Fly Tying Inventory
Mole Fly
Charlie Craven designed the Mole Fly while working with CDC patterns, and he has used it for small mayfly hatches for at least twenty years. Its forward-swept wing of white Fluoro Fibre and dun CDC holds the fly up in the surface while the brown beaver body hangs below, like a mayfly that is crippled or still emerging. It needs only four materials, and Craven reaches for it when tailwater trout get difficult. Tie it in sizes 16 to 24. Tied here on a Tiemco 2487 curved hook.
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Materials
White Fluoro Fibre, 3 strands
White
Natural dun CDC feathers, 2 per fly
Natural dun
Brown beaver dubbing
Brown
How to Tie the Mole Fly
- 1
Step 1
Start the gray thread a short distance behind the eye and build a small thread base.
- 2
Step 2
Tie in three strands of white Fluoro Fibre on top of the shank so they extend forward over the eye.
- 3
Step 3
Stack two dun CDC feathers with their tips even and tie them in on top of the Fluoro Fibre, tips forward over the eye.
- 4
Step 4
Trim the butts of the CDC and Fluoro Fibre and cover them with smooth thread wraps.
- 5
Step 5
Trim the Fluoro Fibre so it is about as long as the CDC, forming a forward-swept wing.
- 6
Step 6
Wrap the thread back down the shank and partway around the bend.
- 7
Step 7
Dub the thread lightly with brown beaver and wrap a slim, tapered body forward to the base of the wing.
- 8
Step 8
Take a turn of dubbing in front of the wing to prop it forward, then whip finish behind the eye and trim the thread.
Watch Tying Tutorial
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xo3oxHBLz4c
Credit: Charlie Craven