Beauty

[scotfly]

This is my contribution to the cross board swap.
This is a Ray Bergman style wet fly. I’m not quite sure what constitutes a Ray Bergman wet though, other than the size I see no difference in it to the wet flies we’ve been tying in the UK for a long time. I suspect it may have more to do with the American desire to create their own history than anything actually unique about them.
That aside though, I do think it is a very pretty fly and well deserved of its name, the “Beauty”
Because I didn’t have the right materials to tie this strictly to the pattern I’ve had to “cheat” a little, I’ll explain the “cheats” as I come to them.

Instructions assume right-handed tyers.

HOOK – Kamasan B175 #8
THREAD – Black 6/0
TAIL – Guinea Fowl
TAG – Flat Silver
BODY – Grey Floss
RIB – Flat Silver
BEARD HACKLE – Black Hen
WING – Guinea Fowl

STEP 1
Attach the thread wrap towards the bend, catching in the tail as you go. The tail is made from paired Guinea Fowl wing slips. I only had a packet of primaries and for some reason only from one wing! So this is the first cheat. I could/ should have rolled the slips, but because Guinea Fowl is a “meatier” feather than the likes of Bronze Mallard it produced too much bulk. The solution was to simply cut a slip twice the width required and then fold it in two. Pics in the winging step. Not strictly text book tying, but as long as the fly tying police don’t come knocking on my door I can live with it.



STEP 2
With the first turn of thread back up the body catch in the flat silver which will form the tag and the rib, taking the thread to the point shown.



STEP 3
At this point tie in the floss for the body. The pattern called for a dark gray floss body, but I only have a light gray, so this is the next “cheat” Normally on a fly like this I would tie the floss in at the shoulder and wrap down then back up the body giving two layers. Because I didn’t have any dark grey floss I have given the body only one layer. This will allow the dark thread to show through and darken the floss when the fly is wet.



Wrap the body to the shoulder.



I now have one layer of floss which, as you can see, will darken considerably when wet.



STEP 4
Wrap the tinsel to form the tag as shown, but don’t tie it off.



Instead continue wrapping, in an open even spiral, to the shoulder before tying off,



STEP 5
Invert the hook in the vice and tie in the beard hackle.

[scotfly]

STEP 6
Prepare the wing as per the tail.

Pull enough fibres (approximately twice the width of the wing) and align the tips. Then cut them off the stem.



Fold in half. Dull (inner) side to dull side.



And that’s your wing ready to tie in. When they’re wet they will look just like normal paired slips.



Tie in as you would normally for paired slips.



STEP 7
Finally trim the waste. Form a neat head, whipfinish and varnish for the completed fly.

[126barnes]

Very nice.............................I was going to tie that up last night, but after looking at the quality of my guinea........................I changed my mind

[SilverDoctor]

Wonderful. Have to pick up some mallard primaries for various wets after Christmas. Seem to be a bit had to find good ones now a days.

[hydropsyche]

Nice tie, Scotfly. Thanks for the step-by-step. We need more of that on this site (but I'm too lazy).