How to tie the Ewe Blue

Time Well Spent April 19, 2023

The invention of Raymond Dingwall, gillie on the River Ewe in Wester Ross, this fly works best when there are fresh fish in the river. Fish it on a floating line or floating line and intermediate polyleader.

Material list for the Ewe Blue

Hook: Size 6-14 Partridge Salar, black or silver

Thread: Black

Tag: Fine silver wire

Tail: Blue bucktail with two strands of Veniard’s smoke-blue Krystal Hair

Body: Silver holographic tinsel (optional varnish)

Beard hackle: Blue Russian squirrel tail with black Russian squirrel tail over

Wing: Blue Russian squirrel tail with two strands of Veniard’s smoke-blue Krystal Hair and black Russian squirrel tail over

Cheeks: Jungle cock (use small eyes)

Step 1. Wind the thread down the shank until it is opposite the hook points. Catch in the silver wire and apply three or four turns to form a tag. Secure the end of the wire, remove excess. 

Step 2. Catch in the bucktail and the Krystal Hair, folding the latter so that there are four strands over the top of the tail. Wind the thread up the shank to form an even base. 

Step 3. Catch in a length of silver holographic tinsel and wind it in touching turns to the tail.

Step 4. Once the holographic tinsel has reached the base of the tail, wind it back over itself to form a double layer. This helps to create a smooth body.

Step 5. Secure the loose end of the tinsel and trim off the excess. Next, take a slim bunch of blue hair and catch it in to form a throat hackle.

Step 6. Prepare a similar-sized bunch of black hair and apply it over the blue hair. Inverting the hook in the vice can help achieve this.

Step 7. Secure the throat in position with more tight thread-turns. Prepare and catch in a wing of blue hair approximately twice the length of the hook.

Step 8. Add two strands of blue Krystal Hair on top of the blue wing, folding it over to form four. Then add a black hair wing, of the same length, over the top.

Step 9. Secure the wing firmly in place by adding further tight thread turns. Select two jungle cock feathers and catch them in to form the cheeks.

Step 10. Fold back the stems of the jungle cock feathers and secure with thread. Build a neat head and cast off with a whip finish.