GRHE Emerger - step by step

I find myself fishing emerger style or “damp” dry flies more often than any other style now. I think that the emergence stage of a hatch is when the flies are at their most vulnerable and offer the trout fairly easy pickings. This fly is one of many patterns tied to exploit this vulnerable period in a flies life cycle. The design and material choice I think are clever and efficient. The curved dipping abdomen is reminiscent of a hatching midge, while the wing and “bullet” head is reminiscent of a sedge. It has a Hare’s Ear abdomen and thorax and the wing is constructed using Deer hair, CDC and Chrystal Flash. All giving movement and the illusion of life and great floatability. With all its attributes I really can’t see how it will fail to pull fish.
The originator of this pattern is a tier by the name of David Hunter.

Instructions assume right-handed tyers

Materials list
HOOK – TMC2487 (or any other continuous bend type hook, Kamasan B100 etc)
THREAD – Tan
TAIL – Partridge Hackle Fibres
RIB – Oval Gold
ABDOMEN – Hare’s Ear Dubbing
THORAX – Hare’s Ear Dubbing (slightly darker mix)
WING/BULLET HEAD – Coastal Deer Hair, Olive CDC and Two strands of Pearl Chrystal Hair.

 

STEP 1 Attach the thread and wrapping round the bend catch in a short bunch of Partridge fibres for the tail.
STEP 2 Catch in the oval gold for the rib, taking the thread well round the bend.
STEP 3 Apply a pinch of the Hare’s Ear dubbing to the thread.
STEP 4 Then wrap to within or just slightly under 1/3rd of the shank length from the eye to form the abdomen.
STEP 5 Follow with the rib in evenly spaced turns. When you tie the rib off, take the thread to the eye.
STEP 6 For the wing take a slim bunch of Deer hair and align the tips in a stacker, then measure for length. You want the wing to be as long as or very slightly longer than the hook length.
STEP 7 Then tie the wing in tight up to and projecting over the eye.
STEP 8 Then trim the butts
STEP 9 Tie in one Olive CDC feather so that it lies on top of the Deer hair and is roughly the same length
STEP 10 The final part of the wing is to tie in two strands of Chrystal Hair on top of the previously tied in Deer hair and CDC, again, roughly the same length.
STEP 11 Apply a pinch of the slightly darker Hare’s Ear mix and wrap to form the thorax, working from the eye and finishing at the end of the body. Leave the thread hanging at this point.
STEP 12 Pull the wing over the thorax as shown and tie down at the junction between the ends of the body and the thorax.
STEP 13 You will now have your wing and bullet head and the position of the materials will be reversed The Deer Hair is now on top, with the CDC and Chrystal Hair under.
STEP 14 To complete the fly, whipfinish where you tied the pulled over wing down and varnish.

 

Dennis Shaw was born into a fanatical fishing family at Dalbeattie in Southwest Scotland. He graduated from the local "Barr Burn", with the proverbial cane, wool and bent pin for eels, to fishing the local rivers and lochs. Now married with a son and daughter and fishing the chalkstreams of Southern England, Dennis is always yearning for "home". He has been tying flies for over 35 years yet still learns something new every day.