Bi-Color PTN - step-by-step


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A step at a time:

BI-COLOR PTN

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Bi-Color PTN
Originator: Alan Bithell

Hook: Wet fly, #12-20
Thread: 8/0, yellow
Back/tail/wingcase: Natural pheasant tail
Body: Dyed pheasant tail
Rib: Copper wire

 


(Full-size pictures on click.)

Step 1
Bi-Color PTN - Step 1

Mount a hook in the vise, tie in the thread and cover the thorax area with thread.

 

Step 2
Bi-Color PTN - Step 2

Measure a bunch of pheasant tail barbs. The front part, with the tips, should be about 1,3 - 1,5 x the total body length of the fly.

 

Step 3
Bi-Color PTN - Step 3

Tie in the bunch so the tip part point out forward past the hook eye.

 

Step 4
Bi-Color PTN - Step 4

Fold the rear part of the bunch up over the thorax area and secure it there. We're using this surplus part to build up a little larger thorax. This way we get the bulk above the hook shank and keep a maximum hook gape. This makes this technique very suitable for hooks also in the smaller size ranges.

 

Step 5
Bi-Color PTN - Step 5

Cut the waste of the surplus end as close to the thread as possible.

 

Step 6
Bi-Color PTN - Step 6

Cover the rest of the hook shank with thread and tie at the same time in a piece of copper wire or ordinary round tinsel.

 

Step 7
Bi-Color PTN - Step 7

Tie in a bunch of lighter colored material, here yellow pheasant tail barbs. This fly should be seen more as an idea than a pattern, since it's open for a lot of variants while still keep the advantages of the actual bi-color technique. Note: If weight is to be added, now is the time to do it.

 

Step 8
Bi-Color PTN - Step 8

Here the yellow pheasant barbs have been wrapped up towards the eye and been secured at the head of the fly.

 

Step 9
Bi-Color PTN - Step 9

We are done with the thread work and a whip-finish is made in a regular manner.

 

Step 10
Bi-Color PTN - Step 10

Now it's time to get imitative.

 

Step 11
Bi-Color PTN - Step 11

The darker barbs are folded back over the hook shank and tied down with a wrap of tinsel/wire at the end of the body. A darker back, a wingcase and a tail are created in one swift move.

 

Step 12
Bi-Color PTN - Step 12

Continue to rib the wire forward and tie down the back barbs in segments.

 

Step 13
Bi-Color PTN - Step 13

At the start of the thorax, finish off the wire with a couple of half-hitches and cut the waste.

 

Done...
DONE!

And here it's done. Quick, simple and imitative with few materials. Strong factors defining a "perfect" fly.

Variants
Another...

Smaller hook with olive body.

And a third...

Another variant, with yellow SLF dubbing for abdomen and peacock herl for a thorax, but still based on the very same idea.

 

 


 
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