Aftershaft Partridge Egg
Hook - Partridge Patriot Czech Nymph Barbless Competition Hook (Size #10/formerly size 16)
Thread - 8/0 UNI-Thread (Red)
Tail - Partridge Rump Aftershaft Feather (Natural Grey)
Egg Body - Egg Yarn (Apricot or color of choice) - Formed in a dubbing loop. The red thread core forms an inner color element.
Hackle - Partridge Rump Feather (Natural Gray)
Head - Tying thread
Design notes: I wanted a more lively egg pattern for steelhead fishing. I created this pattern this morning and hope to get out to fish with it soon. The tail is a patridge aftershaft plume, and the hackle is partridge flank (rump) feathers. They are added to give the fly lots of delicate movement as it drifts along. The pattern is intended to imitate the milky look of natural fertilized fish eggs.
Materials:
Partridge Skin. The feathers for this pattern come from the region at the rear flank (rump) of the bird. See the point of the scissors.
Hooks (notice the interesting size designations - these are size 10, but formerly size 16 hooks)
The photo below shows a couple feathers. The one on the left is as the feather appears coming straight off the skin. As the name implies, the "aftershaft" feather is hidden behind the main feather. Pluck the small aftershaft feather off and set it aside. Then strip all the fluff off the base of the main feather. On the right hand side of the photo, you can see the feathers after they have been prepared (aftershaft feather and main hackle feather).
Close up view of the prepared feathers. Before I use the aftershaft feather, I like to strip off the bottom 3/16" inch section and clip off the little bulb at the base of the stem. Removing this bulb will make the stem lay flat and prevents a lump in the underbody.
Prepare the egg yarn by running a bodkin needle thru the bundle to open up all the fibers. Then trim off a section of the desired width (roughly the diameter of the egg you want to form).
Here is the prepared egg yarn fibers. This material will be used later in the construction of the fly.
Mount the hook in the vice and then cast on the tying thread, near the center of the hook. Lay down a small thread base, then to tie in the tail.
Form a dubbing loop with the tying thread and carefully insert the section of prepared egg yarn fibers. In this case I am using a Wasatch tool called a Mitch's Bobbin Whirler. It forms a three strand thread dubbing loop. I chose red tying thread to give the inner egg a darker red coloration when it gets wet. Hopefully this will look more like a natural egg.
Spin the dubbing loop to fully capture the egg yarn fibers. Once this is done, run a piece of Velcro over the dubbing brush to ensure the individual strands of egg yarn fibers are separated. You should be able to see the inner thread core thru the egg yarn fibers.
Wrap the dubbing brush forward in close touching turns. With your vice hand, stroke back the egg yarn fibers with each wrap forward, so that the yarn fibers do not get trapped under the tying thread. This ensures a fuller egg shape, and results in firmer thread wraps and a more durable finished fly.
Tye in the hackle feather by the stem, with the tip facing out over the eye of the hook.
Clip the tip of the feather with hackle pliers, then stroke the fibers all to one side of the steam, folding the hackle. Next make two hackle wraps back towards the egg body. Wrap the tying thread forward thru the hackle, reinforcing it. Secure with two wraps of thread and clip off the hackle tip.
Form a neat head with double three turn whip finishes.
The finished fly, ready for fishing.
