Steve Hudson
Senior Member
The Humpy, a high-floating and easy-to-see attractor dry fly, is a favorite among small-stream anglers in the Southeast (and elsewhere too). The pattern appears to have appeared in the early 1940s as Horner's Deer Hair Fly, developed by Jack Horner for use on streams in the northern Sierras. This almost unsinkable pattern featured a buoyant deer hair back over a floss body, plus a thick hackle as well as a hair wing. It floated well and was easy to see -- and trout loved it!
The only problem is that the original can be somewhat challenging to tie.
This Saturday on The Tying Bench, we'll tie a modernized version of the Humpy -- the Foam-Back/Foam-Wing Humpy -- which uses foam for not only the back of the fly but also for the wings. The result is a fly with the excellent floatation and eye-catching profile of the original -- but we think you'll agree that this version is a lot easier to tie!
I hope you can join in on Saturday at 10 a.m. via Zoom!
Materials required:
Hook: Dry fly hook, size 12 (this is a good size for learning, but note that this fly can be tied larger or smaller as desired. My favorites seem to be size 14 or 16, but they are small if you're still learning! If you are a relatively new tyer, you might want to tie on size 10 hooks to give yourself a little more learning room.)
Thread: 6/0 yellow, chartreuse or red.
Tail: Elk hair, cleaned of underfur and then stacked to even tips. Deer hair may also be used, but choose hair that will not flare under thread pressure. Elk is preferred.
Back: Tan (or yellow or...?) 2mm foam strip.
Belly: Formed by wrapping the tying thread to form a relatively thick, oval body.
Wings: On the winged version, a narrow strip of 1mm (preferred, though a little harder to find) or 2mm foam tied to the hook in front of the body as described in class. I match the wing color to the back color, if possible; if not, use yellow or tan or white.
Hackle: Grizzly dry fly hackle sized to match the hook.
Specialized tools you may want to have on hand:
Hair stacker: You'll use this to even the tips of the hair fibers. You'll need this one.
Hackle pliers: Optional but helpful for handling the hackle feather, particularly as the feather gets shorter.
Saturday, March 26, 10 a.m. Eastern
Zoom meeting: 881 4010 3409
Meeting ID: FlyTying26
The only problem is that the original can be somewhat challenging to tie.
This Saturday on The Tying Bench, we'll tie a modernized version of the Humpy -- the Foam-Back/Foam-Wing Humpy -- which uses foam for not only the back of the fly but also for the wings. The result is a fly with the excellent floatation and eye-catching profile of the original -- but we think you'll agree that this version is a lot easier to tie!
I hope you can join in on Saturday at 10 a.m. via Zoom!
Materials required:
Hook: Dry fly hook, size 12 (this is a good size for learning, but note that this fly can be tied larger or smaller as desired. My favorites seem to be size 14 or 16, but they are small if you're still learning! If you are a relatively new tyer, you might want to tie on size 10 hooks to give yourself a little more learning room.)
Thread: 6/0 yellow, chartreuse or red.
Tail: Elk hair, cleaned of underfur and then stacked to even tips. Deer hair may also be used, but choose hair that will not flare under thread pressure. Elk is preferred.
Back: Tan (or yellow or...?) 2mm foam strip.
Belly: Formed by wrapping the tying thread to form a relatively thick, oval body.
Wings: On the winged version, a narrow strip of 1mm (preferred, though a little harder to find) or 2mm foam tied to the hook in front of the body as described in class. I match the wing color to the back color, if possible; if not, use yellow or tan or white.
Hackle: Grizzly dry fly hackle sized to match the hook.
Specialized tools you may want to have on hand:
Hair stacker: You'll use this to even the tips of the hair fibers. You'll need this one.
Hackle pliers: Optional but helpful for handling the hackle feather, particularly as the feather gets shorter.
Saturday, March 26, 10 a.m. Eastern
Zoom meeting: 881 4010 3409
Meeting ID: FlyTying26
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