The Forked-Tail, tied with a black (or brown) ostrich herl body, was developed in the 30’s by Don & Dick Olsen and popularized by Doug Prince; he came up with that peacock-bodied pretender-to-the-throne variation that bears his name. Can’t argue with peacock, but the ostrich looks cool, too, and is a nice change of pace.
hook - Mustad 79580 #6
thread - Danville 6/0 black
underbody - non-tox wire .025
tail - biots black
rib - silver wire x-fine
body - ostrich herl black
hackle - hen black
legs/feelers/wings/whatever - biots white
Part 1
mash barb, wrap shank with non-tox
start thread, wrap underbody; taper front and back
even up biots, curving away from each other
measure for length (hook gap), tie in and smooth butts
tie in rib
measure a pair of biots (shank length), moisten (makes them more pliable), tie in a “V” over the eye, curving down; when folded back, I’ve found this way allows for a neater head
The flies I’ve seen tied by Doug Prince look just like that, with black ostrich. The peacock version with brown biot tails, used to be called the Brown Forked-tail.
And thank you for tying the “wings” with the tips curving up.
Thank you for a most excellent SBS and very neat tie!! I might give this one a try for my Wis. trout although honestly, I’d miss the Peacock herl as it’s a major attractor IMHO.
Still, a very good tie done neatly and very well. She certainly looks good enough to give it a go. Nice job!
The peacock-bodied version is one of the best nymphs ever and there are a lot of great vids and SBSs out there showing how to tie it. Just wanted the original to get a little attention, too. I actually had real good luck fishing it for salmon on a Lake Ontario trib; couldn’t believe a fish that wasn’t even eating at that point would take one (and I was using a #12).
