Hook 2XL, 1X strong wet fly / steelhead hook, #2-6 (tied on a #6)
Thread Black 6/0
Materials
Barred wood duck flank (tail) Natural barred wood duck flank (Two slips tied back to back, tied long)
Chenille, medium (body) Red chenille (One length, a few millimeters stripped at the tie-in end)
Hen hackle (collar) Grizzly hackle (One short, wide soft feather, three turns)
How to tie it
Mount the hook and lay a black 6/0 thread base all the way back to the start of the bend.
Prepare two barred wood duck slips back to back, pretty sides out, and tie them in as you would a winged wet fly. Pinch the slips and the hook together and set them with a pinch wrap. Take two wraps and check that they come off the top cleanly. Tie the tail long so the bars show well beyond the bend.
Bury the butts and flatten the underbody as evenly as you can. Imperfections will be hidden by the chenille.
Smooth a length of medium red chenille with a couple of strokes of your fingers, then strip two or three millimeters of fibers from the end so it starts without a bump, and tie the bare end in right where the first wrap will land.
Take the thread forward to about two eye-lengths behind the eye, then wrap the chenille forward in tight, touching turns to that point and lock it with two wraps. Snip the excess and add a couple of extra wraps to lock it in and lay a flat base for the hackle.
Tie in a short, wide grizzly hen feather, orienting it so the first wraps sweep the barbs back, then trim the stem.
Hang the thread where the back of the head will be and take about three turns of hackle with hackle pliers, pulling the barbs back as you go, then tie it off with two wraps and trim the excess.
Sweep the hackle back and build the head, trimming any barbs that stubbornly point forward.
Whip finish four turns, snip the thread, trim any remaining stray fibers and add a drop of head cement.