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Bead Head Flash Back Pheasant Tail

step: 1

Pattern Description The Bead Head Pheasant Tail is yet another variation on the ubiquitous P.T. There are a few minor changes in the tying sequence when using the bead as well as adding the flash wingcase. Follow through this pattern for tips on tying it with or without the bead or the flashback. I like to use the bead head version as a dropper under a dry or in a combo with an unweighted nymph. The addition of the flash back makes this fly show up well off-color water as well. There are a bunch of different variations possible, and they all work. It's up to you to find out which ones you like best!

Materials Needed: All materials used here available for mail order. Please use the contact form for pricing and details. Hook: TMC 5262 #12-18 Thread: 8/0 UNI Rusty Brown Bead: Brass, Copper or Tungsten, sized to hook Weight: Lead wire, sized to hook Tail: Ringneck Pheasant Tail Fibers Rib: Fine Copper wire Abdomen: Ringneck Pheasant Tail Fibers Wingcase: Ringneck Pheasant Tail Fibers topped with Firefly Flash Thorax: Peacock herl Legs: Leftover butts of Pheasant tail from wingcase

step: 2
Place the bead on the hook (with the small hole toward the hook point) and slide it up to the eye of the hook. Wrap 6-8 turns of lead wire around the shank behind the bead. Break off the ends and shove the lead into the back of the bead to center it and hold it in place.	click to enlarge
step: 3
Start the thread behind the lead wraps and form a thread base tapering up onto the lead. Wrap the base back to the bend of the hook.	click to enlarge
step: 4
Select 6-8 pheasant tail fibers and strip them from the quill. Measure the P.T. fibers against the shank so they are equal to one half of a shank length and tie them in at the bend. Wrap forward over the butt ends to the sixty percent point on the shank and clip the remainder.	click to enlarge
step: 5
Tie in a piece of copper wire along the near side of the shank and wrap back over it to the bend of the hook.	click to enlarge
step: 6
Select another bunch of P.T. fibers, about six or eight, and clip the tip ends square. Tie the pheasant tail fibers in at the bend of the hook with the tips extending to the sixty percent point. The tips will help to form the underbody and tying them in this way will eliminate any bump at the bend of the hook.	click to enlarge
step: 7
Wrap forward over the butt ends to the sixty percent point, taking care to keep the underbody smooth and lump-free.	click to enlarge
step: 8
Wrap the pheasant tail fibers forward to just behind the bead, about an eye length or so back. Try to keep the fibers side by side as you wrap without overlapping them too much. Tie the pheasant fibers off on the UNDERSIDE of the shank by holding them below the hook as you make a couple wraps of thread over them.	click to enlarge
step: 9
Spiral wrap the rib forward over the abdomen with eight or nine evenly spaced turns. Feel free to counter-wrap the wire if you like, it really makes no difference. Tie the wire off at the front of the abdomen and break off the excess.	click to enlarge
step: 10
Tie in two or three strands of Fire Fly flash at the center of their length on top of the hook at the front edge of the abdomen. I prefer the Fire Fly flash over standard Krystal Flash or Flashabou because its kinked surface adheres and shapes better over the wingcase. Krystal Flash and Flashabou are both much stiffer than the Fire Fly and thus make a flat looking wingcase.	click to enlarge
step: 11
Double the front ends of the flash back over the abdomen and bind them down to the sixty percent point on the shank.	click to enlarge
step: 12
Pull the pheasant tail fibers up above the hook and bind them down across the top of the shank back to the base of the flash/end of the abdomen/sixty percent point.	click to enlarge
step: 13
Select half a dozen or so peacock herls from the eye of the quill and tie them in by their tips. It helps to cut the tips square first to give yourself an even bunch to tie in. Wrap back over the peacock herl to the base of the wingcase and return the thread to the back of the bead.	click to enlarge
step: 14
Wrap the peacock forward forming a bushy thorax. Tie the peacock off and clip the excess.	click to enlarge
step: 15
Pull the pheasant tail fibers forward over the top of the peacock herl thorax and tie them down at the back of the bead. Keep the wraps to a minimum to keep the bulk down.	click to enlarge
step: 16
Pull the flash over the top of the pheasant tail fiber wingcase and tie them down at the back of the bead as well.	click to enlarge
step: 17
Make sure the flash forms a smooth, even layer over the top of the wingcase, with no twisting or spreading.	click to enlarge
step: 18
Clip the excess flash at the back of the bead. Pull one of the pheasant tail fibers that were left over from the wingcase back along the far side of the fly and bind it in place with a turn or two of thread.	click to enlarge
step: 19
Pull another single pheasant fiber back along the near side of the hook and bind it in place also. Grab the remaining tips in your fingers, and while pulling down on the thread, snap them off.	click to enlarge
step: 20
Build a smooth thread "neck" behind the bead to cover the tie down area.	click to enlarge
step: 21
Whip finish the thread at the back of the bead in the neck area and clip the thread.	click to enlarge
step: 22
Clip the legs so they are even with the back edge of the wingcase. Add a drop of head cement to the thread head and you're done!	click to enlarge

Charlies FlyBox

September 09, 2010

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Charlie's FlyBox
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7513 Grandview Ave
Olde Town Arvada
Colorado, 80002

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