How to tie the Dovey Black & Orange Salmon Fly

Proudly boasting the name of one of the finest rivers in the land, the Dovey Black and Orange is a pattern that justifies a place of prominence in every sea-trout fisher’s box.

In settled weather, and with good cloud cover, sea-trout are willing to rise to a fly that swings across their vision close to the surface, a situation where the Dovey fly really comes into its own.

Sea-trout fishers are great pedlars of flies and, in the space of a season or two, a “secret” fly will be offered by its new owner on a wide variety of waters. For reasons known only to the sea-trout, some of these sure-fire flies rarely produce anything of the magic they conjured on their native streams. Most certainly, however, the Dovey Black and Orange doesn’t number among the ranks of these reluctant travellers.

With its dashing orange throat hackle, the fly breaks with the old tradition mirrored by Welsh sea-trout flies in that its colours contrast strongly with each other instead of relying heavily on a marriage of muted

Hook Size 4-8 salmon singles and

doubles Thread Black Tail Red duck or

swan Body Black floss Rib Medium

oval silver tinsel Hackle Orange cock

hackle fibres Wing Black squirrel

Cheeks Jungle cock

1. Take the thread in touching turns down the body and tie in the red tail fibres and the tinsel.

2. Tie in the black floss at the tail, making sure that the waste end reaches the full length of the body.

3. Bind down the ribbing, herls and floss with tight turns of the black thread.

4. Start to form the body by winding the floss at a slight angle and in touching turns.

5. Complete the body and trim away the unwanted floss. Start to rib the body with even turns of tinsel.

6. Turn the hook upside down in the vice and tie in a generous bunch of the cock hackle fibres. The tips should just reach the hook point.

7. With the hook returned to its original position, tie in a slim bunch of black squirrel hair with tight turns of the thread.

8. Prepare two small junglecock feathers and tie one in on each side of the wing.

9. Remove the unwanted jungle-cock stalks. Form a small head, whip finish and add a tiny drop of black varnish to complete the fly.

WHERE, WHEN & HOW TO FISH

W H E R E

This pattern will work on any sea-trout river throughout the season and in water deep and slow or shallow and fast.

W H E N

Although a versatile fly that may be used at any time — a smaller fly does well during daylight in aslightly stained river — it excels in the hours before midnight when the fish are moving between the pools.

H O W

Fish it on a floating or sink-tip line in the first part of the night before switching to a slow- or medium-sinking line as the river goes quiet.

T Y I N G T I P

The fly is more likely to swim on an even keel if the wing is counterbalanced by a long but not too dense throat hackle.