Blue Quill
Fly of the Month 03.12
Blue Quill
With a name like Paraleptophlebia adoptivaor it is no wonder we call them Blue Quill or sometimes use their nickname Paralep quickly follow the Baetis as one of the early-spring favorites. With a dark, slender body and an oval-shaped hind wing, they are very easily identified on the water.
The Blue Quill hatch after the Quill Gordons (Epeorus pleuralis) but before the Hendricksons (Ephemerella subvaria) in most parts of the east, although it can overlap with both. The Blue Quills are small mayflies (hook size 16-20) but they can hatch in incredible numbers at a time when eager trout are just beginning to look to the surface after a hungry winter. In our part of the world, the southern Appalachians, the hatch begins in early April. - Tim
Fly of the Month 03.12 Blue Quill
Hook: Tiemco 100 size 12, 14, 16, 18, 20
Thread: Uni 8/0 or equivalent, Gray
Tail: Dun hackle
Body: Stripped Peacock herl
Hackle: Dun Rooster hackle
This can also be tied as a Blue Dun by substituting blue dun dubbing for the herl. Tying in of duck quill as a wing is a very useful and handsome method of forming feather wings. It is a wonderful depiction of wings on a fly. Classic and very, very effective. Do not be put off with the difficulty. Do not accept mediocre wings either. Keep trying until they look good enough to show off. The materials are inexpensive and once you have the technique there will be little waste, but terrific results.
Directions:
1) Wrap thread in tight turns, starting one eyelength back from the eye and advancing a few turns past the halfway mark. Trim the waste and advance the thread to about a third of the length of the shaft from the eye. Let the bobbin hang.
2) Select a pair of duck primary feathers. These should be purchased as a matching but opposite pair. One from the left and one from the right wing. The basic size of the quill should be the same and the tapers should also be about the same. Strip the lowest sections of barbs matching left and right. The most severe taper at the bottom of the quill is not usable. Strip by pinching tightly and pulling down and away.
3. Using a bodkin, separate about a quarter of an inch of barbs by penetrating at the quill and drawing the bodkin toward the edge of the barbs. This will keep the section married. Pinch the separated barb section tightly and pull quickly and firmly away from the quill. The segment will stay married and will have a pronounced curve and taper at the tip. Repeat on the opposite quill. You will now have two sections that when held together, with the tips the same length, curving away from each other. Should the width of the two vary you can pull away a few barbs to get them to match. The slope of the tip goes with the longest part forward, toward the eye. Visualize the wing on the fly and they are divided and have an angle on the tip, which slopes toward the tail.
4) There are many methods for attaching the wings. This is the ‘english’ method, and while tricky at first, is quite effective. Take the two wings in your left hand, pinching them between the thumb and forefinger, and measuring their length to be the same as the hook shaft, rest them on the top of the hook directly above the hanging bobbin. Continuing to pinch tightly with your left hand, using your right hand, bring the thread up and over the quills. If you will let the thread slide between the pinched fingers, but not relenting any pressure, the result will be that when you pull the thread back up, the quills will collapse on top of the hook. This is the toughest part of the process. Very tight pinches are imperative. Make two or three firm turns behind the wings and let the bobbin hang.
5) You now have the wings in place but not upright. Grasp the extra lengths of quill on either side of the wings and gently bring them forward of the wings, lifting the wings to vertical and pulling the extra length forward and on top at the eye. Hold them in place above the hook shaft and make two or three firm wraps, in tight to the wings. This will lift the wings up and they will naturally spread. Clip the excess of the extra lengths and make a few more tight wraps to clean up. Do not crowd the eye with this material. They should be cut and tied an eyelength back from the eye. The wings are now vertical and at an angle. Take the thread to the hook bend in tight wraps and let the bobbin hang just forward of the curve. Let the bobbin
hang.
6) Select six or eight, stiff dun hackle barbs and pull from the stem. Tie these in to make the tail. The length should be the same as the hook shaft.
Make sure they are on top of the hook and do not over tighten the wraps closest to the hook bend to prevent the hackle from standing up. They should be a straight, horizontal line. Trim the excess close to the wing in order to make a smooth abdomen.
7) Select a peacock herl. The ones closest to the eyes are the widest. Strip the barbs off using an eraser. Soak the stripped herl for five or ten minutes in plain water. Tie in the herl immediately at the end of the abdomen and wrap the excess toward the wings (like the tail) to make the abdomen smooth and to secure the herl better. Let the bobbin hang at the wings.
8) Advance the herl in tight wraps to form the abdomen and tie off a couple of turns back from the wings. This will leave a space for the hackle to tie in. Trim any excess herl. Let the bobbin hang. This is the time to coat the herl to protect from teeth. I use a thin layer of head cement spread evenly with a bodkin.
9) Select a light dun rooster hackle that is about one and one half the hook gape and strip about three sixteenths from the fat end. Tie in and advance the bobbin to the eye. Make three or four tight wraps behind the wings and the same in front. Tie off and whip finish the head. Apply head cement.
- Tom Adams, Tim Wilhelm
Blue Quill
With a name like Paraleptophlebia adoptivaor it is no wonder we call them Blue Quill or sometimes use their nickname Paralep quickly follow the Baetis as one of the early-spring favorites. With a dark, slender body and an oval-shaped hind wing, they are very easily identified on the water.
The Blue Quill hatch after the Quill Gordons (Epeorus pleuralis) but before the Hendricksons (Ephemerella subvaria) in most parts of the east, although it can overlap with both. The Blue Quills are small mayflies (hook size 16-20) but they can hatch in incredible numbers at a time when eager trout are just beginning to look to the surface after a hungry winter. In our part of the world, the southern Appalachians, the hatch begins in early April. - Tim
Fly of the Month 03.12 Blue Quill
Hook: Tiemco 100 size 12, 14, 16, 18, 20
Thread: Uni 8/0 or equivalent, Gray
Tail: Dun hackle
Body: Stripped Peacock herl
Hackle: Dun Rooster hackle
This can also be tied as a Blue Dun by substituting blue dun dubbing for the herl. Tying in of duck quill as a wing is a very useful and handsome method of forming feather wings. It is a wonderful depiction of wings on a fly. Classic and very, very effective. Do not be put off with the difficulty. Do not accept mediocre wings either. Keep trying until they look good enough to show off. The materials are inexpensive and once you have the technique there will be little waste, but terrific results.
Directions:
1) Wrap thread in tight turns, starting one eyelength back from the eye and advancing a few turns past the halfway mark. Trim the waste and advance the thread to about a third of the length of the shaft from the eye. Let the bobbin hang.
2) Select a pair of duck primary feathers. These should be purchased as a matching but opposite pair. One from the left and one from the right wing. The basic size of the quill should be the same and the tapers should also be about the same. Strip the lowest sections of barbs matching left and right. The most severe taper at the bottom of the quill is not usable. Strip by pinching tightly and pulling down and away.
3. Using a bodkin, separate about a quarter of an inch of barbs by penetrating at the quill and drawing the bodkin toward the edge of the barbs. This will keep the section married. Pinch the separated barb section tightly and pull quickly and firmly away from the quill. The segment will stay married and will have a pronounced curve and taper at the tip. Repeat on the opposite quill. You will now have two sections that when held together, with the tips the same length, curving away from each other. Should the width of the two vary you can pull away a few barbs to get them to match. The slope of the tip goes with the longest part forward, toward the eye. Visualize the wing on the fly and they are divided and have an angle on the tip, which slopes toward the tail.
4) There are many methods for attaching the wings. This is the ‘english’ method, and while tricky at first, is quite effective. Take the two wings in your left hand, pinching them between the thumb and forefinger, and measuring their length to be the same as the hook shaft, rest them on the top of the hook directly above the hanging bobbin. Continuing to pinch tightly with your left hand, using your right hand, bring the thread up and over the quills. If you will let the thread slide between the pinched fingers, but not relenting any pressure, the result will be that when you pull the thread back up, the quills will collapse on top of the hook. This is the toughest part of the process. Very tight pinches are imperative. Make two or three firm turns behind the wings and let the bobbin hang.
5) You now have the wings in place but not upright. Grasp the extra lengths of quill on either side of the wings and gently bring them forward of the wings, lifting the wings to vertical and pulling the extra length forward and on top at the eye. Hold them in place above the hook shaft and make two or three firm wraps, in tight to the wings. This will lift the wings up and they will naturally spread. Clip the excess of the extra lengths and make a few more tight wraps to clean up. Do not crowd the eye with this material. They should be cut and tied an eyelength back from the eye. The wings are now vertical and at an angle. Take the thread to the hook bend in tight wraps and let the bobbin hang just forward of the curve. Let the bobbin
hang.
6) Select six or eight, stiff dun hackle barbs and pull from the stem. Tie these in to make the tail. The length should be the same as the hook shaft.
Make sure they are on top of the hook and do not over tighten the wraps closest to the hook bend to prevent the hackle from standing up. They should be a straight, horizontal line. Trim the excess close to the wing in order to make a smooth abdomen.
7) Select a peacock herl. The ones closest to the eyes are the widest. Strip the barbs off using an eraser. Soak the stripped herl for five or ten minutes in plain water. Tie in the herl immediately at the end of the abdomen and wrap the excess toward the wings (like the tail) to make the abdomen smooth and to secure the herl better. Let the bobbin hang at the wings.
8) Advance the herl in tight wraps to form the abdomen and tie off a couple of turns back from the wings. This will leave a space for the hackle to tie in. Trim any excess herl. Let the bobbin hang. This is the time to coat the herl to protect from teeth. I use a thin layer of head cement spread evenly with a bodkin.
9) Select a light dun rooster hackle that is about one and one half the hook gape and strip about three sixteenths from the fat end. Tie in and advance the bobbin to the eye. Make three or four tight wraps behind the wings and the same in front. Tie off and whip finish the head. Apply head cement.
- Tom Adams, Tim Wilhelm