For a BWO emerger/cripple, this is my tie.
I use the Daiichi 1770 swimming nymph hook (size 10, 12, 14 or 16 depending on pattern). Place the hook in the vice and wind the thread. Tie a trailing shuck on top of the shank right on the hook bend so the shuck points down. I generally use brown antron.
Turn the hook upside down (the rest of the fly is tied upside down) and tie down fine bronze wire and some pheasant tail feathers. Wind the pheasant tail forward a few turns, tie off and wrap with wire. Tie in a peacock herl and take one or two wraps and tie off. This is the nymph portion. This should not be much more than halfway up the curved portion of the shank.
Then take an olive goose biot and tie down just in front of the nymph and wind forward to the top bend of the hook. At this point you have a couple choices – you can either tie a post and go parachute style or use poly yarn for the wings (poly yarn floats, antron and z-lon don’t).
If going parachute, tie the post, tie the dun hackle and add some gray-olive dubbing covering the remaining hook shank. Spin the hackle and tie off.
If going poly wings, tie like a spent spinner and then dub over.
You can also combine the two or tie the poly at angles backwards. I use this tying style for a variety of patterns. It’s a good starting point and you can really play around with things to give the fish something they haven’t seen before.
