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The term "Killer" flies refers to a style of fly rather than just a particular pattern. The common ingredient in the style is that successive pairs of  feathers are tied along the side of the flies vertically. Although there is some controversy over the actual origin of the style New Zealander Frank Lord is generally accredited with development of the style.

The best known of the killer style flies is the Mrs Simpson which is one of those must carry flies if your fishing in southern climes. When King Edward VIII announced that he intended to wed American divorcee Mrs Simpson it divided the English between those that were scandalized by the thought and his supporters. I don't know if the Mrs. Simpson fly was named after King Edward's Mrs. Simpson but it would be ironic if it was because fly tiers are about as divided about the Mrs. Simpson fly as the English public was about King Edward's Mrs. Simpson. Whilst many people who use Mrs. Simpson flies swear by them many a fly tier curses them as too hard to tie.

If you follow my instructions to tie a Mrs. Simpson you'll find out just how easy they are to tie. The fact that my tie of a Mrs. Simpson fly is a little easier than most ties of this fly can be accredited to tying the wool along the top of the shank of the hook first. This simple step helps overcome the perennial problem of the feathers rotating around the shank of the hook as they are tied in.

Popular Killer Style flies include:

A	Mrs. Simpson (Tied with church Ringneck Pheasant feathers - also known as Church window feathers) Mrs Simpson

B	Hammils Killer (The tie for the Hamel's Killer is basically the same as the tie for the Mrs Simpson except that the under-body is generally black and the wings are Hungarian partridge feather died olive)

C	Frog (The tie for the Frog is basically the same as the tie for the Mrs Simpson except that the under-body is generally black and the wings are Guinea fowl feathers died olives)

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