Hare's Ear FFI
Fly of the Month 05.23 Gold-Ribbed Hare’s Ear Nymph
The “fly of the month” series for 2023 will celebrate the Fly Fishers International Fly Tying Group Fly Tying Skills Awards Program. Each month Tom and I will present one of the fly patterns used to evaluate a fly tyer’s skills toward a Bronze Level in the first six months, then one of the fly pattern used to evaluate a fly tyer’s skills toward a Silver Level in the later part of the year. The fifth and final required fly pattern in the Bronze Level series is ah historic and highly productive nymph, the Gold-Ribbed Hare’s Ear Nymph.
Gold-Ribbed Hare’s Ear Nymph
The Gold Ribbed Hare’s Ear features one of the most ubiquitous and adaptable dubbing materials used in fly tying, the fur from the Brown Hare Lepus europaeus. For centuries it has been a staple of numerous fly tying dressings with mask section of its hide lending it name to some of the most famous fly patterns.
Charles Cotton in his contribution to Walton’s fifth edition of the Compleat Angler (1653), included two early uses of hare’s fur with his dressing of the Bright Dun Gnat and Fern Fly. Which respectively use white hare’s scut (tail) and the fur from a hare’s neck.
Bright Dun Gnat “There is also a very little Bright-Dun Gnat, as little as can possibly be made, so little as never to be fished with, with above one ha’r nest the hook; and this is to be made of a mixed dubbing of marten’s fur, and the white of a hare’s scut, with a very white and small wing”
Fern Fly “Next a fly called a Fern-fly; the dubbing of the fur of a hare’s neck, that is, of the colour of fern or bracken, with a darkish-gray wing of a mallard’s feather.”
Later a succession of published fly tyers would build on Cotton’s legacy, and provide us with some of the most well-known fly patterns to feature the fur from various parts of the hare. Patterns such as the Gold Ribbed Hares Ear and the Hares Lug and Plover becoming some of the most widely fished fly patterns, firmly cementing the role of hare’s fur in fly tying.
What makes the hair fibres from a brown hare’s skin so attractive to trout and grayling is unknown. Even when the fur is dyed it still has an unknown attractiveness. Maybe it is the spiky contrasting guard hairs within these mixed fibres. The following is a list of the core fly patterns using hare’s mask dubbing: Gold Ribbed Hare’s Ear Nymph, Gold Ribbed Hare’s Ear Dry Fly, Hare’s Ear [Wet], Hare’s Lug and Plover [Soft Hackle], Gold Ribbed Hare’s Ear or G.R.H.E. [Wet], Gold Ribbed Hare’s Ear F Fly, a basic CDC dry fly pattern, Golden Plover Fly, north country spider pattern, Golden Plover Fly [Wet] and Hare’s Ear Comparadun.
Like all great trout flies, the Gold Ribbed Hare’s Ear Nymph has that unknown quality. Is it the gold ribbing or the dubbing or both. It seems to our eyes to imitate nothing, but to the waiting trout, it has a mysterious appeal. And that is the conundrum at the very heart of every Hare’s Ear pattern.
Tying the fly pattern for the Bronze Level Submission
Visit the FFI website and navigate to the Fly Tying Group, then to the Bronze Award Handbook pages. The website has excellent instructions as to how to tie and submit the required group of fly patterns to an FFI Bronze Award Evaluator. The website includes a video presenting each step to tie the Gold-Ribbed Hare’s Ear Nymph. The handbook is easy to understand and follow. Tie three flies with consistency for the Bronze Awards submission, then tie more for the fly box.
Fly of the Month 05.23
Gold-Ribbed Hare’s Ear Nymph
Hook: #10 Nymph hook, 1xL
Weight: 10-15 turns of non-lead wire
Thread: 8/0 Black Uni-thread or equivalent
Tail: Guard hairs from hare’s mask
Rib: Gold oval tinsel, over abdomen
Abdomen: Blended lighter tan hair from the hare’s mask
(or Hairline Dubbing # 4, Hare’s Ear or equivalent)
Wingcase: Mottled turkey tail feather over thorax
Thorax: Blended darker brown hair from the hare’s mask
(or Hairline Dubbing # 5, Dark Hare’s Ear or equivalent)
Head: Whip-finish and head cement
Note: Typic
Directions:
1) De-barb the hook, mount the hook in the vise, and wrap 10 to 15 turns of non-lead wire around the hook shank. You want the center of gravity to be slightly forward of the center of the hook shank. Diameter of the wire should be equal to or slightly smaller than the hook shank diameter.
2) Attach the tying thread about an eye length behind the hook eye.
3) Make several wraps in front of the wire to build up a slight taper. Wrap the thread along the shank toward the back of the wire and build up a ramp that sloped down to the rear.
4) Take the thread to the position on the shank directly over where the barb would be. Select a small bunch of guard hairs from the cheek or from between the ears of a hare’s mask. Clean out, but leave some of the underfur. Tie on the hair bunch on top of the hook shank at the tail tie in spot. After making 1 or 2 wraps of thread over the hair bunch, make 1 tight wrap under the tail between the hair and the hook shank. Bind the tail waste down up to the rear edge of the wire weight loops. Trim away the excess waste.
5) Position the ribbing along the shank so when you tie in the rib, you will just catch the metal rib with 2 or 3 wraps of thread when you are over the tail tie in spot. Tie down the rib along the shank. The tying thread should end up at the tail tie in position.
6) Either select lighter colored hairs from the hare’s mask, or use a commercial lighter colored hare’s ear dubbing. Blend the hairs as needed. Spin the dubbing on the thread. Taper the dubbing rope so it will thicken as you wrap the dubbing forward to form a slightly tapered abdomen.
7) Wrap the dubbing forward to a position just past the midpoint of the hook shank.
8) Wrap the ribbing forward to the front of the abdomen using 4 to 6 evenly spaced wraps. Tie off the rib with 2 wraps of thread. Keep tension on the bobbin and trim the ribbing leaving a short waste. While maintaining tension on the thread, use tweezers or your finger nails to remove the metal coating from the silk core of the oval tinsel. Trim off the metal and then bind down the silk core with several wraps of thread. Trim off any waste.
9) Select a section of a dark mottled turkey tail feather. The section should be about 1/8 to 3/8 of an inch wide. Tie in the feather on top of the shank with the shiny side (good side) down and the thicker end of the fibers extending over the shank towards the hook bend. Be sure to make thread wraps forcing the wingcase against the end of the abdomen. This keeps a gap from forming when the wingcase is pulled up and forward over the thorax.
10) Select darker bunches of hair from the hare’s mask. Be sure to include guard hairs. Blend the dubbing together, or use an appropriate commercial dark hare’s ear blend. Form a short but thick section of dubbing on your thread.
11) Dub the thorax forward. Start with tight wraps over the threads holding the wingcase material. Wrap the dubbing forward to a point 1 eye length behind the hook eye.
12) Fold the turkey tail fibers up and over the thorax. Pull the fibers tight and keep them centered over the thorax as you tie them down behind the eye of the hook. Care should be taken to avoid splitting the fibers in the wingcase.
13) Trim off the wingcase waste. Form a head, whip finish the head, and apply head cement. You can tease out thorax fibers to make the fly more ‘buggy’ looking.
- Tom Adams, Alen Baker
The “fly of the month” series for 2023 will celebrate the Fly Fishers International Fly Tying Group Fly Tying Skills Awards Program. Each month Tom and I will present one of the fly patterns used to evaluate a fly tyer’s skills toward a Bronze Level in the first six months, then one of the fly pattern used to evaluate a fly tyer’s skills toward a Silver Level in the later part of the year. The fifth and final required fly pattern in the Bronze Level series is ah historic and highly productive nymph, the Gold-Ribbed Hare’s Ear Nymph.
Gold-Ribbed Hare’s Ear Nymph
The Gold Ribbed Hare’s Ear features one of the most ubiquitous and adaptable dubbing materials used in fly tying, the fur from the Brown Hare Lepus europaeus. For centuries it has been a staple of numerous fly tying dressings with mask section of its hide lending it name to some of the most famous fly patterns.
Charles Cotton in his contribution to Walton’s fifth edition of the Compleat Angler (1653), included two early uses of hare’s fur with his dressing of the Bright Dun Gnat and Fern Fly. Which respectively use white hare’s scut (tail) and the fur from a hare’s neck.
Bright Dun Gnat “There is also a very little Bright-Dun Gnat, as little as can possibly be made, so little as never to be fished with, with above one ha’r nest the hook; and this is to be made of a mixed dubbing of marten’s fur, and the white of a hare’s scut, with a very white and small wing”
Fern Fly “Next a fly called a Fern-fly; the dubbing of the fur of a hare’s neck, that is, of the colour of fern or bracken, with a darkish-gray wing of a mallard’s feather.”
Later a succession of published fly tyers would build on Cotton’s legacy, and provide us with some of the most well-known fly patterns to feature the fur from various parts of the hare. Patterns such as the Gold Ribbed Hares Ear and the Hares Lug and Plover becoming some of the most widely fished fly patterns, firmly cementing the role of hare’s fur in fly tying.
What makes the hair fibres from a brown hare’s skin so attractive to trout and grayling is unknown. Even when the fur is dyed it still has an unknown attractiveness. Maybe it is the spiky contrasting guard hairs within these mixed fibres. The following is a list of the core fly patterns using hare’s mask dubbing: Gold Ribbed Hare’s Ear Nymph, Gold Ribbed Hare’s Ear Dry Fly, Hare’s Ear [Wet], Hare’s Lug and Plover [Soft Hackle], Gold Ribbed Hare’s Ear or G.R.H.E. [Wet], Gold Ribbed Hare’s Ear F Fly, a basic CDC dry fly pattern, Golden Plover Fly, north country spider pattern, Golden Plover Fly [Wet] and Hare’s Ear Comparadun.
Like all great trout flies, the Gold Ribbed Hare’s Ear Nymph has that unknown quality. Is it the gold ribbing or the dubbing or both. It seems to our eyes to imitate nothing, but to the waiting trout, it has a mysterious appeal. And that is the conundrum at the very heart of every Hare’s Ear pattern.
Tying the fly pattern for the Bronze Level Submission
Visit the FFI website and navigate to the Fly Tying Group, then to the Bronze Award Handbook pages. The website has excellent instructions as to how to tie and submit the required group of fly patterns to an FFI Bronze Award Evaluator. The website includes a video presenting each step to tie the Gold-Ribbed Hare’s Ear Nymph. The handbook is easy to understand and follow. Tie three flies with consistency for the Bronze Awards submission, then tie more for the fly box.
Fly of the Month 05.23
Gold-Ribbed Hare’s Ear Nymph
Hook: #10 Nymph hook, 1xL
Weight: 10-15 turns of non-lead wire
Thread: 8/0 Black Uni-thread or equivalent
Tail: Guard hairs from hare’s mask
Rib: Gold oval tinsel, over abdomen
Abdomen: Blended lighter tan hair from the hare’s mask
(or Hairline Dubbing # 4, Hare’s Ear or equivalent)
Wingcase: Mottled turkey tail feather over thorax
Thorax: Blended darker brown hair from the hare’s mask
(or Hairline Dubbing # 5, Dark Hare’s Ear or equivalent)
Head: Whip-finish and head cement
Note: Typic
Directions:
1) De-barb the hook, mount the hook in the vise, and wrap 10 to 15 turns of non-lead wire around the hook shank. You want the center of gravity to be slightly forward of the center of the hook shank. Diameter of the wire should be equal to or slightly smaller than the hook shank diameter.
2) Attach the tying thread about an eye length behind the hook eye.
3) Make several wraps in front of the wire to build up a slight taper. Wrap the thread along the shank toward the back of the wire and build up a ramp that sloped down to the rear.
4) Take the thread to the position on the shank directly over where the barb would be. Select a small bunch of guard hairs from the cheek or from between the ears of a hare’s mask. Clean out, but leave some of the underfur. Tie on the hair bunch on top of the hook shank at the tail tie in spot. After making 1 or 2 wraps of thread over the hair bunch, make 1 tight wrap under the tail between the hair and the hook shank. Bind the tail waste down up to the rear edge of the wire weight loops. Trim away the excess waste.
5) Position the ribbing along the shank so when you tie in the rib, you will just catch the metal rib with 2 or 3 wraps of thread when you are over the tail tie in spot. Tie down the rib along the shank. The tying thread should end up at the tail tie in position.
6) Either select lighter colored hairs from the hare’s mask, or use a commercial lighter colored hare’s ear dubbing. Blend the hairs as needed. Spin the dubbing on the thread. Taper the dubbing rope so it will thicken as you wrap the dubbing forward to form a slightly tapered abdomen.
7) Wrap the dubbing forward to a position just past the midpoint of the hook shank.
8) Wrap the ribbing forward to the front of the abdomen using 4 to 6 evenly spaced wraps. Tie off the rib with 2 wraps of thread. Keep tension on the bobbin and trim the ribbing leaving a short waste. While maintaining tension on the thread, use tweezers or your finger nails to remove the metal coating from the silk core of the oval tinsel. Trim off the metal and then bind down the silk core with several wraps of thread. Trim off any waste.
9) Select a section of a dark mottled turkey tail feather. The section should be about 1/8 to 3/8 of an inch wide. Tie in the feather on top of the shank with the shiny side (good side) down and the thicker end of the fibers extending over the shank towards the hook bend. Be sure to make thread wraps forcing the wingcase against the end of the abdomen. This keeps a gap from forming when the wingcase is pulled up and forward over the thorax.
10) Select darker bunches of hair from the hare’s mask. Be sure to include guard hairs. Blend the dubbing together, or use an appropriate commercial dark hare’s ear blend. Form a short but thick section of dubbing on your thread.
11) Dub the thorax forward. Start with tight wraps over the threads holding the wingcase material. Wrap the dubbing forward to a point 1 eye length behind the hook eye.
12) Fold the turkey tail fibers up and over the thorax. Pull the fibers tight and keep them centered over the thorax as you tie them down behind the eye of the hook. Care should be taken to avoid splitting the fibers in the wingcase.
13) Trim off the wingcase waste. Form a head, whip finish the head, and apply head cement. You can tease out thorax fibers to make the fly more ‘buggy’ looking.
- Tom Adams, Alen Baker