Thread Orange 140 denier (70 denier for a neater head)
Materials
Tying thread (also the body) Orange hot spot thread (About 3 inches of wraps)
Peacock herl Natural peacock herl (1 strand)
Emu feather Natural case (1 feather)
How to tie it
Start the orange thread behind the eye and run it back to the start of the bend, then forward again, building two smooth layers of thread the full length of the shank. The thread is the body, so a heavier 140 denier gets the taper built fast; 70 denier takes more wraps but leaves a neater head.
Stop the thread at the 80% point, leaving the front fifth of the shank clear for the thorax and hackle.
Tie in a single peacock herl by the tip right where you stopped and trim the butt.
Wrap four or five close turns of herl forward to form a short thorax, tie it off and clip the excess.
Choose an emu feather from the fuller part of the pack, skip the shaggy ones from the thin end. Strip the fuzz from the base and tie the feather in by the stem just in front of the thorax, shiny side toward you, taking several firm wraps so the thick stem cannot pull out.
Bring the thread forward to just behind the eye, then wrap the emu feather forward exactly as you would a dry-fly hackle, one and a half to two turns. Err on the side of one extra turn. You can always pluck barbs out afterwards, but you cannot add them.
Tie the stem off behind the eye and snip it close.
Stroke all the barbs rearward, take a few wraps to sweep them back and hold the collar, then whip finish a small head.