Hook 2XL nymph hook, #10-16 (tied on a #12; Ted's original was a #10)
Thread Black 8/0
Materials
Lead-free wire 0.015 (sized to the hook) (About nine or ten wraps)
Ringneck pheasant brown side feather fibers (tail) Brown pheasant tail fibers (A good pinch, a little longer than the hook gap)
Wire rib Black, brassie size (gold or a brighter color also looks good) (One strand)
Ringneck pheasant brown side feather (body) Brown pheasant tail fibers (One large, fluffy, long-barbuled feather, twisted into a rope)
Ringneck pheasant underside marabou (throat/legs) Gray ringneck pheasant underside marabou (One small feather, wrapped like dubbing (Ted spins his in a dubbing loop))
Flash (wingcase) Pearlescent, size large (A few strands)
Small black feather from a ringneck pheasant neck (wing) Black pheasant tail fibers (One, tied flat Zug Bug style)
How to tie it
Put about nine wraps of 0.015 lead-free wire on a 2XL nymph hook, start black thread and build small dams front and back, spending a little extra time tapering the transition between the wire and the bare shank.
Take the thread to the bend and tie in a good pinch of brown fibers from a ringneck pheasant side feather as a tail, a little longer than the hook gap. Bind the butts forward to help fill the step up to the weight, then trim.
Tie in the black wire rib at the base of the tail.
Wet your fingers, gather a large fluffy brown pheasant side feather with long barbules, and tie it in by the tips (tips pointing forward) at the rear. Strip a little fluff so you can grip the bare stem.
Spin the feather into a rope and wrap it forward to just past the halfway point, re-spinning every two turns or so and pulling stray barbules up into the rope as you go so the body does not get bulky. Tie it off and trim the clump.
Counter-wrap the wire rib forward in evenly spaced, fairly close turns to lock the feather body in, tie it off in front and spin the excess off.
Tie in a few strands of large pearlescent flash on top of the shank pointing rearward for the wingcase, then smooth the front of the fly with thread.
Tie in the thin, pliable gray marabou-like feather from the underside of the pheasant feather and wrap it like dubbing, two turns is all you need, pushing the fibers down and back as you bind it in to form the throat and legs.
Pull the flash wingcase forward over the thorax, using it to settle the gray fibers, and secure it with two tight wraps, then trim. Tidy the thorax by pinching and breaking off the longest fibers (treat it like CDC).
Tie a small black neck feather in flat on top as a short Zug Bug style wing, trim it over the thorax, build a small head, whip finish and cement.