Fly Tying Inventory
Platte River Special
A classic feather-wing streamer, tied here by Charlie Craven. The body is mylar tinsel over a red thread base, overwrapped with translucent tubing (gold here), with a red Darlon throat. The wing is a set of yellow streamer hackles with a brown or furnace center, and a collar of wound yellow and brown hackle finishes the front. The tubing comes in gold, orange or yellow, so the body color can be changed. A red thread head coated with UV resin completes it. Tie it in sizes 4 to 8.
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Materials
Standard tubing, gold, orange or yellow
Gold, orange or yellow
Mylar tinsel, large, size 10
10
Darlon, red, tied under the hook as a throat
Red
Whiting streamer cape (or Chinese rooster cape), 2 yellow and 2 brown or furnace hackles
Yellow and brown or furnace
Whiting streamer cape (or Chinese rooster cape), 1 yellow and 2 brown or furnace hackles, wound as a collar
Yellow and brown or furnace
Solarez Bone Dry PLUS UV resin, for the head
How to Tie the Platte River Special
- 1
Step 1
Mount the hook, start the red thread and cover the shank with an even layer back to the bend.
- 2
Step 2
Tie in the tubing and the mylar tinsel, binding them along the shank so the underbody stays smooth.
- 3
Step 3
Wrap the tinsel up the shank and tie it off behind the eye, leaving room for the wing and collar.
- 4
Step 4
Wind the tubing forward over the tinsel and tie it off at the same point. Trim the excess.
- 5
Step 5
Tie a small bunch of red Darlon under the hook as a throat.
- 6
Step 6
Pick two yellow and two brown or furnace hackles. Stack them with the brown feathers in the center and a yellow feather on each side.
- 7
Step 7
Tie the wing set on top of the shank and trim the stems.
- 8
Step 8
Tie in the yellow hackle and wind it as a collar. Tie it off and trim.
- 9
Step 9
Wind the two brown or furnace hackles in front of the yellow one the same way to finish the collar.
- 10
Step 10
Build a neat red thread head and whip finish. Coat the head with Solarez Bone Dry PLUS and cure it with a UV light.
Watch Tying Tutorial
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VXgQeSFsqLI
Credit: Charlie Craven / Charlie's Fly Box