Hook 2x heavy barbless wet fly / nymph, sproat bend, down eye (Allen W502BL), 14-18
Thread Black Pearsall's Gossamer silk
Materials
Body Pearsall's Gossamer black silk (touching wraps only)
Hot spot Glo-Brite no. 11, fluorescent chartreuse (5-6 wraps)
Hackle Grouse (1 feather, 6-8 fibres left on)
How to tie it
Mount an Allen W502BL - a classic down-eye nymph hook with a sproat bend, slightly heavy, which suits spiders and soft hackles.
Start black Pearsall's Gossamer silk a few millimetres back from the eye, wind back over the tag and trim.
Carry the silk back to where the barb would be, making certain every wrap touches the one before it. That is the defining characteristic of a spider body.
Stop level with the barb position, or slightly in front of it, to keep faith with the traditional proportions, then wrap forward again in the same touching turns.
Take a few wraps at the eye, half hitch and set the silk aside.
Tie in Glo-Brite no. 11 for the hot spot, keeping the tag end attached. Wrap back five or six turns, then bring the tag forward and wrap forward over it. That builds the hot spot a little and creates a hump that keeps the thread facing the eye.
Wrap back a couple more turns so the hot spot reads clearly, half hitch, trim, and pick off any stray filaments.
Return to the black silk, starting closer to the eye this time, and wrap back over the front edge of the chartreuse so only a defined band of it shows. Rotate the fly and check no chartreuse is peeping out at the front.
Prepare a grouse feather: keep a good section of the marking, pull down six or eight fibres and strip everything below them off the stem.
Tie the feather in by the tip with the tip facing forward, trim the tip away, and take about five wraps to secure the stem.
Make the single turn of hackle towards you, using your right fingers to push the fibres round the far side of the stem as it comes round. That keeps every fibre swept rearwards and stops them being trapped under one another.
Bring the stem round and tie it off, trim the excess, and free any trapped fibre with hackle pliers or your fingers.
Check the whole way round that only black shows at the front, half hitch, whip finish and add a little head cement so it soaks into the head.
The hackle tips should extend just past the bend of the hook. That is the traditional proportion for a spider.