Pantone marker Red buzzer wrap (For shading the thread body)
UV resin finish Clear uv resin (One light coat)
How to tie it
Start the red wax thread on the hook. This fly is built in reverse order. The head end goes on first.
Clip 4-5 pheasant tail fibres and tie them in just behind the eye with the butts facing forward and the tips pointing back over the shank; this becomes the wing case. Keep them on top.
Tie in a strand of white ostrich herl taken from the very tip of the feather and take 3-4 wraps right at the eye to form the gills, then trim the excess.
Wet your fingers and pull all the ostrich forward so it stands clear, then wrap the thread back a little so you won't bind the gills down.
Tie in one strand of peacock herl right behind the gills, wrap it back and then forward into a thorax about the size of a 7/64 inch bead, and trim.
Stand the pheasant tail up so it separates from the gills, hold it with your thumb, pull it over the thorax to form the wing case, tie it down behind the thorax and trim the butts a short way back so they start the body taper.
Tie in the fine copper wire and bind it back to just short of the hook bend. Lift the wire, take three or four thread wraps behind it, then come in front and leave the wire off the back.
Build the body forward with thread, keeping it thin. Old school chironomids were slim. About halfway along, start colouring the thread with the red Pantone pen as you wrap, colouring more heavily as you go so the fly grades from bright red at the tail through dull red to dark at the head.
Rib with 6-7 evenly spaced turns of the copper wire, finish right behind the thorax and pull the wire off with a few twists.
Take a few finishing wraps at the head, trim any stragglers, then give the fly a light UV coat and cure to finish.