Bodkin / Patterns

Mimic May

Dry Fly · Trout · Intermediate · 1 version

Reference Recipe

  • Hook standard dry-fly hook, 14-20
  • Thread olive 8/0 (70 denier)

Materials

  • Stripped hackle fibers or Microfibetts (tail) Dun microfibbets (2-3)
  • Deer hair (body) Natural/dyed to match deer hair (1 small clump)
  • CDC (thorax/wing) Dun cdc feather (1-2 feathers)
  • Fine dubbing (thorax) Olive ice dub (small pinch)

How to tie it

  1. Start the thread at the eye and lay a base back to the bend.
  2. Tie in 2-3 stripped hackle fibers as a split tail one shank long, propping them apart over a tiny dubbing bump for durability.
  3. Tie in a small clump of fine deer hair by the tips and bind it forward to form a slim, high-floating body up to the 65% mark, then trim the butts.
  4. Tie in a clump of CDC at the 65% mark standing upright as the wing, its hollow fibers being the heart of the fly's flotation.
  5. Dub a sparse thorax of matching dubbing around the base of the CDC, figure-8ing to stand the wing up.
  6. Sweep the CDC into an upright fan, build a small head, whip finish and cement, keeping glue off the CDC and treating that wing with powder floatant instead.

Tying videos

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