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Tony's Knit Picking Mayfly


Hook: 14 LO 55 Eagle Claw Scud hook
Thread: 6/0 or smaller
Body:  Three Moose mane hairs With 2 colors of Guidbrod "G" thread woven over them.
Wing: Show wing Swiss Straw, Sail wing Antron yarn
Hackle : White tied parachute style

TonyFly1.jpg (37036 bytes)
Photo by Tom Davenport

Knit Picking Mayfly
Tony Spezio

I call them Knit Picking Mayflies. The Swiss straw wing I call the "Show Wing and the other a "Sail Wing". The bodies are 22 overhand knots with two colors of "G" Guid brod thread using the Knit Picker to make the knots. I start with three strands of Moose Mane stretched between two hackle pliers. One is spring loaded to the bobbin rest, the other on the vise. I start with one overhand knot with the dark color on the right side. After the first knot is made the light color will be on the right side.

This will be your "odd" number knots. All of the light color thread goes over the top and the dark color under the bottom. This gives you the woven pattern with two light and one dark line on the bottom and two dark and one light line on top. On the light color, the picker is inserted from the top of the loop for the knot, on the dark color, the picker is inserted from the bottom of the loop for the knot.

After the extended body is made it is attached to a sz 14 LO 55 Eagle Claw Scud hook by laying the moose hair on top of the hook and wrapping with the 8/0 tying thread. When the hair is attached to the hook, bring the tying thread forward and hang it on the bobbin rest. Turn the vise and hook facing you and make another six knots over the shank and moose hair. Stop the knots about 2/3 of the shank behind the eye. If a post is to be used to put Swiss Straw wings on the fly, take the body thread and moose mane and lift it together and post it. This gives you the base for the wings. The Swiss Straw wings are made with a wing burner. Fold a piece of Swiss straw and place it in the burner with the fold at the base on the burner.

When burned, the wings will be attached at the fold. Open the wing tips a little and slip them on the shank from the bottom, with the post in the center of the wings. Take a couple of light wraps to hold the wing in place. Strip the base of a hackle leaving the stem long. Fold the stem, like a "U" around the shank and wing, the hackle up one side of the wing and the stem up the other side. Post the hackle stem along with the wing, moose and body thread. The stem, on the sides of the Swiss Straw wing protects it from being cut by the 8/0 tying thread. Dub a small amount of fine dubbing on the tying thread and wrap the thorax to cover the hackle stem etc. Wrap the hackle parachute style and whip finish.

For the Sail Wing, same as above till you finish the knots on the hook. At this point tie off the body thread and moose mane and clip the excess at the tie off point. For the wing, use a length of Antron and tie it in on top, parallel to the shank. Tying it in this way makes a thin profile. Lift the Antron and post it at the base. Tie in a hackle and dub a thorax. Wrap the hackle and tie off. Clip the top of the Antron to shape the wing like a sail on a sailboat.

Tony