Matt's Sulphur Emerger Pattern & Tying Instructions
Fly Tying Recipe:
Matt's Sulphur Emerger
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For many anglers the sulphurs are one of the most anticipated hatches of the year. It can also be one of the most frustrating when the trout get ultra finicky. This emerger of Matt Grobert's has proven itself to work wonders at relieving some of that frustration.
For a hook, Matt likes a Dai-Riki #125 in a size 14 but it's a good idea to carry them in 16 as well. To start the fly, Matt loads a bobbin with a spool of yellow 3/0 Danville monocord.
Get the thread started on the hook shank and take wraps rearward to halfway between the point and the barb before snipping the butt end off close.
Cut a small segment of mayfly brown Zelon free from the hank. Lay it against the near side of your hook and allow the thread torque from a couple of wraps to carry it to the top of the hook. Pull on the Zelon to shorten the butts and reduce material waste. Take wraps down the bend to secure the Zelon and then back up to cover the butts. Snip the Zelon off at about a hook gap's length to imitate a trailing shuck.
Snip an 8 to 10 inch piece of 6/0 brown Danville free from the spool and secure it to the hook. Then take wraps with the yellow monocord to build up the abdomen of the fly.
Load a second bobbin with olive 6/0 Danville and tie it in just behind the eye. Once the thread is secured to the hook shank you can snip the tag end off close. With wraps of the olive thread, go over the wraps of yellow thread and finally snip the yellow thread off close. You've now effectively switched your primary tying thread from thick yellow to thin olive.
Apply a very light coating of ultra sticky dubbing wax to the length of brown thread at the rear of the fly. Get a hold of a small clump of brown Australian possum and pull the fibers out to roughly align them. With tying scissors, snip the fibers into short little segments to form really fine, fluffy dubbing. Touch dub just a small amount to your tying thread. You want it to look kind of like a haze around the thread. Give it a good twist to further secure the fibers to it. You can then begin making open spiral wraps up the hook creating the appearance of abdominal segments as you go. Tie this ultra thin dubbing noodle off at the front of the abdomen and then snip the remainder free.
Take a small clump of pale yellow rabbit fur and dub it onto your tying thread. Take wraps with the dubbing noodle to form a short, little yellow thorax. End with your thread immediately in front of the dubbing.
Snip a small clump of fine caribou hair free from the hide. Strip out the fuzzies from the butts and get rid of any errant fibers. Place the bundle in a hair stacker and give it a real good stacking to align the tips of the caribou hair. Carefully remove the hair from the stacker and keeping the tips aligned, secure the clump to the top of the hook shank with a couple of tight pinch wraps. Use a few more wraps to make sure the hair stays on top of the shank. The tips should extend to just beyond the bend of the hook.
Pull the butt ends rearward and take wraps to build up a thread dam and hold the butts up. Grab another small clump of the pale yellow rabbit dubbing and this time form a slightly larger dubbing noodle on your tying thread. Starting just behind the eye and working rearward, wrap the dubbing noodle to further push back the caribou hair butts before moving your tying thread to just behind the eye. You can then whip finish with 5 or 6 turns and snip or cut your tying thread free.
Finally, snip the butt ends of the caribou hair off at an angle in line with the top of the wing. If you have any wayward hairs, give them a trim.
This little gem floats well in the surface film and works wonders on fussy trout.
For a hook, Matt likes a Dai-Riki #125 in a size 14 but it's a good idea to carry them in 16 as well. To start the fly, Matt loads a bobbin with a spool of yellow 3/0 Danville monocord.
Get the thread started on the hook shank and take wraps rearward to halfway between the point and the barb before snipping the butt end off close.
Cut a small segment of mayfly brown Zelon free from the hank. Lay it against the near side of your hook and allow the thread torque from a couple of wraps to carry it to the top of the hook. Pull on the Zelon to shorten the butts and reduce material waste. Take wraps down the bend to secure the Zelon and then back up to cover the butts. Snip the Zelon off at about a hook gap's length to imitate a trailing shuck.
Snip an 8 to 10 inch piece of 6/0 brown Danville free from the spool and secure it to the hook. Then take wraps with the yellow monocord to build up the abdomen of the fly.
Load a second bobbin with olive 6/0 Danville and tie it in just behind the eye. Once the thread is secured to the hook shank you can snip the tag end off close. With wraps of the olive thread, go over the wraps of yellow thread and finally snip the yellow thread off close. You've now effectively switched your primary tying thread from thick yellow to thin olive.
Apply a very light coating of ultra sticky dubbing wax to the length of brown thread at the rear of the fly. Get a hold of a small clump of brown Australian possum and pull the fibers out to roughly align them. With tying scissors, snip the fibers into short little segments to form really fine, fluffy dubbing. Touch dub just a small amount to your tying thread. You want it to look kind of like a haze around the thread. Give it a good twist to further secure the fibers to it. You can then begin making open spiral wraps up the hook creating the appearance of abdominal segments as you go. Tie this ultra thin dubbing noodle off at the front of the abdomen and then snip the remainder free.
Take a small clump of pale yellow rabbit fur and dub it onto your tying thread. Take wraps with the dubbing noodle to form a short, little yellow thorax. End with your thread immediately in front of the dubbing.
Snip a small clump of fine caribou hair free from the hide. Strip out the fuzzies from the butts and get rid of any errant fibers. Place the bundle in a hair stacker and give it a real good stacking to align the tips of the caribou hair. Carefully remove the hair from the stacker and keeping the tips aligned, secure the clump to the top of the hook shank with a couple of tight pinch wraps. Use a few more wraps to make sure the hair stays on top of the shank. The tips should extend to just beyond the bend of the hook.
Pull the butt ends rearward and take wraps to build up a thread dam and hold the butts up. Grab another small clump of the pale yellow rabbit dubbing and this time form a slightly larger dubbing noodle on your tying thread. Starting just behind the eye and working rearward, wrap the dubbing noodle to further push back the caribou hair butts before moving your tying thread to just behind the eye. You can then whip finish with 5 or 6 turns and snip or cut your tying thread free.
Finally, snip the butt ends of the caribou hair off at an angle in line with the top of the wing. If you have any wayward hairs, give them a trim.
This little gem floats well in the surface film and works wonders on fussy trout.
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