One of my earliest patterns that has worked well for me over the past 30 years.

This is an incredibly versatile pattern. You can fish it as a standard dry fly, or fish it as an emerger using a sinking poly leader. One of the deadliest techniques is to pull it under the surface on the retrieve, then suddenly stop. The natural buoyancy of the deer hair makes the fly “POP” back up to the surface, mimicking an actively emerging insect and triggering aggressive strikes.

Below, you’ll find the full materials list and a step-by-step guide on how to tie this fantastic deer hair pattern.

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Materials List

• Hook: Mustad R50Rap # 10-16
• Thread: Semperfli Nano Silk 6/0
• Body & Hackle/Wing: Whitetail Spinning Deer Hair
• Adhesive: Superglue Gel
• Tools Required: Stonfo Hair Packer (or similar), half-hitch tool, dubbing brush, scissors, razor blade, lighter, fine sandpaper, and a small plastic shaping tube.

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Step-by-Step Tying Instructions

Step 1: Prepare the Hook and Thread Base

1. Place your Mustad R50 hook in the vise.
2. Attach your Semperfli Nano Silk 6/0 tying thread near the eye and lay a thread base down towards the bend of the hook.
3. Crucial Step: Put a whip finish in at the rear of the hook. This provides a secure bumper that prevents the deer hair from slipping around the back of the hook when you apply pressure during the spinning process.

Step 2: The First Spin of Deer Hair

1. Apply a small drop of superglue gel to the thread base at the rear of the hook. (Gel is preferred because it isn’t runny and gives you more time to position materials).
2. Take a cleaned and stacked bunch of whitetail spinning deer hair.
3. With a flat thread, take one loose wrap around the hair, tighten slightly, take a second wrap, and then pull tight to let the hair spin around the hook shank.
4. Weave your thread forward through the spun hair about 2 to 3 mm.
5. Grab the waste ends pointing out the back, pull them tight, and trim them off to make the next steps tidier.

Step 3: Spinning and Packing the Body

1. Apply another drop of superglue gel right in front of the first bunch of hair.
2. Take a slightly larger bunch of cleaned deer hair. Keep your tying thread short for better control.
3. Repeat the spinning process: one wrap, tighten a bit, second wrap, then pull tight to flare and spin the hair.
4. Use your hair packer (like the Stonfo hair packer) to push the hair tightly towards the rear. Pro tip: As you pack the hair, twist the packer slightly from side to side. This works the hair fibers into each other rather than just compressing them.
5. Weave the thread forward through the hair once again.

Step 4: The Final Body Spin and Tie-Off

1. Add one last drop of superglue gel and take a final, smaller bunch of deer hair.
2. Spin it using the exact same technique as before. Pack it tight.
3. Bring your thread forward to the hook eye.
4. Using a half-hitch tool (which pushes the hair back neatly out of the way), secure the thread with a half-hitch and cut the thread free.

Step 5: Brushing and Shaping the Body

1. Take a dubbing brush and vigorously brush the spun hair. This releases any trapped hairs that might have been caught by the tying thread.
2. Begin trimming the body. Start with a rough cut underneath and around the fly using curved scissors.
3. Switch to a flexible razor blade to carefully shave and even up the deer hair until you achieve a nice, tapered pupa shape.

Step 6: Singeing and Sanding

1. Once you have the basic shape, take a lighter to smooth the body. Important: Only bring the flame down from above to quickly singe off the sharp points of the cut deer hair.
2. Take a piece of very fine sandpaper and gently rub the singed body. This removes the soot and leaves a beautifully smooth, natural finish.

Step 7: Tying the Hackle/Wing

1. Reattach your tying thread right at the front of the deer hair body.
2. Prepare a small bunch of deer hair with very fine, even points.
3. Measure the tips so they sweep back nicely over the body, and tie them in right behind the hook eye using the same one-two-tighten wrapping method.
4. Pull the hair back, advance your thread to the eye, and finish with your half-hitch tool. Remove the thread.
5. Carefully trim the waste butts at the front using your razor blade.

Step 8: The Final Shape

1. Push all the front-facing deer hair fibers back over the body.
2. Slide a small plastic tube over the front of the fly to hold the hair in that swept-back position.
3. Leave the tube on for a short while to train the hair. When you remove it, the fly will hold that perfect emerging pupa profile!