FLY
Deer-hair Hackle (White)
Deer-hair Hackle (White) recipe
| Hook | #12 (or choice) |
|---|---|
| Thread | claret |
| Tag | thread |
| Body | Peacock herl |
| Front Hackle | white deer hair (spun in a dubbing loop) |
About this fly
from the illustration by Charles Orvis in Favorite Flies and Their Histories by Mary Orvis Marbury It’s deer hair, so maybe should be tied on a dry fly hook.The example is tied on a #12 nymph hook.Lay down a base of thread; build a thread tag; take thread to a good eye-length behind eye.Tie in five (or appropriate number for a full body) Peacock herl; thread wrap to beginning of tag; (twist into a rope with dubbing loop); touching wrap herl to a good eye length behind eye; tie off and clip extraStack a pinch of white deer hairCreate a waxed dubbing loop on a spinnerHolding the stacked deer hair by the tips, trim off all but about a half inch (length is determined by how long the hackle should be - 1.25 to 1.5 length of finished hackle)Place the pinch of dear hair between the loop thread (the wax will help hold them in place); adjust the length in the loop and by tapping on the butt ends (seems to work best if there is enough butt length so the hair will fold over on the thread when wrapping the hackle)Spin the dubbing loop so the hair is held by the the thread twistsWrap the dubbing loop onto the hook ; pull the hair toward the hook bend while wrapping; leave plenty of room for a thread head behind the eyeWrap the head; whip finish; head cementClean up around the eye (deer singes nicely with a flame - be careful not to singe the hackle).
In the old books
Original dressing as pictured in Marbury, Favorite Flies and Their Histories (1892), Plate A, No. 13. The photo above is a later tie, not the original.
Inside the vault every material on this fly opens to its own card, and you can save the fly to your own boxes.
