Black and Peacock  

Hook:    Tiemco TMC 3761 # 14-20 

Thread:   Black 8/0 

Body: Peacock Herl

Hackle: Black Hen or Cock tied back

1/ Lay a nice even base of thread. Starting just behind the hook eye take nice even turns stopping at a point just above the hook barb. By now all of you should be familiar with this way of starting a fly. When you have completed this step please move onto to the next one.
2/ Remove two bushy pieces of herl, either from the stem or from your section of strung herl. Tie these in so that the bushier side will be on the outside of your wraps and will cause it to flare out and build a nice body. Also be sure they are sticking out to the rear of the fly and therefore out of the way of the next steps. Trim any excess close to the hook shank and go to Step 3.
3/ Grasp one piece of the herl firmly but gently between the thumb and forefingers of your right hand (for right handed tier). Slowly wrap the herl around the shank and forward to the thread position building the body as you go. Be careful not to break the herl and don't worry too much about any gaps. Tie off when you reach the thread and trim any excess. Add a half hitch to secure it.
4/ Now taking the second piece of herl repeat the procedure of wrapping it forward this time taking care not to crush the previously wrapped piece and also trying to fill any holes in the body that may be there. Note the difference from photo 3 to 4 to see what I mean. When this is done and you are happy with the way it looks tie off and trim the excess herl. Now go to Step 5.
5/ Select a black hen hackle with fibres roughly equal in length to the hook shank. I have used a cock hackle to illustrate that you do not necessarily need the hen hackle although it does have a nicer action when wet. Tie in the hackle with the shiny side facing forward and add a few wraps for strength. Bring the thread forward to just behind the hook eye. Add a half hitch again for strength.
6/ Now gently wind the hackle forward. Use only two to three turns as we are not tying a dry fly and do not need the thing to float. So after winding these few turns of hackle tie it off with the thread and trim any excess. Add a half hitch again for extra strength and then move on to the final step.
7/ Now gently grip the hackle between thumb and forefingers with the left hand. Gently holding these fibres back towards the rear of the hook take several turns of thread over the top of the base of the hackle fibres and continuing back towards the rear of the fly with several more turns. This will cause the hackle to sit back at an angle as shown. Add a couple of half hitches to finish.

The Pattern

This easy to tie fly has been around for ages. In fact just about every book that features fly patterns includes it or something very similar. It is used the world over with anglers in Great Britain probably knowing more about it than anyone. It was therefore widely accepted when it came here to Australia and there would hardly be a fly shop or fly fisher in the country who doesn't have one in their fly box.

The great thing about it is that it doesn't actually represent one thing specifically rather suggesting a lot of things broadly. By carrying it in the range of sizes listed above you can cover a wide range of sub aquatic situations. For instance it can represent snails, water boatman, caddis and nymphs in general size, shape and colour. We find it very useful on the Goulburn River when fishing edge waters and in these rich underwater environments it is generally very effective. We tend to fish it more in sizes around #16 although recently a friend posted some tiny versions of #20 and below which we will hope to prove successful in the coming seasons. Whether the fish take it for the reasons we believe who can say as it is inherently attractive to trout for two main reasons. One, it has independent movement. That is the 'soft' hackle will move of its own accord in the currents and as it finds its way to the stream bottom. This means an inert presentation with some suggestion of life. Usually movement has to be imparted and this often results in refusals or spooked fish but this pattern has its own subtle movement. Secondly, it is constructed from that fantastic fish attractor, peacock herl. Despite what some may think, we believe that this is often the reason for a flies success. Look at the Red Tag, Cochybondhu, Pheasant Tail Nymph with peacock thorax. All are deadly and I would bet that the attractive herl is a large part of it. It reflects light in all sorts of ways and can appear to be alive when viewed under water. This fly pattern fished to cruising fish in Goulburn backwaters has proved itself time and again.

You will notice we only mention edge and back waters. We only use these patterns in the slower or still waters although if you added some lead weight they would be useful in the main runs and currents fished as a traditional soft hackle emerger. Those who fish lakes should always have a few of these flies in their arsenal. In Tasmania for instance it can be dynamite on tailing fish especially on rocky shores. We have also had great success on the South Island of New Zealand fishing to sighted, cruising fish with several mornings every fish seeing it inhaling it when nothing else was getting a look in. The best way to fish it is to a trout you have located and place the fly between 3-10 feet  in front of the fish and allowing it to slowly settle to the bottom. Takes are usually obvious with the fish moving quickly to secure it before it reaches the lake floor. Sometimes a totally inert presentation is needed especially with ultra spooky fish where even the finest tippet moving through the water column will spook them. In these instances leaving the fly out there for the fish to find is best. And yes they do not seem to object to picking it up off the bottom.

The Pattern

So you can see just how effective this basic pattern can be. It is very easily tied from readily available materials yet outshines many of its more fancied alternatives. As a pattern for fishing in slower and still waters beneath the surface it is hard to beat. Tie some up and give them a try today.

Tight Threads

Antony, David and Geoff