Bodkin / Patterns

Anatomical Green Drake

Nymph · Trout · Advanced · 1 version

Reference Recipe

  • Hook Heavy wire, 2X-long slow-curve nymph (Daiichi 1710 / TMC 200), 8-12
  • Thread Olive-brown 8/0

Materials

  • Bead Dark olive tungsten bead (1, optional)
  • Weight Lead-free wire (.015, 8-10 wraps)
  • Tail Dyed-olive partridge flank (Divided tip, 2 clumps)
  • Rib Fine copper wire (1 strand)
  • Abdomen/gills Olive and brown ostrich herl (2 olive + 1 brown, twisted)
  • Shellback & wing case Olive Scud Back / thin skin (1 strip)
  • Legs Dyed-olive partridge (Few fibers per side)
  • Thorax Peacock synthetic dubbing (Small pinch)

How to tie it

  1. Slide a dark-olive bead to the eye, mount the hook, and lay 8-10 wraps of lead-free wire behind it to shove the bead tight; start thread and jam the wire in place.
  2. At the bend, split a partridge tip into two fiber clumps and bind one down each side so the tails flare a full hook gap apart. A real drake carries three, but two reads plenty buggy.
  3. Bind in the copper wire and a strip of olive Scud Back at the tail, then twist two olive and one brown ostrich herl onto the thread and wrap forward to the 60% mark for a fuzzy, gilled abdomen.
  4. Pull the Scud Back over the top as a glossy shellback and counter-wrap the copper rib forward in 5-6 open turns, segmenting the body and pinning the herl gills down; snip the excess.
  5. Tie in a second Scud Back strip for the wing case, then dub a fat peacock-synthetic thorax to the 85% mark.
  6. Sweep a few partridge fibers along each side as legs, reaching to the hook point.
  7. Draw the wing case forward over the thorax, bind behind the bead, snip, build a small thread collar and whip finish.

Tying videos

← All fly patterns