Twitch the rod tip to imitate a blue quill nymph.
The Blue Quill is a slender mayfly nymph that is prevalent in the eastern United States. Populations of Blue Quills are present in the west but but other mayfly varieties dominate most of the waters. Imitating the nymph stage of the Blue Quill requires a slender profile nymph and an active imitation. The mayfly is a swimmer and erratic twitching by the angler is used to create a realistic imitation in the water. Numerous Blue Quill patterns are available with minimal materials used to build the narrow body.
Instructions
1. Clamp the hook in the vise. Start the thread at the one-half point on the shank and wrap it to the hook bend.
2. Select three matching pheasant tail fibers and cut them off the tail feather. Measure the fibers to match the length of the hook and hold the fibers on the bend. Make five thread wraps to secure the fibers as a tail. Cut away the extra base section of the fibers.
3. Cut a 1-foot section of small gold wire from a spool. Hold one end of the wire on the hook bend. Make 10 thread wraps to secure the wire.
4. Pull a small amount of natural hare's mask dubbing from a bag. Separate the dubbing into a thin strip and hold it against the thread. Spin the fur between your fingers to attach it to the thread. Wrap the dubbed thread two-thirds of the way down the hook shank to build the narrow abdomen.
5. Wrap the gold wire around the dubbed abdomen in an evenly spaced pattern. The wire holds the dubbing in place and adds a segmented look to the abdomen.
6. Select a section of five matching fibers on a turkey tail feather. Cut the section from the feather. Place the base of the turkey fibers on the hook shank with the tips over the tail of the fly. Make five thread wraps to secure the base fibers.
7. Pull a small amount of muskrat dubbing from a bag. Hold the dubbing against the thread and spin it with your fingers. Wrap the dubbing into a ball to create the thorax. The diameter of the thorax is three-times that of the abdomen.
8. Pull the turkey fibers over the top of the thorax to create wing pads. Make five thread wraps to secure the turkey at the hook eye. Cut away the extra tip section of the turkey fibers.
9. Stroke the fibers of a soft Hungarian partridge feather against their natural position to expose the tip section. Cut the tip section off the feather and return the fibers to the normal position. The result is a wedge in the feather.
10. Place the feather against the fly to create legs on either side of the thorax. The thorax sits between the wedge on the feather. Make five thread wraps to secure the legs on the hook and cut away the extra base section of the feather.
11. Hook the thread on a whip finish tool. Hold the tool at the hook eye and rotate the handle 10 times to tie off the thread. Cut the thread from the hook.
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