Wing Orange bucktail, pearl Krystal Flash and fox squirrel tail
Topping Peacock herl
Eye Yellow painted eye with a black center
Head Black material
How to tie it
Start white flat waxed nylon a little behind the eye, leaving space for a head. Tie in about ten strands of pearl flat tinsel (Flashabou) and bind them along the shank back to the hook point, unwinding the bobbin now and then to keep the thread flat. Wrap the thread back up to the tie-in point.
Whip off the white thread and switch to black 70D thread. The white underbody keeps the translucent body light; a black underbody would darken it.
Gather all the tinsel strands, flatten them, and take one turn off the thread base before pulling onto it, keeping every strand tight. Advance in touching turns to the head, tie off, and trim. Put a small dab of UV resin on the rear turn and cure it, so the strands cannot shred at the back.
For the belly, take a small clump of White bucktail from near the tip, pull out the longest fibers, and hand-even the tips without a stacker. Set it under the shank right behind the eye with light wraps, wiggle the hair to settle it, then tighten. Flip the hook over to do this if you have no rotary vise.
Take the same amount of Orange bucktail, pull out the long fibers and even the tips, and set it on top just a touch longer than the belly. Tie it in as two separated sections of wraps so the hair locks better, adjust, then commit with a few more wraps.
Fold two strands of pearl Krystal Flash in half to make four, lay them on top of the orange wing matched to its length, and secure them on top of the shank with a couple of wraps. Trim the front.
Cut a small bunch of fox squirrel tail, pull out the short hairs from the bottom, match it to the orange length, and set it with one loose wrap before committing.
Lay seven or eight strands of Peacock herl on top with tips roughly aligned, secure with a couple of wraps, check alignment, then bind fully and trim the excess.
Build a tapered head, slightly larger than usual to carry the painted eye, working the whip finish toward the back to keep the taper. Snip the thread and coat the head with UV resin or clear head cement, letting cement dry three or four hours.
Dip the fat end of a toothpick in yellow paint and dot both sides of the head for the Eye. Once dry, add the black center with the trimmed narrow end of a toothpick. Once that dries, seal the head with one more coat of resin or cement.