FFLYLYLLIFEIFE^7373wife was the one who mainly tied this
pattern and there is some suggestion
it was Allene who developed the fly.
The examples shown have been
tied in keeping with the original style
where a gap is left clear behind the
hook eye. This was to allow space for
a Turle Knot, the preferred method of
attaching a fly at the time, and was a
characteristic of many Appalachian
patterns. Later the rise in popularity
of the Half Blood and Uni knots made
the gap obsolete and it can be omitted
if preferred.
Begin by wrapping a neat thread
base a third of the way down the hook
shank. Select two matching grizzly
hackle tips and strip away the fibres
leaving one hook-shank length at the
end. Tie these in facing forward with
wraps up to the midpoint of your
thread base. Lift the wings and place
several turns tight against the stems
to hold them upright, then separate
slightly with one or two cross wraps
in between. The grizzly hackle tips
are best sourced from spade or saddle
feathers; these have a broader tip than
good quality hackles and give a better
wing profile on the finished fly.
Continue the thread base down the
hook shank to just short of the barb.
Select a few golden pheasant tippets
and tie in with an even layer of thread
two-thirds of the way up the hook-
shank, trim the excess tippets and lay
an even layer of thread back down
the shank. This keeps a smooth, even
base for wrapping over later.
A tail of golden pheasant tippets is
another Appalachian specialty, with
many patterns having this feature,
including the original Adams. Two
pheasant tail fibres formed the origi-
nal Adams tail up until the early ’60s
when the modern day version of
mixed brown and grizzly hackle fibres
became the established version.
The rest of the fly simply involves
wrapping feathers in order. In the fin-
ished proportions, we’re looking for a
little under a third of rear hackle, a
little over a third of ostrich and a third
front hackle. To begin the body, tie a
small grizzly hackle no bigger than
the hook gape and wrap forward half
a dozen times, then tie off and trim
the excess. Follow this with a barb
from a yellow-dyed ostrich feather
and wrap forward in touching turns.
For the front hackle select matching
brown and grizzly hackles with barbs
about one-and-a-half times the hook
gape. Tie them in neatly and wrap
both hackles several times behind
and in front of the wings. Secure with
a few wraps of thread and trim offthe excess. Form a small neat head,
whip finish and secure with a coat of
head cement.
The preferred waters to fish the
Adams Variant are the runs and rip-
ples where the extra flotation provid-
ed by the rear hackle helps the fly ride
the waves without getting swamped.
The fly is designed to be fished like
a Wulff pattern while retaining the
excellent generalist qualities of the
original Adams with an added hotspot
of colour (yellow) to draw the trout’s
attention.
For those who prefer an Adams
for their stream fishing but find them
difficult to spot in the broken water,
a little ‘variation’ may be just what
you need. FL- Wrap a short thread base.
- Tie in two hackle tips.
- Tie in tail fibres.
- Wrap rear hackle.
- Wrap yellow ostrich herl.
- Tie in matching front hackles.
- Wrap front hackle.
- Form neat head and whip finish.
TYING NOTES
ADAMS VARIANT1 23 45 67 8