns it into a Parachute Adams; Hen hackle tips — Softer profile, still looks great; CDC puff — Lighter, more natural, less visible; White poly yarn post — Easy to see, floats well

Other versions

5 more in the app: Gregg Dressing (1940), Davie McPhail Fan-Wing Tie, Beginner-Friendly Parachute Style, Yellow, Barbless.

Tying videos

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