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Lady
Amherst - thanks to
Fly Anglers Online
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[click to enlarge]
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| with special thanks to Maxwell MacPherson, Jr | |
| Hook: |
Mustad #36890 |
Size: 3/0 - 10/0 |
| Thread: |
Black Prewaxed 6/0 |
| Tag: |
Silver thread and yellow floss |
| Tail: |
A topping and Blue Chatterer |
| Butt: |
Black ostrich herl |
| Body: |
Flat silver
tinsel over an underbody of white floss |
| Ribs: |
Medium oval silver tinsel |
| Hackle: |
badger hackle |
| Throat: |
teal |
| Wing: |
An inner wing of two extended Jungle Cock feathers (set back to
back) going back to a position about one-quarter inch lower than the tip of the tail; over the
Jungle Cock are two sets of Amherst Pheasant
tippet feathers, the first set of which extends
back so that they do not cover the tips of the
Jungle Cock; the second set of tippets cover the
first set so that the first black bar of the
second set align with the second black bar of the
first set. Both of these sets are back to back. |
| Sides: |
Jungle Cock |
| Cheeks: |
Blue Chatterer(kingfisher or hen
neck dyed blue); Topping over all. |
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| Horns: |
Blue and yellow Macaw ( sometimes
the horns are left off) |
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| Dressing (Tying)
Instructions: |
1. The silkworm gut
is first twisted and left to dry for about twenty
minutes. It is then doubled and a loop formed in
the middle. The gut isthen lashed to the bottom
of the blind eye hook with the ends extending as
far back as a position over the hook point. |
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2. Then the fly dressing
commences with the tying in of the silver thread
(or fine oval silver tinsel). About four turns of
tinsel should suffice. |
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3. Next the yellow floss is
applied starting about one-quarter inch ahead of
where you left off with the tinsel. A single
strand of yellow floss is used for this. It is
wound back to the tinsel and then wound forward
to the tie-in. |
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4. Here the Topping is tied in on
top of the hook shank so that it is in line with
the top of the hook shank. |
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5. The blue feather is thentied
so that it lays flat on the base of the tail. It
should only extend over the tail about
three-eighths of an inch. |
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6. The ostrich herl butt can now
be tied in. Be careful to do this so that the
fibers of the herl point to the rear of the fly
or straight up (never to the front). |
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7. Tie in a length of oval silver
tinsel so that you have enough to make five
evenly spaced turns. Now bind down the remnant
end of the tinsel to the underside of the hook
shank up to a position about one-quarter inch
short of the front end of the hook. Leave the
usable end of the rib hanging out of the way for
the time being. |
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8. Next tie in a length of white
floss where you finished up. The length of the
floss should be about 12 inches. Wrap it back
toward the butt with nice even turns so that no
black from the hook shows through. Once you are
at the butt, reverse direction and wrap until you
are at the tie in point again. The idea here is
to make a smooth surface for the flat silver
tinsel which follows after the next step. |
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9. The next part is to take your
tying thread to mid-shank. Prepare the badger
hackle by "doubling" it. This is done
by attaching your hackle pliers to the butt of
the hackle, holding the hackle pliers with three
fingers (which frees your thumb and forefinger).
Grab the tip of the feather with the thumb and
forefinger of the other hand. Now wet your thumb
and forefinger of the hand holding the hackle
pliers. Immediately stroke the fibers of the
hackle with the wet fingers so that the fibers
bend and form a "V" of the two sides of
the hackle. The hackle can now be tied into place
near the tip (where the fibers begin with the
"V"). When tying it into place make
sure that the open part of the "V" is
facing you or slightly to the rear of the fly (
when you actually go to wrapping it the fibers
will point to the rear, as they should). Don't
wrap the rib or hackle until after the next step.
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10. Carry the tying thread to
where you originally tied in the white floss
(near the head area). Here attach a length of
flat silver tinsel of about 18 inches in length.
Wrap the flat tinsel toward the butt, around the
hackle going back. When you reach the butt,
reverse the direction and wind forward, again
around the hackle, and then tie off at the
starting point. The object here is to make a body
that looks like it was painted on. Nice close
even turns with no floss showing through. |
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11. Now wrap the rib (which was
left hanging in a previous step) in five, evenly
spaced turns, the third one of which should come
just to the right of the hanging (prepared)
hackle. The fifth turn of the rib should be right
where the flat tinsel was tied off. Tie off the
rib tinsel here also. |
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12. Next, carefully wrap the
hackle forward so that each turn comes just
behind each turn of the third, fourth and fifth
turn of rib. The hackle pliers should still be
attached to the butt end of the hackle.Tie off
the hackle at the place where the other materials
were tied off. You should have about a quarter
inch of space left between the tie off point and
the end of the hook. |
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13. The rear half of space left
will be occupied by a Teal hackle throat. This is
prepared from a Teal hackle fashioned using the
same method as for the badger hackle. Once you
have it made up, tie it in and give two or three
close wraps and then tie off. The remnant ends of
the hackle can be cut out of the way in
preparation for the wings. |
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14. Build up the area where the
head and wing material is to be fastened so that
the head area is about one-eighth inch in
diameter. You're now ready for the wing! |
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15. Tie into place two back to
back Jungle Cock feathers so that they are in
line with the hook shank standing on edge and
extending to a point about one-quarter inch below
the tip of the tail topping. |
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16. Now tie into place the first
set of Amherst Pheasant tippets so that they too
are in line with the top of the hook shank and
reaching back so that they do not quite cover
light spots on the Jungle Cock. You might need to
do some adjustments after you have given a few
turns of thread over the butt ends of the
tippets. |
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17. Once you have them where you
want then apply a second set of tippets over the
first set so that the first bar of the second set
overlaps the second bar of the first set. Again,
adjust the feathers with your fingers after a few
wraps of tying thread. |
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18. You're ready for the Jungle
Cock sides, which should be flat against the
tippets and going back to about the first black
bar nearest the head of the fly. |
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19. The blue feathers should go
over these and occupy a position about one-half
inch from the head area. |
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20. Next prepare the topping by
aligning it to judge the length from tip to tie
in point. Nick the topping at the proposed tie in
point and bend the butt section up. Give a few
wraps around the nicked point and adjust the
topping so it sits properly. |
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21. One fiber of Blue and Yellow
Macaw should go on each side of the top portion
of the fly, with the blue side of the fiber
facing out on each side. |
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22. Fashion a nice head, lacquer
with black lacquer and let dry overnight before
packaging. |
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Viola! There you are... a
"Lady Amherst"!~ Maxwell MacPherson,
Jr. |
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