I came up with this little (well, it’s not all that little) fella as a
sculpin/baitfish imitation. On its maiden voyage, it caught 6
or 7 rainbows (with about that many missed strikes as well)
in about 45 minutes before I took it off to avoid losing it (since
I couldn’t remember exactly how I’d tied it at that point, and
wanted to make sure I could replicate it).
Materials:
Hook: Daiichi 2340 Size 6 (6x long)
Bead: 3/16" Gold Bead
Weight: 6-12 turns of 0.20" lead wire (where legal.)
Thread: Uni-Thread 6/0 Rusty Dun
Tail: Two long feathers from the back of a ring-necked
pheasant rooster, curvatures facing each other.
Body: One long, golden-colored feather from the
side of a ring-necked pheasant rooster, palmered up with
the curvature to the back.
Head: Black chenille (one to two turns).
Method Pheasant Back Streamer
Step 1: Slide on a large gold bead and make 6-12 turns of 0.20" lead
wire (I usually make about 10). Tie in the lead and bead and make a
thread base back to just in front of the hook point.
Step 2: Select two long, full feathers from the back of a male
pheasant. You want them to be about the same length, and
about the same color. Strip off the webby portions and tie them
in with the curvatures facing toward each other. (I’ve found it’s
easier to tie them in one at a time rather than trying to tie them in
together.) Trim off the excess quill.
Step 3: Select a long, full, golden-colored feather from the side
of a male pheasant (I’ve included a picture so you can see what
I’m talking about.) Tie in the tip of the feather and wind your
thread to the eye. Keep the webby portions attached to the
feather.
Step 4: Palmer the feather toward the eye, keeping the
curvature of the feather facing the back. Also, be sure to
keep the feathers folded back so that all the barbules face
toward the back of the fly. Continue wrapping forward
until the quill of the feather becomes thick and stiff (usually
about 3-5 turns after the feather changes to the webby
portion). Tie off and trim. Leave about 3/16 of an inch
between where you tie off the feather and the back of
the bead.
Step 5: Tie in a strand of black chenille. Make 1-2 turns,
just enough to fill the gap between the feather and the bead
head. Tie off and trim. Whip finish and add a couple of
drops of head cement.
The finished Pheasant Back Streamer (PBS). (Oh, PBS just
happens to be my initials…) ~ Patrick Sievert, Pastor, Evolution Church,
Fayetteville, Arkansas
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Originally published January 18, 2009 on Fly Anglers Online by Patrick Sievert.