Thread White (body), black (head) Semperfli Nano Silk 12/0 and 18/0
Materials
Lead wire, .015 (Folded once)
Wire, fine Silver wire (Doubled, matuka rib)
Ice Dub Chartreuse ice dub (Body dubbing loop)
Rabbit strip, dyed and barred Chartreuse with black bars (Wing plus collar section)
Fox fur White uni stretch (Collar dubbing loop)
Rabbit strip, dyed Orange and yellow rabbit strip dyed (Throat)
Hen hackle tips, dyed Green hen hackle tips dyed (2 (gills))
Glow Bug yarn White poly yarn (3 sections, spun head)
Stick-on eyes (1 pair)
Permanent marker Green, black and red permanent marker (Head and parr marks)
Five-minute epoxy Clear uv resin (Eye anchoring)
How to tie it
Start Nano Silk 12/0 where the return eye ends on a size 5 Alec Jackson, lay a base to the point, then lash folded.015 lead wire parallel along the shank and flatten it with pliers. Flat lead keeps the body slim and gives the fly a slight side-to-side wobble.
Add doubled fine silver wire underneath along the same threaded area, twist it and set it aside. This becomes the matuka rib.
Switch to 18/0, cement the base, then spin chartreuse Ice Dub in a split thread, brush it out and wrap it over the lead. Brushing before wrapping is what makes a dubbed body look like a fish flank rather than a rope.
Prepare a barred chartreuse rabbit strip twice the length of the dubbed area. Trim the hide flush, taper it, and thin the hide with curved scissors so it lies flat. Secure the tip in front of the dubbing and bind the strip down matuka-style with the silver wire, separating the fur with a bodkin at every turn so no fibres get pinned.
Build the collar in stages, each spun in a split thread and wrapped like a hackle: white fox fur first, then the same barred rabbit fur in front of it. Spun fur collars pulse far more than any feather at this size.
Add an orange and yellow rabbit throat and two dyed green hen hackle tips as gills, then cage everything under a temporary lead wire wrap so it stays clear while you build the head.
Spin three sections of white Glow Bug yarn around the shank, tying two pieces per side and two top-and-bottom per wrap, packing forward to the eye. Comb it out to right angles and trim it flat on the sides, tapered top and bottom, then singe the high spots with a lighter flame rather than cutting them.
Colour the top half of the head green, add black and red parr markings out of the vise, and set the eyes with two dabs of five-minute epoxy so they anchor into the yarn.