The Goat's Toe
I was asked about an Irish fly called the "Goat's Toe" , which is very popular in Scotland, on another BB.
It may also be of interest here as a Salmon/Steelhead pattern.
The original version had a red floss body ribbed with peacock herl but John Kennedy of the South Uist Estates in the Western Isles (Hebrides) improved and strengthened it by ribbing a herl body with red wool. Stan Headley included a fluo floss ribbing and a bottle green peacock hackle as opposed to the metallic blue of the original. It has been very successful on the large English reservoirs and the big Highland and Orkney lochs in a loch-style team. This is taken from John Roberts 'Dictionary of Trout Flies'.
Here is the recipe given:-
Hook:- 10 - 12, or long shank 12 for salmon and sea-trout.
Thread:- Black.
Butt:- One turn medium flat gold.
Tag:- Fluorescent Red Wool.
Body:- Two strands of Bronze Peacock herl, one wound up theshank and one wound down.
ribbed with four strands of GloBrite #5 (Fire Orange) twisted.
Hackle:- Bottle Green Peacock neck feather (one and a half times the body length).
A bolstering black hen hackle may be added to support the peacock hackle.
This I believe is the Stan Headley version which has been very successful
Larger versions on low-water salmon hooks are also used as single flies.
You will note I used a metallic blue hackle, it's what I had, and a #8 hook.
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Originally Posted by Betty Hiner
