Bodkin / Patterns

No See Um

Dry Fly · Midge · Trout · Intermediate · 4 versions

Note: This recipe has not been verified against a documented source, or disagrees with one. Treat the materials and steps as unconfirmed.

The feather bender dressing

  • Hook Mustad Heritage R30 or smaller, 18

Materials

  • Tying thread Sheer 14/0 Black
  • Rib Sheer 14/0 Black
  • Hackle Medium dun hackle

How to tie it

  1. Attach the Sheer 14/0 black thread to a Mustad Heritage R30 size 18 and trim the tag.
  2. Spin the bobbin anticlockwise so the thread lies flat, and wrap a really slender abdomen back to above the point. Flat thread is what keeps the body slim.
  3. Spin the bobbin clockwise to round the thread up again, then rib the abdomen forward in open turns to the thorax.
  4. Put a little wax on the thread and tie in the medium dun hackle, locking it off behind and in front; trim the stem back if it runs long, then lift the stem and wrap the thread down over it.
  5. Wrap the hackle at the thorax and tie it off, remove the hackle pliers and take one more turn of thread.
  6. Turn the vise upside down and pull all the hackle fibers down under the hook, then cross the thread over them to the back of the fly and forward again, a couple of times, to hold everything in position. That figure-8 underneath is what makes the fly sit low in the surface.
  7. Whip finish and remove the tying thread.

Other versions

3 more in the app: Fly Fish Food Tie, variant 1, Fly Fish Food Tie, variant 2, Fly Fish Food Tie, variant 3.

Tying videos

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