Beatty's Muddle May Adams SBS

All about flies Fly Tying
1

Al Beatty’s variation on Wonder Wing - removing part of the hackle stem and tying in by hackle fibers seemed to make it easier to align the wings and keep them in place. Rooster hackle worked better (stiffer; less prone to twisting) after screwing up a few attempts trying hen. Great thing about this style (and standard wonderwings) is you don’t need to rely on increasingly hard-to-find generic (not genetic) hen hackle for the wings; the good genetic hen capes I own have tips that are too pointy and lacking in web.

hook - Dai Riki 320 #14
thread - MFC 8/0 sand
tail - moose body
abdomen - muskrat dubbing
wing - grizzly hackle
collar - deer hair flared
head - deer hair spun/clipped

Part 1

Mash down barb, start thread at 2/3 mark, wrap back to point above barb and make a small bump

clean, stack, measure (shank length) a clump of moose body; tie in, trim

prep a pair of rooster hackles (convex sides facing each other); trim butts

measure (gap width); pull fibers back at that point, tie in a bit short and pull to proper length (shank), trim fiber tips

dub thread, dub body

2

Part 2

pull wing up and set angle with combination thread wraps and dubbing (my bad, I didn’t use enough dubbing on this one in front of the wing - didn’t pick that up 'till I looked at some pics of the original fly); trim hackle tips

clean, stack, measure (a little less than shank) a sparse clump of deer hair; tie in, pull butts up

clean another clump (fuller), trim butts; tie in (2 soft loops), spin, half hitch x 2, SHHAN

trim head to shape

Btw, here’s the link to Al & Gretchen’s original Quick N’Ezy hackled dun:
http://www.flyanglersonline.com/flytying/fotw2/072406fotw.php

Regards,
Scott

3

I forgot about this fly of Al’s . When I first saw it years a go I really thought it was ingenious, and i planned to tie some up. I just have not got it it done.

Great tie by the way

4

Very nice fly. Excellent SBS.

Thanks,
Ed