The Nothing Fly – Alec Harvey (Dry)

By Les Lockey

Hook: Guru MWG barbless, specimen carp hook, size 20.

Thread: Fly Smith black GSP, 32D, or any fine black thread.

Tail: Aero Dry Wing, black.

Body: Aero Dry Wing, black.

Thorax cover: Aero Dry Wing, black.

Breathers: Aero Dry Wing, black.

Thorax: Green peacock herl.

Photo 1. With the hook secured in the vice, wind on a bed of waxed thread from behind the eye to just before the hook bend and remove the waste thread tag.

Photo 2. Take a length of black Aero Dry Wing, fold it in two and cut the looped end to create one doubled length of yarn. Feather one end of the yarn to give a straggly, tapered appearance to be used as the tail. Tie in the yarn securely with the straggly tapered end as the tail. If necessary, trim the tail to length ensuring the straggly effect is maintained.

Photo 3. Bind down the remaining Aero Dry Wing on top of the hook shank with touching turns of thread stopping about 2/3rds along the shank.

Photo 4. Pull the Aero Dry Wing towards the tail and secure it in place with a few turns of well waxed thread ready for the thorax cover and breathers.

Photo 5. Tie in a strand of green peacock herl and take the thread to the eye. Wind on the peacock herl in close touching turns to form the thorax. Secure the herl with thread just before eye, then for security, wind the thread through the peacock herl and back to the eye before removing the excess herl.

Photo 6. Bring the Aero Dry wing back over the top of the thorax and tie it down behind the hook eye.

Photo 7. Bring the thread in front of the Aero Dry Wing and build a small thread dam immediately in front of the yarn to push up the excess yarn. Add a drop of varnish to the thread, whip finish through the varnish and remove the thread.

Photo 8. To complete the fly, form the “breathers” by trimming the excess Aero Dry Wing to about 3mm. in length and if necessary, trim the tail to emphasise the ragged effect.

Tying Tips

• This unassuming fly is a simple fly to tie, but its small size, which is critical to its success, can make it tricky for some tiers.
• In comparison to similar sized conventional trout fly hooks, Guru WMG hooks are made from a stronger wire, have wider gapes and decent sized hook eyes, all of which means you stand a far better chance of landing your fish while continuing to use your favourite leader material without the need to reduce its breaking strain. Guru WMG hooks are sold in packets of 10 hooks and can be obtained from most good coarse fishing retailers.
• Tiemco Aero Dry Wing can be difficult to find, but Fulling Mill Ultra Dry Yarn or polypropylene yarn can be used as alternatives, although they will need to be well brushed out and reduced in width prior to use.
• Although this fly is tied using highly buoyant material, I still brush the whole fly with Mucilin dry fly silicone and leave it to dry thoroughly before transferring the fly to my fly box.
• A variant of this pattern has a small red Glo Brite Floss butt added before tying in the tail and when dressed in this manner the fly is called the Nothing Butt fly.

Fishing hints

• This pattern is a great option when conditions are benign and the fishing challenging. It has the potential to pick up fish when all other flies have failed to raise any interest, and it often picks out the better quality fish too. In fact, for two anglers of my acquaintance, this fly has accounted for their personal best trout, both of which went well into double figures.
• I invariably fish this pattern as a single fly using a tapered leader, floating line, and a soft 5 weight rod, but I know other anglers who fish it on a two fly cast with a more visible dry fly on the point. In a decent wave, a good option is to fish the pattern on the middle dropper with more visible dries above and below it.