The fly box · No. 09 of 36
Black Gnat
The black gnat and the many other small dark land-bred flies that fall on rivers.
- Kind
- Dry
- Hook sizes
- 14–18
- Season
- Spring, summer, autumn
- For
- Trout and grayling
- At the vice
- An easy tie
The dressing
| Hook | Standard dry fly, barbless or barb flattened, sizes 14–18 |
|---|---|
| Thread | Black, 8/0 (70 denier) |
| Tail | None; some dressings add a few black cock hackle fibres |
| Body | Black tying thread or fine black dubbing, kept slim |
| Rib | None |
| Hackle | Black cock, three or four turns |
| Wing | A slip of pale starling primary or a few strands of pale grey poly yarn, tied flat and short over the back |
Tying it
- Run black thread to the bend and build a slim, slightly tapered body back to the two-thirds point.
- Tie in the pale wing so it lies low over the body and stops at the bend.
- Trim the wing butts and cover them neatly.
- Tie in a black cock hackle by the stalk.
- Wind three or four turns in front of the wing.
- Whip finish with a small black head.
Fishing it
On warm, still days the naturals swarm over the margins and fall in numbers; fish then rise steadily and can become fixed on them. Offer a size 16 or 18 on 6X (0.13 mm), dead drift, close to the bank and under overhanging branches. If the rises are quiet dimples and the fly is ignored, trim the hackle flat beneath so it lies in the film like a spent insect. Grayling in late summer are especially fond of it.
Where it comes from
A traditional British pattern, old enough that no one can name its first tier, and dressed in many ways over the years. All of them share a slim black body, a black hackle and a pale wing lying low. Small black flies fall on rivers from spring to autumn, and trout seldom need persuading to take one.