Bodkin / Patterns

Red Horse

Streamer · Baitfish · Trout · Advanced · 1 version

Tyer Recipe

  • Hook 6X long Limerick bend streamer hook, #4-8 (size 6 shown)
  • Thread Black 70 denier

Materials

  • Hackle tips Red and yellow hackle (Two of each for the tail, one of each for the throat)
  • Oval tinsel Silver oval tinsel (Small, one strand)
  • Wool yarn White poly yarn (Two strands of a 4-strand yarn)
  • Saddle hackle Olive schlappen or saddle hackle (Two feathers (inner wing))
  • Saddle hackle Dun saddle hackle (Two feathers (outer wing))
  • Jungle cock Natural jungle cock (Two nails (optional))

How to tie it

  1. Mount the 6X-long streamer hook and lay a base of black thread all the way back to the start of the bend.
  2. Bunch two red and two yellow hackle tips together and tie them in at the bend as a short tail, adding a wrap up under the base so they do not roll around the hook. Trim the butts short with a slight taper so nothing shows under the wool body.
  3. Take the thread to the front and tie in small oval silver tinsel, binding it back along the shank. Size down rather than up: a small oval looks better than a medium on a size 6.
  4. Tie in two strands of white wool yarn at the front and bind them back along the top of the shank, keeping the underbody even.
  5. Wrap the wool forward in smooth touching turns to just behind the eye; you can spin it counterclockwise to flatten it or clockwise to cord it, whichever gives the smoother body. Tie off and trim.
  6. Counter-wrap the oval tinsel forward with eight or more evenly spaced turns and tie it off at the front.
  7. Turn the fly over and tie in one red and one yellow hackle tip beneath the shank as a throat, then trim the excess.
  8. Stack the wing: two olive saddle hackles inside with two dun hackles outside, and tie the assembled wing on top with several loose wraps first to keep it in the plane of the hook before locking it in. Trim the butts.
  9. Tie a jungle cock nail on each side as a cheek, fairly long, with three wraps each so you can check the match before securing.
  10. Build a full tapered streamer head, whip finish, and finish with head cement.

Tying videos

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