Hairy Carey
Hook - Daiichi Model 2220 (Size 8)
Underbody - 0.025" Lead-free Wire
Thread - 8/0 UNI-Thread (Camel)
Front and Rear Hackle - Ringneck Pheasant Rump Feathers (choose color to suit pattern)
Body - Jamieson's Spindrift Shetland Wool Yarn (choose color to suit your patten)
This fly is sort of an amalgam of a couple proven trout patterns. The famous Carey Special and the Double Hackle. I've combined elements of these flies, along with a wool body, and ended up with a very buggy nymph. Hopefully the wire underbody adds sufficient weight to help this pattern fish deep, and flip the pattern over on the way down (designed to fish hook point up deep in the water column).
Close-Up view of Ringneck Pheasant Rump Feathers:
Rump Feathers (prepared/top and unprepared/bottom):
Wool Yarn:
I think this is "Fog" Spindrift (No. 272)
WEBLINK ---> https://www.jamiesonsofshetland.co.uk/2 ... -191-p.asp
TUTORIAL
along with a nifty technique to form tapered underbodies
Special Tool Needed:
- Needle Nose Pliers with flat jaws
Close-Up View of the flattened wire core (this helps form the body taper)
TYING SEQUENCE/Step-by-step Tutorial
Flatten roughly 3/4" section of the end of the wire with the needle nose pliers. The pliers can easily flatten lead-free wire (and lead wire).
Mount the hook in the vice, then wrap the weighted wire underbody forward. F
Once you wrap the flattened section of wire, continue wrapping the middle section with the round wire. Once you have the desired number of middle wraps (six or seven wraps in this case), then use the pliers to flatten another section of the wire near the front. Continue wrapping forward, then break off excess when you are happy with the overall length of the underbody.
At this point, the wire underbody can be slid into position and then locked in with tying thread.
Attach your tying thread, and wrap over the wire underbody to help hold it in place. Make wraps on the hook shank, directly in front of and behind the wire underbody. Then cover with thread wraps to form a tapered underbody. I like to give the underbody a coat of head cement to add durability.
Prepared hook and pheasant rump feathers:
Tie in one rump hackle at the eye of the hook, then tye in the second hackle feather at the back of the hook.
Using hackle pliers, fold the rear hackle fibers and then wrap forward forming the rear hackle collar. Secure the hackle with tying thread, clip off the excess tip and then pull the fibers rearward. Wrap the thread back over the butts of the stem, forcing the hackle fibers rearward. The hackle fibers will form a cone shape facing out over the bend of the hook.
Add a drop of head cement to the base of the hackle fibers (adds durability).
Wrap the tying thread forward to the eye of the hook, then tie in a piece of yarn along the top of the hook. Wrap all the way back to the tail of the fly, then wrap the thread forward to the eye of the hook.
Wrap the yarn forward, forming the body of the fly. Secure with the tying thread and clip off the excess.
Wrap the front hackle rearward, forming the front hackle collar. Secure with the tying thread, and clip off the excess hackle feather.
Whip finish, forming a neat conical head. Add a drop of head cement to finish the fly.
Here is a darker color version, using some Tan and Green (#241) Jaimeson's wool yarn.
(I offer a special thanks to our member "Variant" (Louis Duncan) for sending me a sample of this Tan/Green Spindrift yarn. Thanks buddy. This color looks terrific with the Ringneck Pheasant rump feathers.
Very complimentary color scheme.)
The more I look at this pattern, the more I am reminded to Pacific Northwest Intruder patterns, along with the famous Carey Special and Double Hackle patterns. Taken all together (and with a few creative adjustments), this generalized pattern will imitate a very wide range of food items (damsel nymphs/leeches/cased caddis larva/crayfish/shrimp/baitfish/etc). I already have a couple other ideas for variations on this theme.
I'm looking forward to fishing this in the future. Bet it will work on trout and on smallmouth...
