The Black Spider

[scotfly]

This is the Black Spider, a great introduction to fly tying.

HOOK- Kamasan B160  14-18
THREAD-Black
HACKLE-Black Hen

Instructions assume right-handed tyers.
The instructions, whilst long winded, are broken down into easy to follow steps to make it easier for you.
There are many ways of doing the various steps shown, few are wrong, only different. The steps I have shown are the way I prefer. With experience you will learn other ways which may suit you better or are better suited to a particular pattern, but for now these steps will serve you well.


I have used a short shank hook for this fly, but almost any wet fly hook will do.
Traditionally this fly would be tied using Pearsall?s silks, but as they are not readily available, in this instance I have used a modern thread.


STEP 1
              Before we start we shall select and  prepare the hackle, to do this select a suitable hackle, preferably from a cape, by bending the cape which will open up the hackles allowing you to see the various sizes. Then pull the selected hackle out, gripping the stem close to the root.



To check the size bend the hackle and hold it with the stem against the hook shank.
The fibres should be 1-11/2 times the gape of the hook. The gape being the distance between the hook point and the shank of the hook.



Once you have selected your hackle, prepare it for tying in by striping the waste fibres from the bottom, strip a few more from the right side as shown, this will aid the wrapping of the hackle later.



STEP 2
              Mount the hook in the vice, attach the thread and make approximately 5 turns of thread. You may with experience make fewer turns. Going down to 3 turns or even tying the hackle in at the eye,but to begin with I would recommend you leave plenty of room for the head and whipfinish.



STEP 3
              Attach the hackle by holding it across the hook shank with the good (shiny) side facing to the right ( facing the eye of the hook) and wrapping the thread round the shank over the hackle stem, trapping the stem between the thread and the hook shank.



STEP 4
              Continue wrapping the thread down the body to point level with the hook barb, then wrap back up to within 3 turns of the hackle.



STEP 5
              Take the hackle in the hackle pliers and make 2 or 3 turns clockwise round the hook shank. Wrap towards the tail with each turn tight to the previous one. Finish the final wrap in the position shown.



STEP 6
            Holding the hackle taught in the left hand, with your right hand take 2 or 3 turns of thread over the hackle stem, again trapping it between the thread and the hook shank.
This will lock the hackle in place, as shown here. This is to show you that the hackle is secure. I would recommend that to begin with you keep hold of the hackle pliers until after the next step.



STEP 7
             Wrap the thread in 2 or 3 turns through the hackle to the head. There are two ways you can do this. The way I prefer is to wrap quickly so that any hackle fibres which the thread catches whilst you are winding will spring back before they can become trapped. The other way is to weave the thread from side to side as you wrap.



STEP 8
            Use your fingers and thumbs to stroke all the hackle fibres back, ready for forming the head.



STEP 9
            Whilst holding the fibres back wrap the thread up tight to the base of the hackle, but do not wrap over the hackle fibres. You can wrap from the eye to the hackle and back several times if you want to form a larger head. My preference is for smaller heads.





STEP 10
               The final step. Make a whip finish, snip of the thread and varnish for the
completed fly.



That?s it, a quick and simple pattern to start with, but one which is very effective in both river and loch/lake.

[scotfly]

Great post, that's a lot of steps for such a simple fly Scotfly :shock:

I've normally seen the black spider tied using brown thread instead of black, I doubt it makes too much difference though.   A truely very effective flee.

Cheers

Ardbeg

Thank you.
It is a lot of steps, but since the tutorials are aimed at beginners I have tried to be as clear and descriptive as possible.Often, what we take for granted leaves beginners scratching their heads.

I don't know where the Black thread came from in this one, I only know is has caught a lot of fish for me over the years.

[Wildfisher]

One of the greatest flies of all time. My early season river / burn cast was always  black spider and a greenwell spider! 

Any chance of a step by step for the greenwell spider Dennis?