Bodkin / Patterns

Dirty Olive Oil

Nymph · Stillwater · Trout · Intermediate · 1 version

BCFlyguys

  • Hook Alec Jackson Crystal Covert hook (or Daiichi 1760 in 14/16), 13
  • Thread Olive green Body Fly

Materials

  • Body Fly Olive green body fly (Body and tying thread)
  • Body Fly Light brown body fly (One strand, blending)
  • Pheasant tail fibres Natural pheasant tail fibers (4-5 (shell back))
  • Arizona Simi Seal dubbing Bronze Back (Thorax)
  • Ultra wire, extra small Chartreuse ultra wire (Rib)
  • Sally Hansen's Hard as Nails Clear head cement (Two applications)

How to tie it

  1. Load olive green Body Fly straight into the bobbin. It serves as both thread and body material, which is what keeps this nymph so slim. Dress the hook back to the bend and forward again.
  2. Tie in the chartreuse wire rib along the shank, then set four or five pheasant tail fibres with two pinch turns. Pinch turns keep the fibres on top instead of rolling around the hook.
  3. Build a little olive body with the Body Fly, then tie in a strand of light brown and blend it along the body. You are not aiming for touching turns here. Patchy brown over olive is exactly how you get a dirty olive rather than a clean one.
  4. Bring the olive back forward to about the two thirds mark and tie off. That is where the thorax begins. Note the caution on whip finishing with Body Fly: a couple of turns only, or you will get into trouble.
  5. Lay the pheasant tail shell back down over the body and rib it with the chartreuse wire in four or five segments, keeping the shell back centred on top the whole way.
  6. Run a bit of Sally Hansen's along the body and where the dubbing will sit, then dub a sparse noodle of Bronze Back Simi Seal for the thorax, pulling stray fibres back away from the hook eye as you wrap.
  7. Pull the pheasant tail forward over the thorax, tie it off, trim, and finish with another touch of Sally Hansen's. Brush the thorax out with a dubbing brush, sweep the fibres back and trim anything overly long. It is meant to be a buggy fly.

Tying videos

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