Kit Muskrat and Valley Quail 1640
Hook - Daiichi 1640 / Size 12
Thread - Pearsall's Gossamer Silk (Primrose) - Well waxed
Hackle - Valley Quail Neck Hackle (Natural/Dun with Dark Tips)
Body - Kit Muskrat Belly Underfur (Natural/Light Dun)
Tag/Rib - Pearsall's Gossamer Silk (Primrose) - Counter wound over the dubbed body
DETAILED TYING INSTRUCTION:
1) Mount hook in vise
2) Wax the roughly 150 mm (6") of the tying silk and attach it to the hook with four wraps, just behind the eye of the hook. Trim off tag end.
3) Prepare hackle (strip off fluffy base fibers) and then tye in by the stem with four firm wraps. Trim off the stem of the feather.
4) Pinch off a small clump of underfur from the muskrat skin, and finger blend the fibers.
5) Take a very small amount of dubbing (think tiny whisk) and dub the tying thread. Wrap the dubbing forward to the hackle tye in point (helps form the body taper) and then back to the bend of the hook. The dubbing should run out where you want the tag end to be.
6) Make three wraps of thread to form the tag and then begin wrapping forward to the eye of the hook. When you get to the dubbed section of the body, use open spiral wraps to form the ribs/segment the body.
7) Add a tiny tiny (repeated for emphasis) amount of dubbing to the thread and form a tiny thorax.
8) Wrap the hackle feather towards the thorax, and secure in place by wrapping the thread forward at a steep angle.
9) Form a three turn whip finish (forming the head) and trim off the thread.
Just playing with some new materials...
