The Bird’s Nest
. . . at one of my fly-tying clinics, I was asked to demonstrate the tying of the
Bird’s Nest. I had to confess that I was unfamiliar with the fly, though I’d heard
mention of it. Since then, I’ve been hearing a lot about the Bird’s Nest. One
client-friend called last month and told he that he fished the Bird’s Nest
“all the time.” “It almost always gets strikes,” added. “Everyone around here
is hot on it.” “Here” meant California, but it seems that now anglers everywhere
are “hot on it.” The sudden popularity of the Bird’s Nest seems ironic since
Cal Bird, the creator of the Bird’s Nest, tells me that he has been tying and
fishing it since 1959.
In describing the tying of the Bird’s Nest, Cal simply said that he adds the
hackle by “several different methods,” so I chose the method that I feel
allows the greatest flexibility. The Bird’s Nest can also be tied in other
colors - cream, olive, and brown - and it can be weighted or unweighted.
Materials
Hook: Heavy wire, 1X or 2X long, sizes 16 to
8 (the hook shown is a Daiichi 1710).Thread: Tan 8/0 or 6/0.
Weight: Lead wire (optional).
Tail: Mallard - or teal-flank feather fibers dyed
bronze (or natural bronze mallard).Rib: Small copper wire.
Abdomen: Natural grayish-tan Australian opossum
or “Buggy Nymph” dubbing #16.Hackle: Mallard - or teal-flank-feather fibers
dyed bronze.Thorax: Same as abdomen.
Tying Steps:
- If you want to add lead, do so and secure the lead under thread; if not,
start the thread two-thirds up the shank, tie in a section of fibers as tail
(long; about three-quarter shank length). Trim off the fibers’ butts. Tie
in copper wire at the bend.
- Dub a slightly tapered abdomen up two-thirds of the shank. Rib the
abdomen with five or six turns of the copper wire. Secure the wire’s end
with thread and then add a half hitch.
- If the fibers of your teal or mallard feather aren’t squared at their tips,
drawéthem to whatever angle to the stem will square them. Strip off, or snip off,
the section. Hold the section flat over the shank as shown. The tips should
reach to the far edge of the hook’s bend.
- With your thumb and finger, roll the fibers around the shank and then
press the fibers tight to the abdomen. Take a loose turn of thread around
the fibers, and then pull the thread tight. Add a few tight thread turns. Trim
the fibers’ butts.
- Build a thorax over the front third of the shank. Build and complete a
thread head to complete the Bird’s Nest.
Fishing the Bird’s Nest:
The Bird’s Nest is another attractor nymph; it suggests no more than
a living, edible insect. Fish it dead drift, or try other approaches.
~ Skip Morris
For more great flies, check out: and Advanced
Fly Tying.
Credits: From The Art of Tying the Nymph published
by Frank Amato Publications. We thank them for use permission!
Originally published January 15, 2001 on Fly Anglers Online by Skip Morris.