The pattern notebook · nymph
Hares Ear Blowtorch
How do you tie a Hares Ear Blowtorch?
Hares Ear Blowtorch is a nymph fly pattern for trout. Find its 7 materials and 8 tying steps below.
- Difficulty
- 3 of 5
- Target species
- trout
- Pattern designer
- Devin Olsen
Added to catalog · Updated
At the vise
Materials
- Hook: Fulling Mill Jig Force (FM 5140) Sizes 14-18
- Bead: Copper Slotted Tungsten, 2mm To 3.5mm
- Thread: Semperfli 12/0, Wood Duck
- Rib: Wapsi Mirage Opal Tinsel, Small
- Body: Hares Ear Plus Dubbing, Natural
- Hackle: CDC Dyed Tannish Yellow
- Tag: Glo Brite Floss Color 05, 4 Strands
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Tying instructions
1. Slide the bead up to the eye and make four turns of .015" lead wire behind it. Break off the ends and shove the wraps tight against the bead. Start the thread behind the lead wraps and build a small thread dam from the bare shank up to the diameter of the lead, then continue making a thread base all the way back to the bend. Return the thread to just behind the bead.
2. Tie in three strands of Glo-Brite Floss just behind the bead and wrap over them to the bend, taking care to keep them on top of the hook. Return the thread to the starting point.
3. Tie in a single strand of Mirage tinsel on the near side of the hook and wrap over it to the bend.
4. Use the Dubbing to build a tapered body from the base of the tail to just short of the back of the bead. Wrap the Flashabou rib forward over the body and tie off and trim
5. Select a CDC feather with a thin stem. Strip the inside of the feather—if you tie right-handed, you will strip the left side of the feather. I also like to “thumbnail” the remaining fibers to length ahead of time, so they are broken off to about the same length as the hook shank.
6. Tie in the CDC feather by its tip, then fold the tip to the rear and make a couple of thread wraps over it to secure it. Clip the excess.
7. Make no more than two turns of CDC just behind the bead and tie it off. Clip the excess and build a smooth thread collar while sweeping the fibers back slightly. Whip-finish the thread but do not clip it.
8. Coat the working thread with a smear of clear Solarez Bone Dry. Do this right up close to the hook. Wrap the wet thread over the thread collar, using the thread as the applicator to place the resin precisely on the thread collar without bleeding into the base of the CDC collar. Make three or four turns of thread to apply the resin, then unwrap and clip the thread before curing the resin with your UV lamp. Finally, clip the Glo-Brite Floss even with the outside of the hook bend, leaving a short stubby hot spot tag.