The Black Pennell

Step by Step's

Catch in a length of oval silver tinsel and secure to the hookshank. Stop the thread opposite the barb. Wind the oval silver tinsel around the bend of the hook (Three turns whould be enough) and then back up again to the thread. Secure with the thread. Do not trim the waste tinsel.

Step 3

Take around 5 or 6 Golden Pheasant Tippets and catch in on the hookshank, secure them with thread and return the thread to a position of around 5mm from the eye.

Step 4

Catch in a length of black floss silk.

Step 5

Run the Black floss silk down the body to the tail tie in point and back up again to the eye. Try and keep the body as thin and uniform as possible. Secure with the thread once back at the eye and trim any waste black floss silk. Now take the oval silver tinsel and wind up the body in even and open turns. Once at the eye, secure with thread, trim any waste.

Step 6

Take a black cock hackle and tie in. The barbs on the hackle should be at least 1 1/3 times the gape of the hook. Perform a few windings of the hackle secure with thread and trim any waste. I prefer a sparse hackle with only 2 to 3 windings but thats just my preference.

Step 7

If you are using a hackle of more than a couple of windings, then after each turn brush the hackle back with you fingers and wind again in front of the last winding and repeat until at the eye. One at the eye, take hold of the head hackle with your left hand and brush it back again until only the thread is exposed. Create a neat head with the thread, whip finish and varnish. This will produce a hackle that tapers backwards rather than like the sparse hackle which is almost vertical.