Ginger Quill
The Ginger Quill is a Catskill-style dry fly that uses a stripped peacock quill body for extraordinary translucency and segmentation. The ginger hackle and woodduck wing give it a warm, golden color that precisely matches cream and ginger mayflies in the Stenonema and Heptagenia groups. A difficult fly to tie well — the quill body is fragile and must be reinforced — but highly effective when matched to pale mayflies on flat pools.
- Type
- dry fly (Mayfly)
- Hook sizes
- #14–16
- Target species
- trout
- Difficulty
- advanced
- Best seasons
- spring, summer
Materials
- hook: Dry fly hook #14–16
- thread: Tan or pale yellow 8/0
- tail: Ginger or light dun hackle fibers
- body: Stripped peacock quill, pale/ginger variety
- wing: Woodduck lemon flank fibers, upright and divided
- hackle: Ginger or light dun rooster hackle
Tying steps
- Mount a size 14–16 hook; start tan thread; tie in ginger hackle fiber tail.
- Strip a peacock herl quill of all its fibers using an eraser; soak briefly to soften.
- Tie in the stripped quill at the bend; wind in tight touching spirals to the 2/3 mark.
- Coat the quill body immediately with thin UV resin to prevent cracking.
- Tie in woodduck flank fibers upright and divided as wings; figure-eight apart.
- Tie in a ginger rooster hackle; wind 4–5 turns behind and in front of the wings.
- Build a small Catskill head; whip finish and lacquer.
- Apply head cement and allow to dry; check the quill body segments are smooth and even.