Benchside Sessions
Benchside Sessions is our fly tying series highlighting the patterns that we ā as guides and shop staff ā actually rely on day in and day out on the water. Every fly featured in this series is tied by someone on our team, chosen because it flat-out works. No fluff, no filler ā just the flies we trust when it matters.
Materials
| Hook | MFC 7000 Classic Dry Fly ā #10 |
| Thread | Veevus 10/0 ā Brown |
| Rib | UNI Soft Wire ā Medium, Copper |
| Tail / Hackle | Hungarian Partridge |
| Dubbing | Hareline Hare's Ear Plus ā Tan |
Watch the full tying tutorial on our YouTube channel:
š„ Fly Fishing Unfiltered on YouTube
Step-by-Step Instructions
- Start your thread about two-thirds down the hook shank from the eye and wrap back to the bend of the hook.
- Select a partridge feather sized to the hook ā err on the side of oversizing. The feather should be slightly larger than what you'd use for a traditional soft hackle.
- Trim the tip out of the partridge feather at the stem, roughly at the point where the feather fibers are equal to the length of the hook from eye to bend. Try to avoid cutting any of the fibers.
- Set the base section aside for later. Trim the very tip out of the remaining tip section ā essentially repeating step three on a smaller scale ā creating a "V" shape out of the remaining fibers.
- Tie in the tip "V" section at the back of the hook so the tail is roughly half the length of the hook shank, then bring your thread back up to just about the two-thirds point of the shank.
- Tie in about 3" of copper wire starting at the two-thirds point and work back toward the bend, stopping roughly even with the barb of the hook.
- Noodle a small amount of dubbing onto the thread and start wrapping to build the body ā starting behind the wire and working forward to the two-thirds point, then back to the wire, then forward again, adding dubbing as needed. Building the body in layers like this makes it much easier to achieve a tight, evenly tapered profile. Dubbing wax can be very helpful if you're having trouble getting the dubbing to stick. There should be a very distinct end to the body at the two-thirds point.
- Wrap the copper wire forward evenly 4ā5 times to create the rib, then tie off at the two-thirds point.
- Take the base section of the partridge feather and tease the fibers away from the stem, forming another "V" shape. Position the feather on the hook so the tips of the fibers are roughly even with the back of the body and evenly spaced on either side of the hook. Tie the feather down directly behind the body dubbing at the two-thirds point ā start with two loose wraps, then cinch down. This should cause the fibers to splay fairly evenly around the hook shank, similar to a soft hackle. You may need to manipulate them with your fingers before fully tightening. The goal is even distribution around the shank, but perfection isn't required.
- Add more dubbing to the thread and build the head similarly to the body, but make it a bit thicker. Leave enough room directly behind the eye to whip finish.
- Whip finish, then brush and pick out the head section of dubbing so there are some loose fibers and a bushy, textured look. Trim or pluck any stray fibers that are too long or sticking out at odd angles. Even though the goal is a somewhat "messy" head, it should still be in line with the overall profile of the fly.
About the Bird's Nest
Legend has it that the Bird's Nest got its name after its creator, Cal Bird, got one stuck in a bird's nest on the Truckee River shortly after he started tying them. I've always preferred to think it was more of a play on his name and the fly's seemingly haphazard design. It may not look very impressive at first glance, but it gets the job done ā and has its own kind of chaotic elegance on closer inspection. If you've ever seen an Osprey nest, you know exactly what I'm talking about.
It's also one of the first flies I ever learned to tie, and the fly I caught my first big Truckee River brown trout on ā so it's always held a special place in my heart. It took me a bit longer to master, but I've been able to apply many of the concepts from this pattern to the best flies I tie and to how I approach both my tying and my fishing. It's the art of creating something good from simple ingredients that, through good technique, ends up being more complex than the sum of its parts.
This fly has also made me value versatility. It can be tied on almost any style of hook, with or without beads, and using different colors or materials for different effects ā to more closely imitate specific bugs. There are many great commercial variations available as well (the Dirty Bird and Bird of Prey are good examples). When it comes to fishing it, the Bird's Nest works well dredged as a nymph (which is how I caught that previously mentioned brown), swung like a traditional soft hackle, or with a little floatant on top as a crippled emerger ā which is how I hooked a few fish on the Middle Fork of the Willamette just this past week.
Learning to tie and fish this fly well can make you a better tyer and angler. That's the thing I love most about it, regardless of where the name came from.
About the Fly Tyer: Zack Borcher
Zack Borcher is an NWFFO staff member who has been fly fishing for decades and is a professional fly tyer, using his skills to fund his passion for the sport.
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