Red Quill

Materials

How to Tie the Red Quill

1. 1

   Step 1

   Start the olive thread a short way behind the eye and lay a base where the wing will sit.

2. 2

   Step 2

   Strip a bunch of wood duck flank fibers, line up the tips, and tie them in on top of the shank with the tips pointing over the eye. Trim the butts and bind them down.

3. 3

   Step 3

   Stand the wing upright with thread wraps in front of it, then split it into two equal bunches with figure-eight wraps.

4. 4

   Step 4

   Wrap the thread back to the bend and tie in a bunch of dun hackle fibers for the tail. Trim the butts.

5. 5

   Step 5

   Strip all the fibers from two reddish brown neck hackles to leave two bare quills.

6. 6

   Step 6

   Tie both quills in at the bend and bring the thread forward to just behind the wing.

7. 7

   Step 7

   Wrap the two quills forward together to make a segmented body. Tie them off behind the wing and trim the excess.

8. 8

   Step 8

   Size two dun hackles to the hook with a hackle gauge and strip the fluff from the base of each stem.

9. 9

   Step 9

   Tie both hackles in just behind the wing.

10. 10

    Step 10

    Wrap the first hackle behind and in front of the wing and tie it off. Wind the second hackle through the first, tie it off, and trim both tips.

11. 11

    Step 11

    Whip finish behind the eye and cut the thread.