Fly Tying Inventory
Magic Dun Soft Hackle
Curtis Fry built this mayfly soft hackle as a variation on a dun soft hackle he and his friends have fished for years on Utah's Green River. A sticky-backed strip of Magic Quills forms a banded body over gray thread, and a Whiting Bantam Hen Cape supplies both the tail and the soft hackle. In gray it matches a Baetis, or Blue Wing Olive, and a change of colors covers PMDs and Sulphurs. Use it for picky trout on pressured water before, during and after the hatch. Tied here on a size 16 hook.
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Materials
Hanak Hooks Model 230 BL Wet Fly, H 230 BL, size 16 (or Fulling Mill 35105 Competition Heavyweight, size 16)
16
Whiting Bantam Hen Cape, natural dun, for the tail and hackle
Natural dun
Magic Quills, medium (or Hemmingway Synthetic Tapered Peacock Quill, natural)
Medium
Loon Fluorescing UV Clear Fly Finish, to coat the quill body and finish the head
Wapsi Super Fine Dry Fly Dubbing, Blue Winged Olive (or Nature's Spirit Beaver Dubbing, Gray Olive)
Blue Winged Olive
How to Tie the Magic Dun Soft Hackle
- 1
Step 1
Mount the hook in the vise, start the gray thread behind the eye and wrap back to the bend.
- 2
Step 2
Pull a small bunch of fibers from a feather on the bantam hen cape and tie them in at the bend for a sparse tail. Trim the butts.
- 3
Step 3
Smooth the thread along the shank so it makes a clean base for the quill.
The quill is translucent, so the thread shows through it. Choose the thread color to tint the body.
- 4
Step 4
Cut a single strip from the Magic Quills sheet, peel it from its backing, and tie it in at the base of the tail.
- 5
Step 5
Advance the thread to the front of the body.
- 6
Step 6
Grip the strip in hackle pliers and wrap it forward in even turns to make a banded body. Tie it off and trim the excess.
- 7
Step 7
Coat the quill body with Loon Fluorescing UV Clear Fly Finish and cure it with a UV light.
- 8
Step 8
Dub the thread lightly and wrap a small thorax just ahead of the body, leaving room behind the eye for the hackle.
- 9
Step 9
Choose a feather from the cape with fibers that suit the hook size and tie it in behind the eye.
- 10
Step 10
Wrap the feather with hackle pliers to form the soft hackle, then tie it off and trim the excess.
- 11
Step 11
Stroke the fibers back, build a small thread head and whip finish.
- 12
Step 12
Add a touch of UV finish to the head and cure it.
Watch Tying Tutorial
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yn9p42vfxWA
Credit: Curtis Fry / Fly Fish Food