Silk body Ash-coloured (grey) silk (full length of shank)
Body overwrap Heron herl (substitute grey goose or dyed grey CDC/ostrich) (1 strand)
Hackle Feather from the inside of a woodcock wing (1 feather)
How to tie it
Run the ash-grey silk from behind the eye to above the barb, then forward two-thirds.
Tie in a strand of grey heron-substitute herl at the tail and wind the silk forward to two-thirds.
Wind the herl forward in open turns over the grey silk body to give a soft, buggy grey-dun overwrap, then tie off. The herl over silk is what distinguishes this from a plain spider.
Tie in the woodcock inner-wing feather by its tip behind the eye.
Take 1.5 to 2 sparse turns of hackle, secure, clip the stem, stroke fibres back, whip finish and varnish.