Legs Barred rubber legs, tan or brown, fine (2 strands)
Adhesive Quick Fix gel superglue (on the thread before whip finishing)
How to tie it
Put the 4mm slotted faceted gold bead on the size 10 barbless long shank hook. Slot the thread into the bead slot and twist the whole bead around inside it until the hole fills up, which stops the bead moving.
Wind the thread down towards the tail, lay a short thread base and snip the excess off.
Tie in the medium copper wire. Normally it goes in along the whole shank, but a short piece can simply be tied in at the rear.
Find a long section of pheasant tail, often towards the middle of the feather, count out six fibres and cut them off at the base.
Measure the fibres against the shank so the tail is about a third of the shank length, pinch them, take a loose loop up between your fingers and pull it straight down onto the hook to catch them once. Lift the tail, wrap underneath it, one more over and then in front. That makes the tail sit nice and straight.
Wind the pheasant tail forward, pinching with one finger and wrapping with the other, using up the whole length of the fibres. Leave a fairly small thorax area in relation to the body, then a couple of wraps right behind and bind it all down.
Counter-wrap the copper wire forward, at least three or four turns, up to the thorax. Lock it off by looping the thread around the wire and winding up, three times, so it is nice and tight.
Tie in a strand of Lateral Scale on top as the flashback wing case, running back to the copper wire tie-off, and trim it to a workable length.
Pinch some possum dubbing on loosely (it goes on the thread loose, not tight) and wind a bushy thorax with figure of eight wraps, leaving the thread hanging in the middle of the thorax.
Take one strand of rubber leg, pinch it and slide it up under the hanging thread, bring it over on the near side, pinch it in and take a wrap over while still pinching. Snip the butt off.
Do the same on the far side, lift the strand up under the thread so it just touches, and take another tight wrap round. Adjust the legs and snip the excess.
Take one more wrap between the legs and one in front so they stay where you want them, then pull the Lateral Scale wing case over, tie it down, wrap behind and in front, and cut it so it sits slightly back and above.
Put Quick Fix gel superglue on the thread, the gel grips better, pull it back, wrap it round and whip finish by hand over it so it cannot come loose.
Pull the rubber legs back and trim them to about halfway along the tail, cutting them all together.