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New Zealand Trout Flies

Black Gnat Dry Fly

Black Gnat

 

Fly Tying Details;

Name: Black Gnat Dry Fly
Sizes: 10 - 16
Hook: Kamasan B170 Medium Traditional or Tiemco 100 or 9300
Tail: Black Tailing fibers
Body: Black Ostrich Herl
Ribbing: none
Wings: Mallard or Starling quill slips
Hackle: Black
Thread: Black
Comment: The Black Gnat is a great NZ dry fly, it catch so many fish in many different situations. Represents the common Blow Fly and small Grass flies in smaller sizes
   
Pictorial Tying Guide; Tying Instructions: Black Gnat. (updated)

 

Bind the hook shank and tie in the tail, tail is no more than the length of the length of the top of the hook

 

 

Tie in the wing slips, note we do this before the body to avoid squashing the herl body.

 

 

Wing slips being tied in

 

 

Lift up the wing slips, spread as desired.

 

 

Important: Ostrich Herl has a flat stem which is off set to one side, as shown in the diagram above, have a close look. To get a nice dense, fluffy body shaped as in the picture, tie in the herl, base end first and wind forward. It can be fiddly, but you must wind it so the foot, as in the picture, is to the right of the hackle, otherwise the foot will flatten the hackle and produce an uneven result. (It's a good idea to add glue to the hook shank and base of wings for strength)

 

 

Tie in your hackle and whip finish, glue head.

The finished NZ Black Gnat, one of our top summer time dry flies!! just add water and fish

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