Adams

April's Fly of the Month

The Adams

Dry Fly Tied Catskill Style

"A" is for April and also for Adams. This is the number one fly sold by Orvis and the reason it is number one is: IT CATCHES FISH! I fish this pattern in sizes 12 to 20 and all year long.

The Adams was developed by Leonard Halladay of Mayfield, Michigan. It was first used in 1922 by Charles F. Adams of Lorain Ohio, and because of the unusual success Adams had with the fly on Michigan's Boardman River, the fly was named in his honor. The original Adams pattern was tied as a spent wing. Today, the general practice is to tie it upright and divided. (from "The Book of Fly Patterns by Eric Leiser")

Materials:
Hook:        Mustad 94840 sizes 12 - 20
Thread:      Black 6/0 Prewax
Tail:           Mix of Grizzly and Brown Hackle Fibers
Body:         Gray Muskrat
Hackle:       Grizzly and Brown rooster Hackles
Wing:          Grizzly Hen hackle tips tied upright and split.

Step 1	Tie you thread near the eye but only go 1/4 of the way from the eye of the hook.
Step 2	Take a pair of Hen hackle tips. Match them back to back so that they splay away from each other. This will help you to have divided wings later. They should also be as long as the shank of the hook.
Step 3	Trim the ends of the hackle.
Step 4	Pick the hen hackle up so that they stand perpendicular to the hook shank. Wrap a few wraps of your thread in front of the wings to hold the wings upright.
Step 5	Bring your thread to the bend of the hook
Step 6	Take brown and grizzly rooster hackle fibers to create the tail. Mix them together and tie them at the bend of the hook.
Step 7	Here is what the tail looks like when done. The tail is as long as the shank of the hook.
Step 8	Use muskrat fur for the body. Use small amount of dubbing for the body.
Step 9	As you create the body, you will taper it. Make it a little thicker as you go towards the wing. Leave some room at the wing for the hackles.
Step 10	Body is complete. Leaving room to tie the hackles in.
Step 11	Tie in two rooster hackles, one brown the other grizzle. Tie them so the back of each feather faces each other. Secure both behind and in front of the wing.
Step 12	Wrap the grizzle hackle first. 3 times behind the wing.
Step 13	Then wrap the grizzle hackle 3 times in front of the wing. Tie it off, then cut the tip of the hackle off.
Step 14	Repeat with the Brown hackle, 3 times behind the wing and 3 times in front of the wing. Then secure and cut the tip off.
Step 15	Whip Finish.
Step 16	The finished Adams
Step 17	What the Adams looks like from the top.

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