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Griffith's Gnat
The Griffith Gnat is another great fly, suggestive of lots of different flies you'll find on your water, particularly but not exclusively midges. Tie it in sizes 14 to 20, and if it isn't working as a dry, clip the hackles down from underneath it which will fish it more in the surface film rather than on it, and will be taken for an emerger. An interesting variant to tie is to try a red tag on it - tie in just a couple of turns of red silk at the very end of the fly. Do so before you tie in your hackle.
This is a mean and dirty fly. Tie it as scruffy as you can. Remember, it's not a beauty contest - it is about catching fish.
You can buy all the materials you need to tie this fly here.
Ingredients for the Griffith Gnat
Dry fly hook size 14 to 20. Here we use a Kamasan B401 size 14
Black thread.
Two or three strands of peacock herl
Grizzle hackle.
This is a mean and dirty fly. Tie it as scruffy as you can. Remember, it's not a beauty contest - it is about catching fish.
You can buy all the materials you need to tie this fly here.
Ingredients for the Griffith Gnat
Dry fly hook size 14 to 20. Here we use a Kamasan B401 size 14
Black thread.
Two or three strands of peacock herl
Grizzle hackle.
1: Wind the thread in touching turns to the hook-bend.
2: Tie in the Grizzle hackle and tie in two to three strands of peacock herl, leaving plenty to bind down. Wind the thread back towards the hook-eye, binding the hackle and the peacock herl as you go. Peacock herl is quite delicate, and this step increases the durability of the fly.
3: Now for the fun bit. Twist the two strands of the peacock herl together, then twist the hackle around the herl. It is this step that give the Griffith's Gnat a wonderfully scruffy and mean look. Catch the tip of the hackle and the herl in your hackle pliers.
4: Wind the herl and hackle down towards the hook-eye and bind it down with three turns of thread. Snip off the excess hackle and herl, tie off either with a whip finish or three turn half hitch, and secure with a drop of varnish.
Go catch a fish with it.
Note:Step 5 revisited: if you would prefer that your fly dressed for the office rather than the festival field, at this step just wind the herl down to the hook eye and bind it down, then palmer the hackle down the length of the hook shank and bind that down too. Then tie off as before. This will produce a much neater looking fly. Both will catch fish.
Next in the series Gold Ribbed Hare's Ear
Go catch a fish with it.
Note:Step 5 revisited: if you would prefer that your fly dressed for the office rather than the festival field, at this step just wind the herl down to the hook eye and bind it down, then palmer the hackle down the length of the hook shank and bind that down too. Then tie off as before. This will produce a much neater looking fly. Both will catch fish.
Next in the series Gold Ribbed Hare's Ear