1/ First
off wrap a nice even base of thread starting from
near the front of the hook and extending to the
point where you are going to tie in your first part
of the fly, the tail. This point should be roughly
level with the barb on the hook. Once this is completed
and you have a good bed of thread proceed to step
two.
2/ Get
a piece of Flat Silver Mylar. Be sure to use Mylar
and not tinsel so that you get the required look
to the fly. Tie this in leaving the tag end (long
end) protruding to the rear of the fly. This keeps
it out of the way of the following steps. Take your
scissors and trim the excess tinsel and once again
lay a couple of thread wraps to bring the thread
back to the rear of the fly.
3/ Next
locate your chenille and break off a piece
of sufficient length to tie the fly. I use a big
piece which is then used to tie several flies in
a row. Strip some of the material from the bottom
of the chenille, tie in and pull it to the rear
and out of the way. Now trim any excess and wind
the thread forward to a point behind the eye. Leave
enough room for tying in the wing.
4/ Now
that the thread is at the front of the fly take
the chenille and wind evenly towards the thread.
Each successive turn should be just in the front
of the previous one creating a nice thick body.
When you reach the point where the thread is tie
it off and trim any left over chenille that is not
needed. Secure with two more wraps of thread.
5/ Taking
the Mylar between your fingers wind forward through
the body of the fly toward the hook eye. Use no
more than 5 turns and no less than four to complete
this task. When you are satisfied with the way it
looks tie off the Mylar and trim any excess. Be
careful not to twist the Mylar while winding it
forward.
6/ Select
between 3 and 5 of the feathers you will use to
tie the wing. Measure them off against the hook
as shown. The ones I have used in this instance
are not perfect and you should look for ones with
a better curve when viewed from the side (see Step
8). When you are happy with what you have strip
the unwanted soft filaments from the base and stack
them one on top of each other in preparation for
tying in.
7/ Now
take your pre-selected wing feathers. Line them
up one on top of the other in your hand. Pinch them
at the point they are to be tied in at between your
thumb and forefingers. Measure them so that they
just overhang the rear of the fly. Take loose turns
of thread first near your finger tips getting progressively
tighter as you move towards the hook eye. This is
vital if the wing is to sit correctly and not splay.
8/ Trim
the excess or the feather stubs. Cut on an angle
with the jaws of the scissors flat and adjacent
to the hook eye and the tips of the scissors flat
and adjacent to the wing feathers. This will give
you a nice flat angled base on which to wrap a thread
head and complete the pattern. Take several turns
of thread to get the correct look as can be seen
below.
9/ Take
the orange or yellow coloured hackle feather and
tie in as shown. Tie in with the dull side towards
you and angled upwards. Take a couple of extra turns
of thread to secure and for peace of mind add a
half hitch. Trim the excess feather/hackle stem
so you are left with something similar to the photo.
10/ Now
wind the brightly coloured hackle with between one
and two turns. Finish directly behind the hook eye
where the thread should be. Tie off and trim any
excess. Add a couple of half hitches again to prevent
it unravelling at this late stage
.
11/
Now gently take the hackle fibres between
thumb and forefinger of your left hand. Carefully
hold them to the rear, striking them into place.
Using your right hand take a few wraps near the
back of the eye and then progressively moving towards
the rear of the fly causing the hackle to be forced
down as shown. When completed add a couple of half
hitches and there you have it.
12/
This is how the fly should look from above.
Having a Rotary enabled vice makes this very easy.
Note the great shape of the fly and the interesting
colour combinations. It really moves nicely through
the water and as it stays near to the top gives
a great silhouette when viewed from either below.
The
Pattern
This variant of the Craig's
Nighttime is a real deadly fly in its own right. It
also originated in New Zealand and there is a bit of
debate amongst anglers as to what it actually represents.
Like the Craig's it is deadly at night with the added
bonus of taking plenty of fish during the hours of daylight.
It has a reputation locally for taking plenty of big
fish in the Pondage and is one of the wets that will
bring results when the fish are on midge at first light
during the warmer months (don't ask me why!). So far
this year ( June, 2001) it has taken more fish than
any other pattern we have been fishing and again tonight
did the trick despite the bright moon.
This fly has a good profile
when viewed from both the side and below. The fantastic
qualities of the feather once used to tie it are well
represented by select feathers from a duck (you can
purchase feathers for Craig's Nighttimes already pre-packaged).
The fly has very little weight (hook and waterlogged
chenille) and this combined with a bulky water resistant
profile means it sinks rather slowly. Great for over
weed beds or when fish are feeding in the upper water
column e.g. mudeye hatch. Fished on a slow figure of
eight or a stop-start jerky retrieve it is one of the
must haves when fishing in stillwaters, particularly
after dark.
