Hardy’s Favorite

Hardy's Favorite Wet Fly
Hardy's Favorite Wet Fly
Hardy’s Favorite Wet Fly

Classic Wet Fly: Hardy’s Favorite

Hook: Wet Fly Hook, sizes 6 to 14
Body: Burgundy or Red Floss*
Rib: Peacock Herl*
Tail: Golden Pheasant Tippets, Ringneck Pheasant substituted here
Wing: Female Golden Pheasant Tail (traditionally), Turkey used here
Throat: Partridge or Similar
*Other recipes call for a peacock herl body with a floss rib. The effect is similar, and maybe a little more robust.

Created in the 1870’s by James Hardy of the Hardy Brothers tackle company. I guess it was his favorite. I liked this pattern as soon as I saw it. It has that combination of red and peacock herl that fish seem to love. It may become a favorite of mine as well. I could imagine it with different color floss bodies and maybe an antron wing.

I originally found this pattern in The Art of Fly Tying by Claude Chartrand. This is a nice little book. I wouldn’t reccomend it as your first fly tying book however. But it makes a nice addition to your library. I particularly liked the a section on extended body techniques. Also I was inspired by the good selection of classic streamers and wet flies in the pattern index.



 


2 Comments

  1. Hey John,

    Congratulations! You win a fabulous cash prize for posting the first comment on Casting Around. I’ll send you the email you’ll need to get your cash prize from this nice Nigerian General.

    All kidding aside – thanks for the comment.

Let me know what you think! Comments are moderated so it may take just a bit for your comments to show up, Thanks for your patience!

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.