Olive Body Quill Dry Fly

Matching olive hatches in April and May is always tough and getting the right shade, profile and size is some of the key factors to lure a feeding fish. In the fore mentioned months of last season I had good catches with this dry fly and the body is the same as the nymph on my previous post. I love using Hends Body Quill, it has a lovely natural look and is very durable and versatile. Both these flies worked really well and will have plenty of swims in the forth coming season. Here is  a step by step of tying this simple and effective dry.

Using Primrose tying thread tie in some fibers from a Coq De Leon feather and leave some of the thread exposed as a butt. Then tie in a piece of Hends Body Quill, Olive and wrap it up the body. Give the upper body a second wrap to darken the body.






Add in 3 CDC natural feathers and secure tightly.

Put two turns of the thread at the back of the CDC wing in-order to make the wing stand up from the body. 

Dub on some Hends CDC Olive Dubbing and wrap it around the wing and form the head. Tie off and brush out slightly to create the legs of the fly.


This fly sits beautifully on the water and even in small sizes of 18 and smaller is easy to see. These Quill bodied drys and the nymph in my previous post can all be tied in a variety of colours to suit the hatches on your river. http://www.irishflytying.com/ for all your fly tying needs.