Tying Instructions: Micro Mayfly, Olive

1. Flatten the barb of the hook with the vise and slide a small copper bead onto the hook to the eye.
Step One
2. Wrap some leadfree wire wraps behind the bead to fill the bead void and to define the thorax region.
Step Two
3. Attach the thread behind the leadfree wraps and and secure the wraps with the thread. Lay a thread foundation to the bend of the hook.
Step Three
4. Select 3 Ringneck Pheasant Tail fibers dyed Yellow from the center of a tail feather. These fibers tend to be rigid and will splay into separate fibers with proper thread tension.


Step Four
5. Attach the fibers to the top of the hook shank with the length of the tail equal to the shank length. Two tight wraps of thread to splay the fibers, then secure the tag end of the pheasant tail fibers up to the leadfree wraps with thread wraps. Step Five
6. Snip off the remaining tag end and apply some more thread wraps to smooth the body.
Step Six
7. Attach a fine Silver Wire along the side of the hook shank for a ribbing. Secure to the tail tie-in position. Step Seven
8. Next, prepare a stripped peacock herl by scrapping the herl with your fingernail on each side of the herl. Start at the base of the herl and work up. As you get closer to the tip of the herl, the herl gets quite weaker.
Step Eight
9. Snip off the weak tip of the herl.
Step Nine
10. Attach the tip of the stripped herl to the top of the hook shank securing the herl from the base of the wrapped leadfree wraps to the tail tie-in position.
Step Ten
11. Wrap the herl forward with some overlapping wraps. Cover up to midway on the shank where the leadfree wire wraps begin. Secure the herl with thread wraps and trim off the tag end.
Step Eleven
12. Trim off the tag end of the herl and secure with thread wraps. Step Twelve
13.Wrap the Silver Wire ribbing forward with about 5 evenly spaced wraps and secure with thread wraps trimming off the tag end of the wire using a "helicopter" motion on the tag to break it off cleanly..
Step Thirteen
14. Attach a piece of flashabou on top of the hook shank just behind the bead with the tag end towards the rear.
Step Fourteen
15. Cut a section of Dark Mottled Brown Turkey from a quill about the width of the hook gape.
Step Fifteen
16. Attach the section behind the bead to the top of the hook shank with the dull side facing up. Secure the Turkey section up to the stripped Peacock Herl abdomen.
Step Sixteen
17. Apply dubbing to the thread for a thorax. Twist the dubbing around the thread and lock in a few fibers behind the bead. Step Seventeen
18. With the fibers locked in, you can twist the dubbing around the thread for a rope and start wrapping the dubbing around the thorax region behind the bead. Step Eighteen
19. Dub the thorax so that it is about twice as thick as the abdomen. Dub the thorax up to the bead.
Step Nineteen
20. Pull the Turkey section over the dubbed thorax and secure with thread wraps behind the bead. Finally bring the single piece of flashabou over the center of the wingcase and secure with thread wraps. Apply a thin coat of epoxy to all of the wingcase. Keep this application thin so that you can control it's flow. Then, apply a second drop to the wingcase. The amount of epoxy applied is determined by the amount you have on the bodkin. The second drop will follow the area covered by your first application. After the wingcase is dry, wrap a dubbed collar to hide the thread wraps and whip finish.
Step Twenty
21. Finally bring the single piece of flat pealescent mylar over the center of the wingcase and secure with thread wraps.
Step Twentyone
22. Trim off the tag ends of the turkey and tinsel.
Step Twentytwo
23. Select three Pheasant Tail fibers and even the tips. Attach the fibers to the side of the thoax behind the bead with one thread wrap and adjust the length of the fibers so that the tips do not extend past the abdomen.
Step Twentythree
24. Do the same on the other side of the hook. Step Twentyfour
25. Apply a thin amount of dubbing to create a collar.
Step Twentyfive
26. Whip Finish behind the bead. The collar dubbing will hide these wraps. Next apply a drop of thick UV fly finish to the turkey wingcase and the top of the dubbed collar. This will assure that the whip finish is locked behind the bead. Use a bodkin to bring the finish to all sides of the wingcase.
Step Twentysix
27. Harden the finish with a UV lamp.
Step Twentyseven
28. The finished Micro May, Olive
Step Twentyeight

©2023 Steve Schalla
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