How to Tie the Shakey Bealy

September 6, 2015 By: Marshall Cutchin

Tim Flagler demonstrates the steps for tying the Shakey Bealy, a fall wet fly that had its start in the northern Rockies but which has gained popularity all over the US.  Tim includes instructions on the use of natural-colored Hungarian partridge feather to hackle the fly–a standard technique for wet flies. The Shakey Bealy, as Paul Bruun pointed out in an article on MidCurrent, got its name from Yellowstone Park ranger and fly fisher Frank Beals, “who used to get so excited about going fishing every morning that he began shaking with anticipation.”