This is a fly that has an attractive profile in the water. It really looks like a whale up on the surface for some oxygene. The thing with the profile is that it forces the body of the fly down into the water, resulting in a crisp body profile for the fish.

When you tie this fly, start with the Badger tails. They are hard and require resolute pressure to the thread to secure the position. Fix them at the with a medium hard turn, and make harder turns as you progress forwards.

The tie-in point for the tails can be varied from the usual dry fly position, to further back. See this pattern for a variation with tails tied in at the curve of the hook.

Then do the wings. They require some training, but the moment you master the hackle technique, you’ll never go back to any other material. Search YouTube for instructional videos on how to tie-up cock hackle.

Lastly you’ll tie in the abdomen and thorax with the material of your choice. But do try Hends Body Quill and Bug Bond…

Also read the floating experiment where the tied-up hackle wings are put to the test