1. Debarb hook.
   
   
2. 12 wraps of .020 lead (the lead is positioned towards the back of the hook allowing enough room for tying in the tail).
   
   
3. Attach thread at hook eye and wrap over the lead locking it in place paying attention to covering the lead on the belly of the fly. Move thread to above the barb.
   
   
4. Tye about 6 wood duck fibers about half the shank length for tail, followed by 4 strands of crystal flash (slightly shorter). Top this with 6 more wood duck.
   
   
5. Tye in hackle by butt end, dull side facing you. Move thread to the eye.
   
   
6. Tye in peacock keeping the herl on top of the hook. Wrap back, then forward again to eye.
   
   
7. Tye in the yarn in the same manner as the herl and move thread to the eye. Wrap yarn around hook shank in consecutive turns to the eye or dub from the back forward.
   
   
8. Pull peacock herl tight over the top of the fly. Tye off , half hitch and trim. (Fish have abrasive mouths, patches or just plain teeth. This gives them less to tear up when pulled tight)
   
   
9. Palmer hackle forward in 3-5 wraps. Tye off and trim. The first turn, which I don't count, is on the tye in point.
   
   
10. Form a small tapered head and whip finish. I put a touch of cement at the tye in point at the tail which seems to help keep the herl and hackle from coming apart. When adding cement to the head, I do the same procedure. If the fly is going to come apart (after catching so many fish), this is where it would likely happen.

When fished in open water, bass and bluegill usually "submarine" behind the fly before the take. Fished over lilly pads, the fly drops butt first. The larger size hackle towards the rear acts as a weed guard and will actually skitter across the pad if fished slowly.

I was asked by good friend Jerry Clark why one would tye on a dry fly hook only to weight it with lead? Kind of thought too that it sounded silly. After many exhausting days of research I came to my conclusion. The light wire is much easier to pull out of logs, lilly pads, fish and skin. The Dai-Riki 300 will also bend a little if it's really stuck. Usually I can retrieve my fly even with 6x fluorocarbon tippet. (Yes, I LOVE fluorocarbon!)

Fishing technique varies from person to person. The same goes for fish. A strip/pause variance generally works with the strike sometimes happening on the fall. It seems as summer grows longer, faster stripping works well with the fish cruising right under the surface.

Tight lines and flies!