Hook 1X long wet fly hook, barbless, 12-16 (12 shown)
Thread Red (the red head is part of the pattern) 70 denier
Materials
Hen hackle, furnace or brown Brown/furnace hackle (1 feather)
Hackle fibers from the base of the same feather (tail) Brown hackle fibers (About 10 fibers)
Hare's mask dubbing Natural hare s ear dubbing (A 3 inch spread in a dubbing loop)
Gold wire (rib, optional) Gold wire (1 length)
How to tie it
Mount a size 12 1X-long wet fly hook and lay a short base of red thread. You do not need to go all the way back yet.
Tie in a brown or furnace hen hackle at the front, checking first that you have room for three wraps of hackle plus a head. Leave the stem lying along the shank and bind it down as you go back.
Take about ten fibers from the base of that same hackle and tie them in at the bend as a short, sparse tail. Do not fuss over a smooth underbody. The hare's mask covers everything.
Wax the thread and form a dubbing loop at the tail. Lay in about three inches of hare's mask, a pinch from under the ear plus a little from the cheeks for the smoother fibers, spread thin, since you want a sparse body with the red thread glinting through.
Close the loop and take the thread forward to the back of the hackle. Spin the loop about ten turns with hackle pliers or a spinner. It does not need much.
Wrap the dubbing noodle forward to the thread, re-spinning halfway up if it loosens. Tie off and trim the excess. A spiky, sparse body is correct.
Sweep the body fibers back, bring the thread to the front, and take two or three turns of the hen hackle. No more. Leave room for the head.
Tie the hackle off with two wraps, fold the tip back and lock it in, then snip the excess without cutting the fibers you want.
Build a deliberate red head, not huge, but big enough to read as a hot spot. Four-turn whip finish and a drop of head cement.