Wet Flies




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The Orange Teal

The color orange seems to be attractive to bluegills and other panfish and the Orange Teal fills that bill.


Matrials List


Hook Mustad 9671 Size 8
Thread Uni-Thread - 6/0 or 8/0 Orange
Tail Teal Flank Feather Tip Orange
Rib Oval Tinsel - Gold Size Fine
Underbody Uni-Yarn Burnt Orange
Body Antron Dubbing Crawdad Orange
Wing Teal Flank Feather Orange
Collar Whiting American Hen Neck Orange

Tying Notes


The teal flies are tied just like classic winged wet flies. First the tail, then the body and finally the wing and collar. Pretty straight forward.


Angling Tips


Fish the teal flies on a floating line with a tippet no heavier than 3X.

Tie the fly to the leader with a Non-Slip Mono Knot or a Duncan Knot to give the it maximum movement.


Tying Instructions


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Step 1

Insert the hook in the vice, crimp the barb, and lay down a thread base from the hook's eye back to the hook's bend.


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Step 2

Select a large well-marked Teal Flank Feather with a symmetrical shape and strip away the fluff at the base of the feather.

Stroke back the fibers from the stem until the exposed tip is three-quarters of an inch long. Clip the tip with your scissors and set it aside to be used for the tail.

Stroke the flank fibers back to their original position and set the feather aside to be used later for the wing.


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Step 3

Tie in the flank feather tip for the tail. The tail should be half the length of the hook's shank.


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Step 4

Tie in a piece of Oval Tinsel about three inches long. Let the thread hang at the hook bend.


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Step 5

Uni-Yarn comes on a spool so put the spool in a bobbin.

Start the Uni-Yarn at the front of the hook with a jam knot just like you did the tying thread and build a naturally tapered underbody back to the hanging thread.

Tie off the yarn with the hanging thread.


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Step 6

Apply a thin noodle of dubbing to the thread and cover the underbody with a thin layer of dubbing.


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Step 7

When the dubbing is complete wrap the Oval Gold Tinsel forward in four or five wraps and tie it off with the standing thread.


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Step 8

Even the tips of the Teal Feather and place it on top of the hook shank with the tips of the feather extending slightly past the bend of the hook.

Tie the feather in with three or four tight wraps of thread allowing a few of the barbs to fall along each side of the body. But, keep most of the barbs on top of the shank to form the wing..

Trim the butts of the feather and cover them with thread.


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Step 9

Select an appropriately sized hen neck feather an prepare it by removing the fluff from the base of the stem, stroking the barbs back, and making a tip to tie the feather to the hook..


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Step 10

Tie the feather in by the tip with the curved side facing the hook.


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Step 11

To form the collar, wrap the feather three or four times, tie it off and remove the excess. The collar's barbs should extend about two-thirds the length of the hook's shank.


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Step 12

Form a neat thread head and cement the thread head with "Hard As Nails" nail polish.


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Step 13

Your Orange Teal Wet Fly is finished.


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