The Grey Hackle Yellow
This fly was recently shown to me by a customer in the store who has fond memories of how many fish it has caught for him. Today it is a hard fly to find commercially tied but really isn’t too difficult to tie. I have not yet fished this pattern but have great confidence after talking with this particular customer. I would fish it in smaller sizes during a solid PMD hatch or in larger sizes as a Yellow Sally imitation. The red tail is sure to encourage strong strikes
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The Grey Hackle Yellow Ingredients List / Recipe:
Hook – Tiemco TMC 100
Thread – Veevus 10/0 Black
Tail – Hackle Feathers Red
Body – Super Fine Dubbing Yellow
Flash Rib – Mylar Tinsel Gold
Hackle – Whiting Farms Cape Black and Dun
Tools used to create this fly:
Vise – Stonfo Transformer Vise
Scissors – Dr. Slick Razor Scissors
Bobbin – Tiemco Double Arm Bobbin Heavy
Whip Finish – Dr. Slick Brass Whip Finish
Please let us know if you have any questions or feel free to drop a line in the comments. We would love to hear what you think about this pattern!
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Need to post step by step instructions for people like me who is just beginning to tie flies.
Thanks for the feedback and also for following our blog! We may be able to get this going for you in the future!
Brady, the Grey Hackle Yellow dry fly and the Royal Coachman dry seemed to be the mainstays of Hank Roberts Flies for on Boulder, CO in the 1950 – 1975 time period. I can’t remember my father ever really using anything else , except an occasional Renegade.
Hey Jim, Thanks for some history on this pattern! I am glad to become aware of it and will definitely be incorporating it into my boxes going forward!
The Grey Hackle Yellow is a traditional Smokey Mountain Fly according to Roger Lowe in his book on fly patterns. Southern Trout magazine notes it first showed up on lists of southern Appalachia flies 100 years ago. It likely originated in Europe although the early history has not been established. Traditionally it was tied with the red tail and in a tail-less version.
Hey John,
Thanks for your comment. I am thrilled there are knowledgeable people out there helping us to understand this fly better! Keep sharing your expertise!