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The Grizzly-Hackle Peacock

At the end of each season I inventory my fly boxes to see what I have used most. The idea is that the flies which take fish become scarce by the end of the season. Now and then, this inventory prevents me from overlooking a good pattern.

This season I was down to one fresh Grizzly-Hackle Peacock wet fly, with another, somewhat chewed example stuck on the fly patch of my vest. This is a simple, easy pattern, but there is one thing to be said for it: the Grizzly-Hackle Peacock catches trout.

Trout, did I say? Actually, the Grizzly-Hackle Peacock catches fish. It catches brown trout, rainbow trout, and brook trout. It also catches smallmouth bass, largemouth bass, bluegills, shellcrackers, rock bass, white perch, and probably quite a few others to boot.

Patterns for working flies (the ones we use for fishing) should be simple and made of materials that are readily available. They should also attract fish, of course. When you come upon such a fly, you have something you can fish with confidence. Look at it this way: if it takes you an hour to concoct an intricate fly out of expensive materials, how likely are you to cast it to places from which it may not return?

The Grizzly-Hackle Peacock is composed of a hook, thread, and two materials: peacock herl and grizzly chicken hackle. The peacock herl forms the body and the grizzly hackle is wound as a sparse collar between the body and head of the fly.

The peacock-herl body and the grizzly hackle are proven elements of many enduring patterns. The Grizzly-Hackle Peacock simply and effectively employs these two elements in a "flymph" style.

Recommended irons are standard-length, heavy-wire sproat hooks, such as Mustad 3396; Tiemco 3769; and Orvis 1641, in sizes 6 through 14. Tying thread can be brown or olive-brown. After binding on the thread, start the herl body near the back of the straight shank, above or slightly behind the hook point. Note: this fly should be tied somewhat short and sparse relative to the hook size.

There are several ways to tie a durable peacock-herl body. The quills need reinforcement or they break when chewed by the fish. One method is to bind on a thin copper wire first, tie in and wrap the herl, then reverse-wrap the wire over the herl. Poul Jorgenson's method is to tie in a length of heavy brown thread (such as button thread) with the herl and twist the herl and thread together to form a "rope"; this is quite durable.

A third method, the one I've come to prefer, is to tie in the herl, make a "loop" of tying thread alongside it, and then twist them together as is done in forming a dubbing loop. This is almost as durable as Jorgenson's "rope" method and omits the extra step.

Use three strands of herl for a size 6 or size 8 fly and two strands for a size 10 or 12. Wrap and tie off the herl so that there is just enough room for two or three turns of hackle and a small head.

The grizzly feather for the hackle should have barbules about as long as the gap of the hook. For fishing in lakes or quiet streams, use soft hen hackle; for fishing in heavy runs, where the force of the water will paste the hackle to the body and thus destroy its action, use stiffer cock saddle feathers. Wrap only two turns if the hackle is dense, three if it is not. Finish with a small, neat head made of tying thread and cement the head well.

The Grizzly-Hackle Peacock is very useful for pond and lake fishing in those frequent times when aquatic insects are emerging. In such situations I have observed a trout following a hatch to the surface, taking several emerging insects and sometimes taking a fly or two from the surface, sometimes not, then returning to its starting point and repeating the process.

Trout during this up-and-down feeding procedure may range through a column of water with outside dimensions the size of a kitchen table, or the size of a kitchen. When a trout takes a fly from the surface or porpoises just beneath it, you see the general location of its feeding area.

Despite the visible surface rises, catching the fish with a dry fly can be difficult. The trout is most of the time taking food beneath the surface while drifting slowly upward. When he reaches the surface may take the next fly to the left, or to the right, or straight ahead, or may return to the bottom instead. Unlike the usual case in stream fishing, there is no definite lane in which to float a dry-fly.

Putting a fly into the trout's column of water, in this case, is more effective than sitting a fly on top of the column. When a good caddis hatch is on, one method that can be productive is to "jump-cast" to the surface riseform quickly and as close to its center as possible. A fish will often take the fly reflexively as it sinks.
               
If jump casting doesn't work, let the fly sink for several seconds and then slowly twitch it toward the surface. Vary the retrieve to find the optimum method; sometimes long pulls are better, while at other times a fast stop-and-start retrieve works best. By keeping the fly in the trout's column of water you are maximizing the chances that he will take it.

While there are many flies that may work for this angling situation, I've found the Grizzly-Hackle Peacock to be consistently effective. Start with your best "eyeball" estimate of the proper size and then try another size (usually, smaller is better) until you find what works.

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Originally published in the Clinch Valley Conservationist, Holidays 1993