Bodkin / Patterns

Ausable Wulff

Dry Fly · Trout · Intermediate · 1 version

Ausable Wulff fly

Classic Recipe

  • Hook Standard dry fly, 10-16
  • Thread Tan 6/0

Materials

  • Tail Woodchuck guard hairs (forked)
  • Body Tan Australian possum dubbing (shaggy)
  • Wing White calf tail (upright, divided)
  • Hackle Brown and grizzly hackle (mixed)

How to tie it

  1. Mount hook, lay a base. Tie in woodchuck guard hairs at the bend, one shank length. Stiff, mottled, and better than they get credit for.
  2. Dub a shaggy possum body to the 60% mark. Rough it up; Betters wanted it buggy, not neat.
  3. Stack and tie in white calf tail wings, upright and divided. Take your time, calf tail fights back.
  4. Wrap mixed brown and grizzly hackle, dense. 3 turns behind, 3 in front.
  5. Whip finish, cement.

Substitutions

  • Tail instead of Woodchuck guard hairs: Moose body hair — Stiff substitute, easier to find; Brown bucktail — Similar stiffness and color
  • Body instead of Tan Australian possum dubbing: Tan Hare-Tron — Similar spiky texture; Fox squirrel dubbing — Close color and texture match; Tan Superfine — Smoother, easier to dub
  • Wing instead of White calf tail: White poly yarn — More visible, easier to work with; White calf body hair — Finer fibers, easier to divide

Tying videos

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