The Light Woodcock
There are a couple of ways to tie
the Light and the Dark Woodcock patterns. In this sequence I've shown the
fully-dubbed style and in the Dark Woodcock
sequence, the dubbed thorax only style. The rib is optional on either.
To compare the two styles click here.
I'm not overly sure of the tradional authenticity of the two flies, but
I've tied dozens for older flyfishermen around Appleby. The patterns work
for them and for myself so I figured they were worth sharing.
Step 1
Clamp your chosen hook into the jaws of the vice. I've opted for a Kamasan
B160 because of it's short shank and wide gape.
Catch on the pale yellow thread (Persall's Primrose silk for the purists)
and tie it down with a couple of trapping wraps.
Trim the tag-end.
Step 2
Take a pale hackle from the underside of a Woodcock wing. The fibres of
the hackle should be between 1.5 and 2 times the length of the fly's body.
Prepare the hackle by stripping the down from the base of the feather, and
then hold it by the tip and stroke the fibres backwards, away from the tip.
Step 3
Catch the tip of the feather between the thread and the hook-shank, and
bind it down with 2 or 3 wraps. Trim the excess and then catch in a length
of gold wire. Wind the thread down the body until it's level with a point
between the barb and the point of the hook.
Step 4
Take a small pinch of light coloured fur from a hare's mask and even it out with your fingers.
With your fingertips, hold the fur against the thread and gently spin it
on.
You don't need a lot of dubbing, the body is meant to be slim and transluscent,
with the thread showing through.
Step 5
Wind the dubbed thread forward in even, widely spaced turns. Try to avoid
any build-ups or uneven bumps of fur.
When you reach the point immediately behind the hackle, pinch off any excess
fur. Next pass the thread in front of the hackle.
In open, evenly spaced turns, wind the wire forwards over the dubbed body.
Catch in with a couple of turns of thread and trim the excess.
Step 6
Take hold of the hackle stalk with your hackle pliers and make 1.5 or 2
turns around the hook-shank. Use your own judgement as to how much hackle
is needed; however, make 2 turns the maximum - spider patterns are supposed
to be sparse.
Make a couple of turns of thread over the unused hackle and then trim the
remainding hackle as closely as possible.
Step 7
Whip-finish
the fly neatly, add a drop of varnish to the head, and you should have something
similar to the fly shown opposite.