Beginner’s Fly Tying: Black and Peacock Spider Wet Fly

Summertime is most definitely upon us, with more hot, sunny days ahead. So we put our pursuit of catching rainbow trout in cool mountain waters aside, and focus our attention on some of the ‘warmer’ fresh water species, such as smallmouth bass, crappie, and panfish. For these species some fly fishers might tie on a floating terrestrial, e.g. the foam ant or beetle which we learned to tie in our June class.
For our July 19th (note the date change) Beginner’s class we will feature a somewhat different fish-food representation — a submerged insect. That is, we will be learning to tie three variations of the Black and Peacock Spider, a classic wet fly pattern developed by a British stillwater fly-fishing pioneer, Tom C. Ivens, which dates back to the early 1950s.
As a follow-up to the July tying session, I would hope that ‘class’ participants will fish their Black and Peacock Spider patterns and report back as to which variation was most successful and for which fish species. Tight lines!