By Andrew Frutiger
In our seventh installment of online fly tying seminars, Chuck Dinkle led our veterans through one of the most versatile and complex flies to date, the Peacock and Partridge wet fly.
The fly itself is a classic, a centuries old pattern that can be fished in both streams and still water, weighted or unweighted. Tying the fly involves a size 12 hook (you can go smaller), black 6/0 thread, green or red silk thread, fine gold wire, peacock herl, and partridge neck feather. This is a great fly for the local streams and ponds and one that I know our veterans will get a lot of use out of.
Chuck also led our veterans through a primer on wet fly fishing (what the angler is trying to imitate as well as the proper technique to present the fly. Wet flies are trying to imitate: larval and pupal forms of aquatic insects, swamped still-born flies, and drowned adults or drowned terrestrials such as ants and beetles.
The best way to fish a wet fly is to cast 45 degrees downstream, allowing the fly to sink and swing with the current, and as the fly straightens it will begin to rise to the surface just like a hatching insect. Remember: presentation is everything, you can have the most perfectly tied fly, but it the presentation is sloppy, the fish won’t take.
If you have any questions or would like to participate in any of our upcoming fly tying sessions at Fort Detrick, please reach out to me at any time at andrewfrutiger@yahoo.com or go to our Facebook page at Project Healing Waters – Frederick Chapter.
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