How to Tie a Dry Pheasant Tail

Fly-fishing is a method of angling that uses small insect-like lures to attract fish. While mass-produced flies are available, many fly fishermen prefer to tie their own flies, either by following a traditional pattern or by creating their own. Certain flies are designed to mimic specific insects and are used to attract certain fish. Dry flies are designed to sit on top of the water and mimic water-skimming insects. Many flies are made out of natural materials, such as feathers, hair and fur.

Things You'll Need

  • Fly vise
  • Size-16 hook
  • Black silk thread
  • Pheasant tail feather
  • Gold tinsel
  • Fly cement
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Instructions

    • 1

      Place the size-16 hook in the vise. The vise should hold the hook just behind the barb, with the shaft and the eye extending above the vise. Wrap a layer of black silk around the bare hook shank to prepare the hook for the feather materials.

    • 2

      Select seven or eight longer strands of feather fiber from a large pheasant tail feather. Place the fibers on the hook about a fifth of the length of the hook shank away from the eye. The top fifth will be made into the head of the fly, while the back four-fifths will be the body.

    • 3

      Hold the fibers against the shank, with the tips of the feathers extending away from the eye, and make two loose wraps of black silk thread around the feathers and shank to secure the fibers to the hook. Start with loose wraps and get progressively tighter as you move down the shank to keep the feathers from moving. Continue to hold the feathers along the top of the hook to keep them from spreading out around the shank as they are tied down. Cement down and cut the silk thread.

    • 4

      Separate two of the fibers from the rest of the feather. These two will be the tail of the fly. Bend the rest of the feather back toward the eye. Secure the bent feathers to the hook by wrapping them with gold tinsel. Cement the tinsel behind the eyelet. Use your thumb and forefingers to break apart and fluff the feathers behind the eyelet to create a mane around the hook. This creates the head of the fly.