Taihape Tickler  

Hook:    Tiemco TMC 200R # 6-10 

Thread:   Red 6/0 

Body: Red Chenille

Rib: Gold/Silver Mylar

Over Wing: Pukeko Breast or Substitute

Hackle: Orange or Yellow Hen

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.