Black and peacock

 

Spider type flies like the Black and Peacock are very buggy and suggestive flies. Weather being used as a polaroiding fly, a static wet, one of the flies in a team of loch style flies, or a fly to cover rising fish spider type soft hackle flies may be taken as a snail, submerged beetle, drowned terrestrial, diving beetle or even a corixia. Alternatively the fish may just pick them up because of the movement of the soft hackle or the suggestive buggy nature of the overall shape. In any case they are a worthwhile addition to your fly box.

Materials

Hook Thread Rib(Optional) Body Legs
Size 10 to 14 dry fly hook Black Fine silver wire Peacock or Ostrich herl or dubbing A couple of turns of oversize black hen hackle

Process

A
  1. Wind the thread in touching turns to the bend of the hook.
  2. Tie in a length of copper wire if your going to rib the fly.
  3. Tie in your dubbing material or your peacock herl.

B
  1. Either dub on a plump body of good quality dubbing material along the back 3/4 of the hook shank, or
  2. Tie in several strands of peacock herl.
  3. Form the herl into a herl rope.
  4. Wind the herl rope along the rear 3/4 of the hook shank to form an acorn shaped body.
  5. Trim the excess herl.

C
  1. If your ribbing the fly wind the copper wire along the body of the fly forming 3 or 4 segments.
  2. Tie the copper wire off in front of the body and trim the excess copper wire.
  3. Select a slightly oversize hen hackle and tie it in by the butt and take just 1 to 3 turns of the hackle in front of the body.

D
  1. Tie the hackle off and trim the excess.
  2. Slide the fingers of your left hand onto the fly from the front gently stroking the hackle fibres backward.
  3. Build up a neat head of thread.

E
  1. Trim the thread and varnish the head.