Bodkin / Patterns

Destroyer

Nymph · Trout · Advanced · 1 version

Tyer Recipe

  • Hook 2XL nymph, 12 (tie 10-16)
  • Thread Black 70 denier UTC

Materials

  • Javelina or wild boar bristles (bucktail or moose substitute) Natural javelina or wild boar bristles (About 10 fibres for the tail)
  • Wire, brassy size Gold wire (One length for the rib)
  • Peacock herl Natural peacock herl (About 10 strands (5-6 tied in twice) for the wing case)
  • Three-strand wool yarn Orange poly yarn (One length for the body)
  • Dry fly hackle Grizzly dyed yellow hackle (One feather, swept back)

How to tie it

  1. Lay a base of black thread from behind the eye all the way to the start of the bend.
  2. Stack about ten javelina or wild boar fibres and tie them in at the bend for a body-length tail, then bind the butts forward as an underbody and trim them off at the front of the body area.
  3. Take the thread back to the bend and tie in the gold wire rib.
  4. Tie in five or six strands of peacock herl at the bend, cut the remainder in half and tie the second bunch in at the same point so you have about ten strands for the wing case. Keep the underbody bulk down.
  5. Tie in the orange three-strand yarn at the front of the body area, laying it flat, and bind it back with fairly tight open wraps to the bend; return the thread to the front, stopping short of the eye to leave room for the hackle.
  6. Wrap the yarn forward, spin it one way to lay it flat or the other way to tighten it into a rope, and tie it off with two or three wraps, trimming close.
  7. Gather the peacock herl, keeping the strands parallel and uncrossed, pull it directly over the top of the body as a wing case, secure it with a couple of wraps, check the position and trim.
  8. Wind the gold wire forward in four or five evenly spaced, fairly tight ribs over the body and the wing case, tie it off with two or three tight wraps and helicopter the tag off.
  9. Tie in the yellow-dyed grizzly hackle, take about three turns, tie it off with two wraps, then pull all the barbs rearward and build a good-sized head over the tie-off so the hackle sweeps back rather than sticking straight out.
  10. Snip the hackle tip, whip finish, add head cement and trim or singe any fibres pointing forward.

Tying videos

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