Spey Flies

Jock Scott Spey
Tied by Wally Nowak

Recipe

    Hook: Partridge CS10/1 size 1 or 2, this is a Ken Sawada hook.

    Thread: 6/0 white for the body, black for the wing, throat and head.

    Tag: Flat silver tinsel.

    Tail: Yellow back feather from the Golden Pheasant with a soft red feather over.

    Body: Back half, golden yellow silk, silver oval tinsel rib, veiled with Golden Pheasant crest feathers; center joint of black Ostrich herl, front half, black silk ribbed with silver oval tinsel, black Spey hackle wound forward just behind the silver tinsel rib.

    Throat: Guinea Fowl hackle.

    Wing: Married strips of yellow, red and blue Goose shoulder, Peacock sword, 2 strands each side, with bronze Mallard over.

    Cheeks: Jungle Cock with blue chatterer veiling.

    Head: Black.

Notes:
The feather used for the Spey hackle might be some kind of commercially available Spey hackle that can be soaked for some time to soften the stem. Strip the hackle from one side of the feather and tie in by the tip and wrap while it is still wet. Soak in water at room temperature. The red feather for the tail I used was from a Golden Pheasant tippet crest that was dyed red. It was taken from the underneath the tippet feathers. Be creative when you look for substitute feathers.

Tie in the throat after the underwing of married Goose strips to avoid "bulking" up the head.

Keep in mind the proportions for this fly to give it the "look" of a Spey fly. Study the photos in books to get this look. Also, don't overdress it with the materials. Sparse is better. I think they call the size of the overall fly to be "within the hook," meaning that the tail should extend beyond the bend of the hook only by a little bit. And, do these flies ever fish well! ~ Wally Nowak

*About Wally Nowak

Wally Nowak is a Tyer extraordinaire from Meaford, Ontario, Canada. He has tied and displayed his works among the world's best Tyers. His conversions of the classic full dressed Atlantic Salmon Flies to Speys are truly special flies.

Stay tuned for more from Wally's vise.

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