The Joy of Fly Tying: Peacock and Brown

The Peacock & Brown is the third fly my students learn to tie in my Joy of Fly Tying classes. It's a pretty straightforward wet fly that is very effective on brook trout. With the Peacock & Brown, students pick up where they left off on the two previous flies, the Rubber Leg Spider and the Wooly Bugger, and learn a couple of new skills. Specifically they learn how to handle peacock herl and how to tie in and wrap a collar hackle. They do all this on a much smaller hook than anything they have tied on before, a size 12 wet fly hook.

Peacock & Brown

Let's see how it's tied, shall we...

Peacock & Brown Pattern Recipe
Hook: Any standard nymph or wet fly hook, size 12-16
Thread: Black 8/0
Tail: Red floss, one or two strands
Body: 3-5 peacock herls
Hackle: Brown hen hackle, sized to match the hook