Battling Winter with the Guinea Wing Orange Spey

This week has been cold, snowy, grey, and icy in Manhattan. Perfect weather for staying in, catching up on episodes of 30 Rock and Mad Men, planning summer steelhead trips, and tying Spey flies.

Here's a simple winter-blues-fighter of a pattern I whipped up using only the materials at the top of my Spey storage bin.

The Guinea Wing Orange Spey >>


Hook >> Tiemco 202SP, 1/0
Thread >> Wapsi UTC 210 Denier, red
Tip >> 3 turns of French oval tinsel, silver
Tag >> Danville 4-strand nylon floss, blue
Ribbing >> 5 turns of French oval tinsel, silver
Butt Dubbing >> Angora goat dubbing, 50/50 blend of orange and red
Body Dubbing >> Angora goat dubbing, dark stone
Collar 1 >> Wrapped pheasant rump feather, blueish green
Collar 2 >> Wrapped schlappen feather, orange
Collar 3 >> Wrapped guinea feather, nautral
Wing >> Guinea feather layed flat and secured to the hook shank just behind the eye


This is a solid winter steelhead pattern designed to honor the past with a flourish of gaudy materials, but tied with a modern, nearly deconstructed style.


I like to really tease out the dubbing on these flies, especially in the butt section. It gives the fly an attractive translucence in the water while allowing it to maintain its great body and shape.



Evan LeBon is a regular contributor to beyondthebug.com