Nymph · Trout · Grayling · Intermediate · 1 version
Lucian Vasies
Hook Barbless competition jig hook (Demmon ST 300 BL), 14-16
Thread Black
Materials
Tail Natural pardo (Coq de Leon Pardo barbs)
Ribbing Red buzzer wrap (Flat tinsel)
Coating Clear head cement (Troutline Classic UV resin)
Wing/collar Natural grey-black material (CDC barbs)
Thorax Black ostrich herl (Troutline UV Tactical Rainbow dubbing)
How to tie it
Mount the jig hook and run black thread from behind the eye back to a point above the barb, laying one smooth layer. On a slim, fast-sinking nymph every extra thread layer is bulk that slows the drop.
Tie in a short tail of Coq de Leon Pardo about a hook gape long, then catch in the red flat tinsel at the same point so the rib starts exactly where the tail does and the transition stays clean.
Wrap the thread forward to the 70% mark in touching turns to build a lightly tapered underbody, then follow with open, evenly spaced turns of the red tinsel. The flat tinsel is what gives the fly its zebra banding, so keep the gaps identical.
Coat the body with Troutline classic UV resin and cure it. The resin does two jobs: it armours the tinsel against teeth and it adds the hard, slick shell that makes the fly sink like a perdigon.
At the 70-75% mark tie in a pinch of natural grey/black CDC barbs as a short collar, spun in a dubbing loop or split thread and swept back. Keep them no longer than the hook point; this is the part that breathes and pulses even in slow current.
Dub a small thorax of UV Tactical Rainbow Black behind the eye to lock the CDC collar down, whip finish, and keep the head small so the fly holds its head-down jigging posture.