African Queen. This emerger pattern was developed in collaberation with Kelvin Cox, based on a fly which he had found successful in Africa.

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Cornelius Baldwin
5 years ago
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African Queen This emerger pattern was developed in collaberation with Kelvin Cox, based on a fly which he had found successful in Africa. Use a lightweight grub hook of any size you fancy.

Start the thread behind the eye and wind touching turns right round the bend. Tie in a length of Spanflex or Flexifloss with a 'tail' of about 1" and the main length forward.

1 African Queen This emerger pattern was developed in collaberation with Kelvin Cox, based on a fly which he had found successful in Africa. Use a lightweight grub hook of any size you fancy. This is a Kamasan B100 #14. Choose a fine black thread, preferably one which splits easily such as Veevus 16/0. This is a double twisted thread, ideal for the purpose. Start the thread behind the eye and wind touching turns right round the bend. Tie in a length of Spanflex or Flexifloss with a 'tail' of about 1" and the main length forward. Hold this out of the way while winding the thread forward to the wing position. Then wind the forward length of the Flexifloss in touching turns over the thread to form a segmented body. Do not stretch it unnecessarily since this will lose the segments. Secure it at the wing position and trim of the excess. (Crow or other black herl may be used for the body and very thin peacock for the tails but Flexifloss is more 'elegant' and has been found useful in stabilising the fly in the water)

Take a sharp needle and split the tail portion of the Flexifloss into 3

You will find that you can not control the way the split sections curl.

Take length of polypropylene wing fibre, pink or white.

It is a good idea then to stain the portion under the hook with black

Prepare a black cock hackle and secure its butt in front of the wing.

2 Take a sharp needle and split the tail portion of the Flexifloss into 3 or 4 pieces. This is fiddly and impossible with a blunt needle. You will find that you can not control the way the split sections curl. Trim out any that you find particularly annoying but leave at least 3. Take length of polypropylene wing fibre, pink or white. Tie it across the top of the shank with figure-8, then hold each end and swing it round under the shank. Lift both ends up and gather together with a couple of turns of thread. It is a good idea then to stain the portion under the hook with black marker pen. Prepare a black cock hackle and secure its butt in front of the wing. Trim off the excess. Lift the hackle and wing post together and wing the thread up and back down, 2 to 3mm. The hackle should be long enough to cover the 'plan profile' of the hook. This has a spread of 17mm.

Wind the hackle down the post in the usual way, only about 4 turns.

Select a CDC feather with plenty of long barbs.

Put it down while splitting the thread spin the bobbin holder anticlockwise until you see

Slot the barbs on one side of the CDC into the split thread and clip all the way up alongside

3 Wind the hackle down the post in the usual way, only about 4 turns. Secure it by winding the thread round the wing post under the hackle (but over the hackle tip, of course). This should end with the thread coming toward you over the shank in front of the post. Select a CDC feather with plenty of long barbs. Prepare it by stroking the barbs down so that they stick out at right-angles. Put it down while splitting the thread spin the bobbin holder anticlockwise until you see that the twist is removed then separate with a needle. Slot the barbs on one side of the CDC into the split thread and clip all the way up alongside the CDC quill to leave the barbs trapped in the thread. Slide them up the thread to make them a bit more compact. (If you have lots of money you can use the Petitjean 'magic tool' for this but it is not necessary. Also, you might find it better to use 2 CDC feathers together since 1 might be too sparse)

Hang the thread over your finger and spin

cock hackle, working downwards as usual.

4 Hang the thread over your finger and spin the holder clockwise to re-twist the thread. Wind the thread with the CDC under the cock hackle, working downwards as usual. At each turn stroke all the barbs upwards before making the next turn. Finish with a few half-hitches behind the eye. With your needle, pick out any CDC barbs that are trapped.

5 The tail fronds can be trimmed to any length you prefer but note that they are intended to be long and waggly. Before you cast for the first time, prepare this fly by stroking the hackle upwards with a trace of floatant on finger and thumb. Forget the notion that you should not apply floatant to CDC, but be careful not to get it clogged up. The African Queen is at its best either under trees or in rapids, where it will bob back to the surface no matter how many times it is pulled under. After a catch, wash the fly and sqeeze it in a tissue. It will continue to perform after quite a few catches. John Bernard Sunderland 2016

Beginners Fly-Tying Notes

Beginners Fly-Tying Notes SESSION 1 Tools Bobbin holder Threader (for dental floss!) Bodkin/ Dubbing needle (hat pins!) Vice 1 Check that: the jaws hold the sizes of hooks you want to tie on; and the stem