Bodkin / Patterns

Blue Jay

Wet Fly · Trout · Intermediate · 2 versions

Classic Recipe

  • Hook Standard wet fly, 8-12
  • Thread Black 6/0

Materials

  • Tag Flat silver tinsel (short)
  • Tail Golden pheasant tippet (small bunch)
  • Rib Flat silver tinsel (fine)
  • Body Blue floss (slim)
  • Hackle Blue jay (or dyed-blue guinea fowl substitute) (1)
  • Wing Barred blue jay wing feather sections (1 pair)

How to tie it

  1. Lay a short silver tag at the bend and tie in the tippet tail, half a shank length.
  2. Tie in the rib, wrap the blue floss body to the 70% mark, then rib with 4-5 open turns.
  3. Take 2 turns of blue jay throat hackle. Dyed-blue guinea is the modern substitute and gives the same speckled bar.
  4. Set the barred blue wing sections low over the body; the black-and-blue barring is the fly's signature.
  5. Whip finish a neat black head.

Other versions

1 more in the app: Gregg Dressing (1940).

Tying videos

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