Nymph · Trout · Grayling · Intermediate · 1 version
Small Batch Bugs Original
Hook Fulling Mill 5125 jig, 14-18
Thread Dark Olive (Veevus Body Quill serves as the thread) Body quill
Materials
Bead Silver or black bead (3.5mm slotted tungsten)
Body Dark olive material (Veevus Body Quill)
Flash butt Pearl flashabou (Sulky or any ultra-thin pearl tinsel)
Tail Dark pardo (Coq de Leon fibers)
Coating Clear head cement (Solarez Bone Dry)
How to tie it
Load the body quill in a bobbin backed right off. This material pops strands under almost no tension, and a frayed body cannot be hidden under resin.
Bind in a short Coq de Leon tail and take the quill down to the bend.
Lash in the pearl tinsel at the bend BEFORE bringing the quill back forward, then work the quill up behind the bead.
Wind the tinsel two or three touching turns at the butt to build a small pearl band, then rush it forward in open spirals and tie it off behind the bead. Finishing it up front avoids a fiddly tie-off at the bend and a tinsel tag that resin will never hide.
Wind the quill back and forth to build a slight taper, stopping short of the tail so the flash butt stays exposed.
Whip finish TWICE, two turns each. The quill is fragile enough that a single finish regularly pops or sits loose, and you will not know until the resin is on.
Coat the body with a thin layer of resin, keeping it out of the tail, then add a dab on each side of the bead to fill the gaps and round it off. Cure.
Clear the eye with a scrap hook before the resin sets hard.