CDC Shuttlecock Emerger
19 September 2020Another in the series of quick & effective flies.
There are a myriad variations of the shuttlecock emerger with body materials of dubbing, stripped quill, moose mane or in this case turkey biot. You can also use a variety of hook patterns, below is a simple version that is great for feeding trout & grayling.
Hook – Partridge K4AY Grub sizes 12 – 20
Thread – 14/0 Shear in primrose
Body – Turkey biot – light olive
Wing – Light brown CDC
Thorax – Argentinian long hare in olive
Lay a bed of thread down the hook to where you want to tie the turkey biot in. For extra resilience apply a thin layer of head cement onto the thread before winding the biot on.
Wind the biot on, trying to maintain a nice segmented body
Tie in 2/3 CDC feathers, leaving a fair amount of room for the thorax.
Split the thread and wind on the dubbing for the thorax.
Tie on the thorax, leaving room behind the eye to tie in the CDC feathers.
Pull the CDC feathers forward and tie in behind the eye. Bearing in mind that we are trying to imitate an emerging insect, I like to leave the CDC scruffy, it is up to you how tidy you leave it.
A favourite variation with pale pardo CDC, moose mane body, peacock ice dub thorax and a U.V. tinsel tail.
