Last year, the folks at Tightline Productions showed us how to tie a traditional version of the Sulphur Usual, based on Fran Betters’s original. Although the original Usual was really meant to imitate a whole host of insects, over the years, many tiers have come up with hatch-matching versions of the pattern.
In this video, Tim Flagler walks you through the steps for tying a super-buggy version of the Sulphur Usual that features a body of CDC, rather than rabbit-fur dubbing. The CDC also makes up part of the wing. As usual, Tim’s materials-handling skills are second to none, and he shows how to pick and prepare the best rabbit-foot hair for the job.
Sulphur Usual Variant
Hook: Standard dry-fly hook (here a Dai-Riki #305), size 14-16.
Thread: Yellow, 8/0 or 70-denier.
Wing: Snowshoe-rabbit foot hair, guard hairs removed.
Tails: Snowshoe-rabbit foot hair.
Body: Light yellow CDC.
Head: Yellow tying thread.
Tools: Hackle pliers.
What can I say! Great video!!