How to tie Rob Denson’s Olive Threadless Buzzer
OLIVE THREADLESS BUZZER Hook Size: 10-14 Kamasan B110 Rib: Olive Spanflex or Flexifloss Wing buds: Orange Spanflex or Flexifloss Thorax: Olive Spanflex or Flexifloss Marker pen: Any permanent red marker pen Varnish: Clear
Fix the hook in the vice, exposing as much of the curve as possible. Take a length of olive Spanflex and, gripping one end with hackle pliers, position it on the far side of the hook.
Holding the short end of Spanflex tight, stretch the long end to reduce its diameter then make a single turn over the hook shank and behind the short end.
Make another turn, this time in front of the loose end of Spanflex. These turns either side of the strand are enough to lock it in place, if tension is maintained.
Trim off the short end of the Spanflex close to the hook, then apply evenly spaced turns along the shank continuing until a little over half the shank has been covered.
Now take a short length of orange Spanflex to form the wing buds and loop it over the olive Spanflex on the underside of the hook.
Apply a turn of the olive Spanflex to lock the orange Spanflex in place, then apply touching turns of the olive Spanflex to form the thorax.
With the olive Spanflex positioned at the eye, stretch both ends of the orange Spanflex forwards and position them securely on top of the hook shank alongside the olive Spanflex.
Ensuring that the ends of the orange Spanflex are tightly fixed, cast off the olive Spanflex with a whip-finish applied just behind the eye. Trim off all the ends close to the eye.
With the basic construction now complete, invert the hook in the vice, then apply a small spot of red permanent marker pen at the rear of the wing buds.
Apply a small drop of clear varnish to the underside of the thorax, using the tip of a dubbing needle to work it into the spot of red ink.
Leave it for a few moments, then apply a coat of clear varnish to the entire fly, taking care not to cover the eye.
Once the varnish has set, add three or four more coats to the entire body, allowing each to dry fully before adding the next. Pay particular attention to emphasising the thorax.
PHOTOGRAPHY: PETER GATHERCOLE
