Pheasant tail fibres Natural pheasant tail fibers (7-8 for the tail, 7-8 for the wing case and legs)
Ultra wire Gold wire (One length)
Peacock herl Natural peacock herl (4 strands)
How to tie it
Start brown olive thread on a 2XL nymph hook and tie in seven or eight pheasant tail fibres for the tail, followed by gold wire for the rib.
Tie in about three strands of peacock herl and wrap them forward to form the abdomen, then tie off and tear the excess away rather than cutting. A torn herl butt blends in where a cut one leaves a step.
Counter-rib the gold wire through the herl. Peacock herl is fragile, and counter-wrapping is the only thing standing between your fly and a single fish destroying it.
Tie in seven or eight more pheasant tail fibres on top for the wing case, plus one more strand of herl for the thorax.
Wrap the herl thorax, tear out the extra, and pull the wing case over and tie it down. This is the 'halfback'. The case covers only the front half of the fly.
Trim the wing case butts but keep the tips: tie them in on the underside as a beard for legs, trim the excess and whip finish. Using the same fibres twice keeps the fly proportional and wastes nothing.