Hot-wired prince step-by-step

[Brown duck]

After looking through the forum, it seems I promised to put this up last spring - where does the time go? Anyhow, here's my hot-wired prince with step-by-step pics.

First, it helps if your bench isn't this cluttered.
http://www.michigan-sportsman.com/photopost/data/500/bench.JPG

Okay, on to the fly. Start just like you would any other beadhead
http://www.michigan-sportsman.com/photopost/data/500/Wire-step-1.JPG

Start the thread and work back to the tail, tie in two goose biots, your choice of color
http://www.michigan-sportsman.com/photopost/data/500/Wire-step-2.JPG

Tie in 2 (or 1, in this case 2) lengths of Ultra-wire, colors of your choice. This part is a bit tricky because how you tie them in will determine how well they wrap later. I like to tie one on the top of the hook shank and one to the side, but I'm open to suggestions (tieing them both into the same spot will create a rather large bump and will make wrapping much more difficult). Then wind the thread back to the front and tie in some lead wire - this fly will sink like a stone!
http://www.michigan-sportsman.com/photopost/data/500/Wire-step-3.JPG

Wrap threads around the lead wire to keep it in place, but also to build up the thorax - this makes a nice taper from back to front
http://www.michigan-sportsman.com/photopost/data/500/wire-step-4.JPG

Carefully wrap the two lenghts of wire towards the front of the hook - a rotary vice is nearly essential here to get the wire to create a nice wrap without any gaps (this one's a bit sloppy - I can do better!). If you can do it without a rotary, you're a good tyer! Tie them off at the thorax and make several thread wraps over the tag ends - not enough thread will allow the wire to unravel later on - you don't want that!
http://www.michigan-sportsman.com/photopost/data/500/wire-step-5.JPG

Tie in and wrap a few pieces of peacock herl. If you like to form a herl dubbing loop (to add structural integrity), by all means, go for it. I think the peacock ice dub would be nice here too.
http://www.michigan-sportsman.com/photopost/data/500/wire-step-6.JPG

I apparently got lazy with the camera around this point, so bear with me. Now is when you'll tie in 2 more biots aiming backward (white, like on a prince nymph) and tie in and take a couple wraps with some brown wet (hen) hackle. Partridge or grouse would probably also work well.
http://www.michigan-sportsman.com/photopost/data/500/wire-step-7.JPG

Tie off with a couple good whip finishes, add head cement (I like Sally's Hard-as-Nails - no, I'm not embarrassed to go through the nail polish aisle!) and here's the finished product.
http://www.michigan-sportsman.com/photopost/data/500/wire-finished.JPG

Tight lines!

[tommytubular]

Nice job brown duck... still haven't fished the one I got in the last swap... I'm kinda keeping it for a pattern;) for this winters tying projects

When i wrap 2 colors of wire.... I typically even the ends of the wire and lay then directly on top of the hook shank side by side. Put a couple loose wraps on them and push the ends into the bead head and snug up the loose wraps. I then pull up on the wires and bind them down the length of the hook shank to the tail. Then I take the wire furtherest away and bend it back toward the front of the hook and then bind the remaining wire to the hook with a few wraps towards the tail. This allows the two wires to lay side by side nicely when you start to wrap them forward.

I've tried to wrap wire rotary... and it just doesn't seem to work for me. I simply wrap them on the old fashion way

[Shoeman]

Thanks BD :)

[DHise]

Nice brown duck.



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