Tying the Black GP

[Bent Fly]

Please help me out here someone.

I am attempting to tie a black GP.
So far I have all the materials and am a bit perplexed with the eyes and how to tie them in.

Also wondering which feathers are best for the hackle, I have a whole pheasant wing dyed Black and can't make the call, I just resorted to using black schlappen for now.

Is there a good on line tying source??

I should also say hello to all and look forward to posting and contributing more.
Also , Phearless, give me a ring sometime.

Rod.

[bc_speys]

Well Rod, maybe I can be of some help. The Black G.P. was originated by Art Lingren early in 1984. It became called Lingren's Indespensible, after a spring cutthroat trip in 2004 (Lingren,Art, Contemporary Fly Patterns of British Columbia, pg 30).
The early listings of the recipe called for....black spade hackles, large black wood duck or black hen neck, if narrow enough, (again I'm paraphrasing), sorry Mr Lingren, for the back. The back actually consists of two sets of these feathers, tied in separately.
Personally, I have come to prefer Golden Pheasant breast feathers for the wings. There are a couple of tricks I use to tie these feathers in so they don't roll that I would be happy to share should you care to take this discussion further.
As for the eyes, they are quite simple to create, all you have to do is snip the center out of a Golden Pheasant tippet,(neck feather), so you are left with what looks like a "Y".After that you can apply some lacquer or flex cement to the arms of the "Y". This will increase the durability of the eyes. The trick with these eyes is to gauge the right length for the size of the fly you are tying. I feel, and let me state that this is personal preference, that they should go from the tie in point to the tip of the breast feather tied in at the tail. Proportions are paramount with this pattern.
Just to back track a bit, the stem of the feather should be stripped of all short and colourless barbules.
When tying in this feather, flatten the stem with a pair of flat jawed pliers, as this will help stop it from rolling on the hook shank. Usually the point of tie in is close to the center of the body, the same point that the first set of wing feathers is tied in.
As for the body hackle, I prefer using large neck hackle as it is not as webby as saddle or schlappen, again a matter of preference.
So, now we tie the fly. First wrap a good thread base on the shank of the hook. Next, tie in your tail material, black squirrel tail, black bear, whatever you prefer. I tie this in the length of the shank so it doesn't leave a bump in the body. After this, tie in a natural Golden Pheasant breast feather so it extends just past the bend of the hook. Follow this by tying in your rib material, I use silver Lagurtans oval, and your body hackle(by the tip).Form a dubbing loop and insert black seal fur, black angora goat works as well if your area doesn't allow the use of seal. Spin the loop to lock in the seal and wind this forward to about the middle of the shank and tie off. Wind the rib forward, followed by the body hackle.At this point I wrap a turn or two of thread around the rib and hackle to hold it in place.To prepare for mounting the first wing and eyes, I trim the palmered hackle on the top of the fly right down to the body of the fly to allow the wing and eyes to lay flat. The eyes are tied in next, the stem tied along the shank, keep in mind where the head of the fly will be and trim of just before this point. Always remember to leave room for the head of the fly. Also, the eyes should not extend past the red breast feather at the tail, it should be even.The same applies to the wing. Tie in two black dyed breast feathers, the same way as the eyes. Once this is done form another dubbing loop and fill with dubbing as before. Wind forward to just short of where the head will be. Follow this with the rib and hackle you left dangling from the center point of the body.Trim the hackle on the top of the hook after it is anchored down.The wings are mounted next. Taking two to four breast feathers, depending on the size of the fly, lay them on top of the fly so the tips align with the first wing. Strip the barbules from the base of the stems at the point where they will be tied in all the way to the end. Now take the prepared feathers and push the stems through the eye of the hook. Make two or three solid wraps of thread around the stems to secure them and check how they lay on the fly. If you are satisfied, pull the stems down and back so they hopefully slide between the shank and return wire of the eye, and lay up under the fly.A couple of more turns of thread anchors the wing at which point you trim the stems, whip finish and lacquer the head.
This is a tough fly so don't get discouraged if the first dozen or so flies don't look great, I've been tying for over 30 years and I still get flies that look like crap.
I truly hope this has helped answer your questions and that I haven't gotten long winded and bored you to tears.
All the best and good luck,
Cliff