Stoat's Tail salmon Fly

Needle Tubes and Tube Flies

Step by Step tying of a Stoat's Tail

by John Gray

Stoat's Tail Salmon Fly

The Stoat's Tail Salmon Fly

 

In the words of Hugh Falkus, "Of all hair-wing salmon flies for late spring and summer fishing with floating line, the simple Stoat's Tail is one of the best we have." This fly has been around for a long time and has in all probability accounted for more salmon than any other fly, particularly if we take into account its many variants. Some have an orange hackle, as in the Thunder Stoat and Stinchar Stoat; some a touch of blue, as in the Sweep; others sport a tinsel body, as in the Silver Stoat and Black Brahan; the addition  of a yellow hackle gives us the Tosh. All can be relied on in a wide variety of conditions and most salmon fly boxes would contain one or two variants, according to preference and experience.

 

Tying a Stoat's Tail Salmon Fly Single

 

Materials
 

hook: Single, double, treble or tube

tag: Oval silver tinsel

tail: Golden pheasant crest

body: Black floss silk with medium oval tinsel rib.

wing: Stoat's Tail

hackle: Black cock hackle

head: Black thread and varnish

 

Step 1 - Wind a bed of thread towards the tail and tie in a few turns of oval silver tinsel

Stoat's Tail - Step 1

 

Step 2 - Tie in a tail of golden pheasant crest feather.

Stoat's Tail Salmon Fly - step 2

 

Step 3 - wind thread to starting point, tie in black floss and wind to tail and back. Overwind with oval silver tinsel.

Stoat's Tail Salmon Fly - Step 3

 

Step 4 - Tie in a few turns of black cock hackle.

Stoat's Tail Salmon Fly - Step 4

 

Step 5 - Tie in a wing of stoat's tail, form a neat head and varnish with two or three coats of Cellire No. 1

The Stoat's Tail Salmon Fly

 

The Stoat's Tail may be dressed on singles, doubles, trebles or tubes. Just two of the many variants are shown below, the Silver Stoat, excellent for sea trout as well as salmon, and the Tosh.

 

The Silver Stoat

 The Silver Stoat

 

The Tosh

Tosh Salmon Fly

 

For more information on Grays Needle Tubes, see Trout and Salmon Flies

Book - Sea Trout Nights

 

 

 Salmon Spinhead

 

HMH Tube Fly Tool

 

Resources

Grays of Kilsyth

Salmon Flies

Trout Flies

Sea Trout Flies

Tube Flies

The Tube Fly Shop

Salmon Fishing Scotland

Trout Fishing Scotland

Sea Trout Fishing

Sea Trout Fishing Book

 

 
 Slim stainless steel salmon and sea trout flies
 
 

 

 

ONLINE FLY SHOP

 

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