Winter Frost
Tying tips:
When attaching the gold twist, tie on so that it lies on the underside of the hook. Lay the tag end of the twist along the underside of the hook and bind down all the way to the return wire. Do the same with the white Diamond Braid. Begin winding the rib by circling the red tag before creating the spiral, and start the first spiral from the underside.
Depending on the type of spey hackle, it may be easier to strip one side of the stem first. I used a product sold as "Traditional Spey Hackle" by a Washington state mail order firm. After winding the hackle, dress it down along the sides and pull the extra turns down to form a beard. Turn the hook upside down to tie on the Flashabou, and place a small drop of Zap-a-Gap on the windings for extra security. Cut the strands of Flashabou at slightly different lengths, with the longest reaching to the hook point.
Background
While tying up some Spey flies this summer, I began searching the pattern books for more flies to take on my fall salmon trip. I noticed that most Speys and Dees were very drab and dark. Turning to the sections on Pacific salmon and steelhead flies, I found the opposite end of the spectrum. I wanted bright, pretty flies, but not garish concoctions of purple and pink! I also noticed a profound lack of white flies in both categories. With the forecast of bright sunny days during my annual trip, I really wanted to try something white, and I was sure the salmon had already seen Bernie's Comet and the Priest.
Reasoning that the fly dressers of the last century were always looking for new materials and designs, I felt that if they had our modern synthetics available to them they would certainly have used them to the fullest.
It was time to get creative! Checking my inventory of materials conjured up all kinds of combinations, and I soon started mixing and matching textures and colors. First by laying them out together, then by tying them on the hooks. Many attempts fell to the razor blade, but some seemed to beg for a chance, and these became a small series of "modern speys".
The one that Marilyn named Winter Frost was the first of the series, and I think it was the only choice I could have made for a Christmas Fly Swap!