50 Shades Of Hare's Ear: #9 And #10

50 Shades Of Hare's Ear

#9  Emerger

Hook:  Firehole 316, size 12

Weight;  To suit

Thread: UTC 70, brown

Tail:  Z-lon, ginger

Ribbing:  Sulky metallic thread, gold  

Body:  Hare's ear taken from the ear, natural 

Wing:  Sybai Fine Flash, ultraviolet, sparse, short and cut uneven
Legs: (Optional) Partridge, brown

Thorax/Collar:  Brown hare's ear taken from the cheek of the mask and picked out.

Notes:

(1)  The ribbing is Sulky's metallic embroidery thread available in gold and silver.  It makes a great ribbing on smaller size patterns where available flat or small oval tinsels are too wide.  A 1000-yard spool will set you back approximately $15.99 or so- well worth it!

(2)  When winding ribbing utilize the the rotary feature of the vice.  This will keep the Sulky from unraveling as well as keeping even spacing between turns.
(3)  One of my favorite patterns!  I enjoy fishing this pattern as I am working myself downstream. If the pattern has been catching fish I'll tie it back on as a dropper and work my way back upstream.

#10  Original Hare's Ear

Hook:  Hends BL554, size 12

Weight;  To suit

Thread: UTC 70, brown

Tail:  Partridge, brown

Ribbing:  (Optional)  Gold. oval

Body:  Hare's ear taken from the ear, natural,  The body should be tied with a taper (as pictured) and picked out.

Throat: (Optional) Partridge, brown

Notes:

(1)  Reminiscent of several patterns from the 1930's through the late 1950's?   Over the years the pattern has went through various changes to what we see today commercially available.  The ribbing was once optional to now standard and throat hackle optional to non-existent,  I cannot pinpoint with reasonable accuracy when the wingcase was added, but even some 40-years ago the pattern was described and listed as above in Terry Hellekson's, Popular Fly Patterns (1976).

2)  The ribbing would have been wound all the way to the head.

3)  I can see how this simple version was highly effective for so many years.  I've tied several dozen over the years with a gold bead less throat hackle and done very well.  The ribbing definitely adds to the effectiveness.