Hook 3X-long nymph hook (here, a Dai-Riki 710, 6-10
Thread or 6/0, brown olive 140 Denier
Materials
Tail Golden olive Chickabou
Body Whiting Hackle Soft Hackle
How to tie it
Mash the barb and seat the hook. Start the 140 Denier brown olive thread just behind the eye, take wraps rearward, and snip or break off the tag. There is no need to worry about bulk on this pattern.
For the tail, pull two Golden olive Chickabou feathers free from the skin side of the pelt. Orient them so their back sides face each other with the tips aligned, and strip the lower off-colored fibers from the stems.
Measure the tail at a full hook length and transfer that point rearward to just above the barb. Bind the stems down, keeping the feathers roughly on top of the shank as you work rearward to the bend, and end with the thread a short distance from the base of the tail. Lift the excess butts and snip them off close.
Pull a single feather from the Whiting Hackle Soft Hackle portion of the pelt. Strip the lower irregular fibers, then hold the very tip and pull the remaining fibers down so only the tip is exposed. Snip the tip off to leave a small triangle that acts as the tie-in anchor.
With the back side of the feather facing away from you, lay the triangle against the near side of the shank and bind it with thread wraps. Advance the thread forward a little to give yourself room.
Grip the stem with hackle pliers and preen the fibers back and down to fold them around the stem. With the fibers pointing roughly rearward, wrap the soft hackle forward, preening the fibers rearward as you go and keeping the wraps fairly close together.
When you reach the bare stem, seat it with several tight thread wraps and snip the end off close, then take a few more covering wraps so the stem cannot work free.
Repeat the same prep, tie-in, fold and wrap sequence several more times, progressing up the shank with each feather until you reach the eye.
At the eye, tie off the last stem with tight wraps and snip it close. Sweep the soft hackle fibers back and build a small thread head.
Do a five or six turn whip finish, snip the thread, and apply a drop of head cement all around to completely cover the thread wraps.