Thread Red underbody, olive overbody UTC 70 red, Uni 8/0 olive
Materials
Black nickel bead, 3/32 Black nickel bead (1)
Uni-Stretch (gills) White uni stretch (Short tag)
Fine wire Red wire (Rib)
Superglue Clear head cement (Full coat)
How to tie it
Start on a size 14 curved nymph hook (the tyer normally ties it on a 16, the whole reason this pattern exists is that the technique scales down where a bleeding limey cannot) and tie in Uni-Stretch gills.
Instead of whip finishing, take the thread down the shank, throw a quick half hitch and slide the bead up. The thread you started behind locks everything in place and the gills are going nowhere.
Build the underbody with red UTC 70. It lays flat for a smooth taper, and more importantly it lights up when you hit the finished fly with superglue at the end. The red is the whole point of the pattern.
Tie in fine red wire at the back for the rib, finish the taper, then bring in olive Uni thread behind the bead and wrap it down over the red, closing gaps as you go and cross-hatching to help the blend.
At the bottom keep the olive wraps open so plenty of red shows through, then close them gradually as you work back up while continuing to build the taper. The gradient from red butt to olive thorax is what the fly is about.
Rib the red wire forward, tie it off, whip finish and coat generously with superglue. Uni thread soaks up glue far more than Ultra thread does, which is exactly why it is on the outside. The glue makes the red underneath pop through the olive.
Blot excess glue with a piece of tissue if you overdo it.