Fly Tying Inventory
Green Machine
The Green Machine is a dry salmon fly from Canada, and anglers now fish it as far afield as Scotland, Scandinavia and Russia. The fly has a two-part fluorescent floss butt, a short Crystal Flash tail, a body of green deer hair spun and clipped to shape, and a red game saddle hackle palmered over the body and locked down with the tag end of the GSP thread. The tail can be calf tail instead, or left off. Tie it on an up-eye salmon single in sizes 4 to 8.
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Materials
Up-eye salmon single, sizes 4-8
4-8
GSP thread, 100 denier, for spinning the hair; the tag end becomes the rib
100 denier
Globrite floss no. 12 (fluorescent green), then no. 4 (red), for the two-part butt
Crystal Flash (or calf tail)
Deer hair, green, spun and clipped to shape
Green
Red game saddle hackle, palmered
Red game
Tag end of the GSP thread
Head cement
How to Tie the Green Machine
- 1
Step 1
Start the GSP thread on the shank and leave a long tag end hanging at the bend. It will be used later as the rib.
- 2
Step 2
Tie in the no. 12 Globrite floss at the bend and wrap a short band. Tie it off, then wrap a second short band of no. 4 floss just in front of it.
- 3
Step 3
Tie in a few strands of Crystal Flash just in front of the butt so the tips extend back over it as a short tail, and trim the excess. Use calf tail instead, or skip the tail, if you prefer.
- 4
Step 4
Cut a bunch of green deer hair, remove the underfur, and spin it onto the shank in front of the butt with firm thread pressure.
- 5
Step 5
Push the hair back tightly and keep adding and packing bunches until the shank is covered almost to the eye. Leave room for the hackle and head.
Packing each bunch hard against the last gives a dense body that trims cleanly.
- 6
Step 6
Whip finish the GSP behind the eye and cut it, keeping the long tag end at the rear. Trim the deer hair to a neat, even body shape, taking care not to cut the tag end.
- 7
Step 7
Start the black Uni 8/0 behind the eye. Prepare the red game saddle hackle and tie it in at the front of the body.
- 8
Step 8
Palmer the hackle back over the clipped body to the butt in open turns.
- 9
Step 9
Wind the GSP tag end forward through the hackle as a rib to lock the stem in place. Tie it off with the black thread at the front and trim the hackle tip and the tag end.
- 10
Step 10
Form a small, neat head with the black thread. Whip finish and add a drop of head cement.
Watch Tying Tutorial
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qiv-8ow4874
Credit: Martyn White