Aftershaft Assam Dragon SBS

[ScottP]

Vintage dragonfly pattern. Alternative to rabbit/seal fur strip versions.


hook - Dai Riki 280 #10
underbody - non-tox .025
thread - Danville 6/0 brown
rib - small wire gold (twisted - optional; thought it looked cool)
body - pheasant aftershaft
hackle - partridge

Part 1

wrap front 1/3 of shank with non-tox; tie in thread, tie in wire loop, wrap to bend




twist wire tight




create thread loop; wax




insert aftershaft feathers, spin, moisten








wrap forward; repeat, as needed, to fill up the shank (this one took 4 separate loops)




counterwrap rib, helicopter end, cover with thread

[ScottP]

Part 2

tie in partridge by tip




wrap, tie off/trim, whip finish, SHHAN







Regards,
Scott

[BadBug]

You sure do nice flies using aftershafts. I really dislike working with those although I have a bunch of them saved up.

Dennis

[ScottP]

I really dislike working with those although I have a bunch of them saved up.

Dennis

Dennis,

Thanks. If you can hold the feather in a clip of some sort (an old Bulldog or something similar) and insert it in the loop (wax the thread first) it’s a lot easier to work with.

Scott

[BadBug]

Thanks Scott, I will give that a shot. I want to tie some Gartside Sparrows.

Dennis

[melk]

Again Scott, I appreciate your SBS and the way to do aftershaft feathers! In this SBS, you are using two feathers in the loop - yes?
I also want to do some Gartside Sparrows.
Thanks,
Mike

[rainbowchaser]

Another option for handling aftershaft feathers is to tie them in a and wrap them around the tying thread like you would the noodle of dubbing in a rope dubbing. This can be wrapped forward without pulling on the aftershaft and leaves it reinforced with the thread. This works well for me on sparrows but I don't know about multiple feathers like Scott has used here.

[SMClark]

I surely hope there's a Publisher out there somewhere that has sense enough to have you on contract to write a tying book, or at the very least on retainer to do the photographic illustration … !

[ScottP]

In this SBS, you are using two feathers in the loop - yes?

Mike,

Yes, I did put 2 in the loop - trying to speed things up since I had a bit of shank to cover; to tell the truth it didn?t make it go any faster and I still had to use multiple loops. I have found it helpful to stack 2 aftershafts and insert in the loop if I want a denser look; again, using a clip of some kind (I have one of those Petitjean ones) makes it a lot easier.

Regards,
Scott

[hap]

The Assam Dragon is one of my very favorite lake flies and it is deadly up here. Only comment I would add to the excellent write up is to find bigger aftershafts and use the split thread method rather than loops. To me it is much faster and especially with the Nor-Vise I can make the noodle plenty long. I have made many aftershaft brushes and go that route when I am not under the gun to tie a few flies and get fishing!