The pattern notebook · nymph
Flash Back Pheasant Tail
How do you tie a Flash Back Pheasant Tail?
Flash Back Pheasant Tail is a nymph fly pattern for trout. Find its 9 materials and 44 tying steps below.
- Difficulty
- 2 of 5
- Target species
- trout
Added to catalog · Updated
At the vise
Materials
- Jig Hook, Firehole 516, sizes 12-18
- Lead Wire, .015"
- Thread (6/0), Black
- Pheasant Tail Fibers (tail)
- Pheasant Tail Fibers (body/wingcase)
- UTC Ultra Wire, Small, Copper
- Flashabou, Pearl (flashback wingcase)
- Peacock Herl
- UV Resin
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Tying instructions
Secure the hook in the vise.
Wrap 5-6 turns of lead wire behind the eye.
Push the lead wraps together and position them forward, about 1/3 of the way up the shank.
Start thread up by the hook eye and use the tag end to help jump over the lead wraps.
Snip or snap off the waste lead.
Wrap thread back up over the lead to secure it further.
Bring your thread down into the hook bend slightly and then back up to the start of the hook bend.
Separate out about 6 pheasant tail fibers and align the tips by stroking them out perpendicular to the feather stem.
Pinch the tips to keep them aligned and rip them off the feather.
Tie in the pheasant tail fibers at the back of the tail with two wraps.
Adjust the tail length, pulling the feather stems back to shorten the tail to your desired length.
Put your finger over the wraps to help keep the tail from spinning.
Make tight wraps over the hook shank to just shy of the lead wraps.
Cut the fiber off, but keep these fibers as we will make the body with them.
Tie in the wire so the tip is right up against the lead wraps with 3-4 wraps.
Tie the flash directly on top of that hook with the tip extending to the lead wraps.
Tie down to the start of the tail and then back up one wrap.
Attach the waste piece of pheasant tail and wind your thread up to the start of the lead wraps.
Trim the squirlies off to make wrapping the body a little easier.
Stroke the fibers up to flatten them out and keep them straight.
Start wrapping them around the hook shank to form a body, holding them with your finger as you adjust your grip with each wrap.
Keep the fibers straight by stroking them out periodically to help align them.
Capture the fiber and trim the waste off close.
Counter wrap the wire over the flash and pheasant body.
Capture the wire with a wrap over it and cut off the flash.
Make a wrap over the wire, but use the wire to switch directions of your wraps.
Wrap around the hook and then around the wire once again, switching back to the direction that you usually tie in.
Hold the thread down tight and helicopter the wire off without it moving around.
Tie in the peacock hurl with the longer fiber side pointing down or out towards you.
Wrap this to form an abdomen.
Capture the hurl and if you wrap back up over it, you can simply break it off rather than cutting it.
Use your thumb to push the tips up and back.
Wiggle your thumb to separate the tips on either side of that abdomen.
Bring the butt ends up and over and in between the split tips.
Stroke the tips rearward with the butt ends up over them.
Make a wrap or two, then check them.
Use your thumbnail to flatten out the newly formed wing case and position the tips, which are now the nymph legs, where you want them.
Make one more tight wrap when you're happy.
Pull the fiber back and wrap in front as well.
Cut the fibers off close.
Pull the flash up over the wing case and capture with two wraps.
Whip finish the fly.
Paint a little Solarez Ultra Thin Bone Dry on the whip finish with a handy paint brush.
Paint a little over the top of the wing case to help make this fly more durable.