Got the idea for this from a Hendrickson spinner version I saw on the Gates Au Sable lodge site. Probably not going to take the place of Barr’s Hi-viz spinner for me, but a fun exercise in affixing hair and feathers to a hook. Bob Quigley’s Hackle-stackers use mono for the post but I like how the hackle bites and holds the foam, and the tag end makes a neat head.
hook - Mustad 94840 #14
thread - MFC 8/0 brown
tail - moose body
body - deer hair rust
rib - tying thread
wing - Congo Hair white
post - foam
hackle - silver badger
thorax - dubbing rust
Part 1
mash barb, start thread at 70% mark; wrap back to point above barb
clean, stack, measure (little longer than shank) some moose hair
tie in, trim butts, smooth with thread wraps, return to 70% mark
clean, stack, measure (tips should extend to the back of the bend) a sparse clump (enough to encircle the shank but not much more) of deer
2 soft loops, slowly apply/release/apply tension and let the hair surround the hook shank
spiral rib to the bend, then a couple tight wraps to flare the tips; return crossing wraps to 70% mark, tie off, trim, smooth with thread
tie in a strip (1mm x 1mm) of craft foam, then hackle
tie in a hank of CH, then Figure-8 it
dub thread, dub thorax
twist the tips of the CH to keep it out of the way (thank you Charlie Craven)
wind the hackle up the post equal to length of thorax; a gallows tool of some sort would really come in handy here to keep the post up and under tension (I won’t show you what I kludged together)
Very nice tie and very interesting variant of Quigley’s (or Ned Long’s, depending on who you ask) technique, but holy cow, you must have some big spinners in your neck of the works…
It does seem large and most of the Rusty Spinners I use are #16-18 for some western mayflies, but there are some here in the mid-Atlantic - Hendrickson, Quill Gordon and a few others that are true #12s and #14s. I was using the larger iron here because this is the first time I’ve tied the fly and a #14 is a good size to get the proportions and sequence set. The smaller ones will come next, although with the deer hair body, anything below a #16 may be pushing the usability of the material; on the other hand, going up in size wouldn’t be much of a problem.
