What’s in My Fly Box Episode 1
Tying Materials and Keys to Success
For hooks I personally use straight nymph hooks, mostly Hanak 230 and Dohiku 302. I know most use jig hooks though, so I pictured those. For jigs I tie a lot of custom orders with Hanak 400, Firehole 516, MFC Black Nickel Barbless Jig Hook, and Fasna 444. I use mostly sizes 16 and 18, with an occasional size 20. I feel the size 14 are too long and lose their effectiveness.
When tying with jig hooks I use First Drift Fly Company Tungsten Slotted Beads. When I use straight nymph hooks I use First Drift Fly Company InstaJigs/Offset Beads and First Drift Fly Company Tungsten Countersunk/Round Beads. One of the reasons I prefer straight nymph hooks is because I get the weighting scheme I like using a combination of Round and Instajig Beads.
I make a smooth tapered thread underbody once I capture the tailing fibers. For thread I use either olive or tan UTC 70 or Semperfli Nano Silk 18/0. These two threads will help you create a smooth underbody to wrap the quill around which is crucial to avoiding excessive resin build up which can hamper the sink rate of your fly. You wan to keep this fly thin.
For the tail I use 3-4 fibets or Coq De Leon CDL. Numerous companies have good synthetic fibets to choose from including, but not limited to Hends, Veniard, MFC, and Textreme. For CDL I use either Spanish Coq De Leon or Hareline’s Coq De Leon. You can use pheasant tail, but I would advise against it. It is bulkier and not as durable as either the fibets or CDL.
The body is a stripped peacock quill. I like Polish Quills Stripped Peacock Quills. They have recently rebranded/reopened as Quill and Fly and the product is called Quill and Fly Stripped Peacock Quill. It’s not necessary but soaking the quill for 3-5 mins beforehand helps with a smoother wrap. Use touch wraps, DO NOT overlap. As overlapping with lead to bumps and a thicker than desired body.
For a hot spot I like using 16/0 Veevus Thread. They have a great line up of colors, but any thinner thread will do. Do not make the hot spot too big. You want it to compliment the fly, not take over the color scheme.
Coat with once or twice with clear resin and use a UV light to cure. I prefer Solarez Bone Dry Ultra Thin or Loon UV Clear Fly Finish Flow. I use mostly Solarez, because I prefer their brush applicator. Loon has both a brush and a narrow applicator you can also use with a bodkin if you prefer that method.
For the black wingcase I use Solarez Bone Dry Ultra Thin Formula Black, but you can use any color. If you want to add a unique wing case to your perdigon I’d suggest the UV Loon Colored Finish. They have a great line up of colors.
How I Rig and Fish
I use perdigons on both euro rigs and dry dropper rigs. For both, I use a tags as these give each fly their own drift. I use a triple surgeon’s knot to create a tag and the tag is typically 4-6” to start with. Any shorter, I feel like I don’t get as many fly changes as I’d like. Any longer and I feel like it tangles too much. I typically fish my two flies 20” apart once you let the tag hang down. If I am fishing deeper water or see fish feeding while suspended, I may increase that distance to get my tag nymph in their feeding lane. I will typically fish my heavier fly on the bottom as I prefer a more vertical presentation, but if I see the trout hugging the bottom or I’m fishing shallow water I will move the heavier fly to the tag. This gives the rig a more horizontal presentation.
I mostly fish them on a dead drift, but sometimes I will jig them when a strong hatch is starting. With how well these flies sink I will change my casting angles as I work top down through the water column. Staring with a fairly horizontal casting angle and gradually getting a steeper entry angle as I want to get deeper.
Give this unsuspecting fly a try and I am sure you will not be disappointed!
One More Cast
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Thank you for reading!
Welcome to the Episode 1 of What’s in My Fly Box! Each month I plan on sharing one of my confidence flies in my fly box. Not only will I tell you which materials I use, but I will share some of my key tying details about each, along with how I rig and fish each fly.
Before we get started, I would like to say that a majority of my fly fishing is done using a long leader euro rig or a dry dropper rig. I also will use a single dry fly and jig or swing streamers when those opportunities arise.
I truly believe it’s more important to get a good drift at the right depth and speed than to have the perfect fly aka match the hatch.
So, let’s jump in!
The Quill Perdigon
It’s simple, but deadly. One reason I have so much confidence in this pattern is that year around in almost every river, creek, and stream there are nymphs sizes 16, 18, and 20 in either olive, black or brown.
I base my quill color off of the time of year and water clarity. I base my bead color selection off the natural lighting (sunny vs cloudy), water clarity, water levels compared to the river’s yearly average cubic fer per second (CFS) and spookiness of the trout.
