Mike asked me to do a step by step for this, my favorite fly
More than happy, this is my early season one for the Large Dark Olive
Hook: Partridge SLD size 12-16
Thread: pearsalls no.5 silk
Body: a mist of muskrat fur
Hackle: a dark greenish sheen feather from the outside of a moorhens wing
You can use Mole to make the body darker, and you can use The inside feather from the wing to make the hackle lighter, covering you for all the olives in various sizes
Step one select an appropriate feather.
Then strip the flue from its base
Set a hook in the vice, in this case a size12
Tie in the hackle by the tip
Remove the tip and wind down to level with the point of the hook, back off three turns.
Apply some wax to the thread
Make sure the wax is enough to coat the thread without lumps
Touch the dubbing onto the thread, to form a very light mist
Start the body with the 3 turns down to the hook point and then in touching turns back up to where you snipped off the hackle tip
Wind the hackle from the front through 3 turns making sure the fibres do not trap each other, back towards the thread.
Tie off the hackle with 2-3 turns and snip off waste as close to the hook as possible
Now wind the thread through the hackle with almost touching turns making sure not to trap any fibres. (this makes the fibres stand out perpendicular to the hook and provides a lot of toughness to the delicate hackle)
Finish the fly with a small head and a whip finish
Sandy
