Bodkin / Patterns

Black Gnat Wet Fly

Wet Fly · Trout · Intermediate · 3 versions

As tied by The feather bender (winged)

• Hook Wet fly hook, 16

Materials

• Body Crow secondary fibres
• Wing Two matching wood pigeon secondary quill slips
• Hackle Starling shoulder feather (a small black hen hackle is given as an alternative)

How to tie it

1. Tie in a few crow secondary fibres for the body.
2. Wind the crow fibres forward with hackle pliers to make a slender body, then swap back to the tying thread, take one turn over the fibres to lock them and trim off the waste.
3. Tie in two matching wood pigeon secondary wing quill slips, back to back, long enough to reach back to the end of the hook, and trim the butts.
4. Prepare a starling shoulder feather and tie it in by the tip, with a turn behind it to pull it away from the hook.
5. Wind the starling hackle with hackle pliers, tie it off, trim, and whip finish.
6. Put a coat of varnish on the head.

Other versions

2 more in the app: Consensus of Savage Flies (Leisenring's Black Gnat) and The Bulletin, As tied by Hubert Janeczek.

Tying videos

• Black Gnat Wet Fly — The feather bender (YouTube)
• Black Gnat Wet Fly — hughs fly tying and fishing (YouTube)
• Black Gnat Wet Fly — Hubert Janeczek (YouTube)

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