Bodkin / Patterns

Male Dace

Streamer · Trout · Advanced · 1 version

Tyer Recipe

  • Hook Long streamer hook - Mustad 3665, 7X long Limerick bend, 4-12 (10 shown)
  • Thread White for the body, switch to black for the head 70 denier

Materials

  • Mylar tinsel (rib) Gold oval tinsel (1 length, medium (size 12-14). Step down on small hooks)
  • Floss (body) White floss (1 strand)
  • Hackle feathers (inner wing) Olive hackle (2)
  • Hackle feathers (outer wing) Golden badger hackle feathers (2)
  • Saddle hackle fibers (throat) Orange (red is a fine substitute) (1 small bunch)
  • Jungle cock eyes (cheeks, optional) Natural jungle cock (2 small nails)
  • UV resin (feather prep) Clear uv resin (A drop per feather)

How to tie it

  1. Before tying, prepare the four wing feathers: trim them to size, strip the lower barbs off, put a drop of UV resin where the remaining barbs meet the stem to hold everything in one flat plane, and cure. Make up as many matched sets as flies you plan to tie.
  2. Pinch the barb, mount the streamer hook, start white thread mid-shank and take it back to just in front of the start of the bend.
  3. Tie in gold Mylar tinsel for the rib at the rear, then tie in the white floss at the middle of the shank.
  4. Bring the thread up to a couple of eye lengths back. Wrap the floss forward to the thread, catch it off, then wrap it back to the rear of the hook and forward again to build a body that is slightly thicker at the front. Tie off and trim. (Thicker floss, or two or three strands, makes this easier.)
  5. Rib the tinsel forward in even open spirals, tie it off, fold the tag back and take a couple of turns to really lock it in.
  6. Take the two prepared olive feathers with the two golden badger feathers outside them, set the wing on top of the shank so the tips reach just past the bend, and hold it with three loose wraps. Adjust until the wing sits in the plane of the hook, then add medium-tight wraps and check again before locking it down with several tight wraps.
  7. If you are using them, tie a small jungle cock nail on each side as a cheek, adjusting the angle before securing. Trim the stems.
  8. Turn the fly over and tie in a small bunch of orange saddle hackle fibers as the throat, then trim the butts.
  9. Whip finish the white thread and cut it off. Catch black thread in right behind the eye and build a decent-sized streamer head, ramping back over the tie-in area and burying any stray fibers.
  10. Whip finish the black head and cement.

Tying videos

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