At the Bench: Stripped Peacock Quills

Soft hackles with stripped peacock quills, size 18. #snowday #flytying #flyfishing #pinchedbarb #euronymphing

A post shared by BlogFlyFish (@blogflyfish) on


Well, you may be hunkered down during the current east coast snow blizzard. I am. So, I’m goofing around a the fly tying bench.

I have a small bag of really poor-quality peacock herl. Rather than throw them out, I’ve decided to strip them and use the material for fly bodies. When bugs are emerging, I usually have good look with soft hackles, fished as a dropper. So, I’m tying some.

I really like how the quills create a thin body with clear segmentation. Photos up top. Here is the materials list:

  • Hook: #18, scud-style, barb pinched
  • Tail: Coq de Leon
  • Body: stripped peacock quill
  • Thorax: peacock herl
  • Soft hackle: Hungarian partridge
  • Thread: UTC, 70 denier, olive-brown

Stay safe, everyone. Prime trout season is incipient.

205 views

Discover more from BlogFlyFish.com

Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.

4 thoughts on “At the Bench: Stripped Peacock Quills

  1. Yup, they are a nice body material by themselves or widely spiraled over contrasting thread body! I always save trimmed herl for stripping with an eraser.

    1. Got it–great advice! I’m new to the technique. I searched online for advice. Took some time, but I’ve got plenty of that today during the blizzard….

  2. Nice looking soft hackles and good use of the peacock herl. I believe if I was limited to one fly to fish it would be the soft hackle. Good day for tying a few up, that is for sure.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *