Madam X Fly Tying Instructions

The Madam X artificial fly was designed to imitate the adult form of the golden stonefly, but it is also effective as a grasshopper imitation. When summer arrives and mayfly hatches have dwindled, grasshoppers usually become part of a trout's diet. Since stoneflies emerge on land, some fishermen consider them a terrestrial insect like the grasshopper, who only find their way on the water when they are accidentally blown in by a wind. Once on the water, they become easy prey for trout. The Madam X imitation works for that reason.

Things You'll Need

  • Standard dry fly hook sizes 6 to 10
  • Yellow thread
  • Yellow floss
  • Deer hair
  • Medium white rubber legs
  • Fly tying scissors
  • Head cement
Show More

Instructions

    • 1

      Tie a clump of deer hair at the bend of the hook to create a tail; use the yellow thread. Make sure the hair does not spin around the hook shank. The weight of the thread bobbin will hold the hair in place without tying a knot. The amount and length of hair should be in proportion to the size of the hook, usually about a dozen strands of hair an inch long.

    • 2

      Tie another clump of deer hair twice as thick as the tail you tied in. Tie it in just below the point where the tail is tied down, the tips pointing forward toward the hook eye. The hair should be about twice as long as the hook and extend over the hook eye about the length of the hook. Wrap it so that it spins around the hook shank.

    • 3

      Wind the thread forward over the deer hair to the hook eye and wind it back again to where the the tail is tied in. This will form the underbody of the fly.

    • 4

      Tie in yellow floss at the tail over the thread and wind it around the thread several times. You can now cut the thread. Wrap the floss forward to the hook eye. The thickness of the floss over the underbody of the deer hair will form the body of the fly. Wind the floss to the hook eye and then back again about a quarter way from the eye, leaving room to form the head.

    • 5

      Pull the deer hair that is extending over the hook eye back over the body of the fly to form a bullet head. When pulled back, the deer hair should resemble the head of a bullet. Make two wraps of floss over the hair to hold it down.

    • 6

      Cut two pieces of rubber legs about two inches long. Tie each strip across from each other onto the sides of the body of the fly at the point where the head is tied down. The legs should extend about an inch from the hook eye. Secure the floss with a half-hitch knot or whip finish. Add a drop of cement to the head to complete.