How to tie the Icelandic Black Ghost

Producer: tightlinevideo

I recently visited Iceland, as a guest of Fish Partner at their Battle Hill Lodge, and found it to be one of the most interesting and awe-inspiring places I’ve ever been, it was almost like being on another planet. The fishing also happens to be spectacular.

Talking flies with their very talented group of guides, one pattern kept on coming up over and over again, and that was the Icelandic version of a Black Ghost streamer. The differences with the Icelandic version include using a white rabbit Zonker strip rather than a hackle feather wing, and oftentimes this rabbit has black barring. Plus, the fly has just a small amount of flash. They also tie it heavy with a tungsten cone as well as a significant number of lead-free wire wraps behind it. Because the fly is quite large and heavy, it works especially well on a 5-7 weight two-hand set-up with either a Skagit or a Scandi head. The sea trout in this part of Iceland are usually fresh out of the saltwater, ridiculously energetic and a ton of fun to catch. The whole experience was simply incredible.

The fly starts with a robust size 6 Lightning Strike SN3 streamer/nymph hook. I pair this hook with a large black nickel tungsten conehead. Work the cone on to the hook and around the bend, then get the whole assembly firmly secured in the jaws of your tying vise.

.02 lead-free wire is used to add a bit more weight and to help stabilize the cone on the hook. Pick up the spool and get hold of the wire’s bitter end in the fingertips of your left hand. Start taking touching wraps up the hook shank with your right. After 15 or so, helicopter the wire to break it off close. Make sure the wraps are able to move on the shank.

Get hold of a small drop of superglue, here Fly Tyer’s Z-Ment, and apply a drop to the hook shank behind the cone. Quickly slide the wraps forward, up into the cone, and hold them there. The pressure will cause the adhesive to set, locking everything in tight behind the hook eye. The tag end of the wire can then be easily wrapped without everything spinning on the hook shank.

For thread, UTC 140 Denier in black is an excellent choice. Get the thread started on the hook shank behind the wire wraps and, after taking a few wraps rearward, snip off the excess tag. Continue taking thread wraps to further anchor the wire. End with your tying thread at the back edge of the wire.

Medium-sized oval silver tinsel is used to rib and segment the fly. A 4-5” length should be plenty. Lay the tinsel against the near side of the hook, butted up against the end of the wraps. Start taking thread wraps to secure it there, then pull down and back on the material as you continue taking touching thread wraps rearward. This will pin the tinsel to the underside of the hook shank. Wrap all the way back to the start of the hook bend then pull the tinsel rearward out of the way. Use open spiral wraps to relocate your tying thread back to just behind the wire wraps.

This card of black yarn comes from one of the coolest fly shops you’d ever want to see. A 3-card width length of yarn is enough to comfortably cover the shank of the fly without a lot of waste. Lay one end against the near side of the hook and take thread wraps to secure it. Anchor the yarn in the same manner as you did the tinsel, but this time leave your thread right there at the start of the hook bend.

A yellow cross-cut rabbit Zonker strip is used for the under-tail of the fly. Snip a 1/2” or so length of the strip free, then pinch the tips of the fur together and, using sharp tying scissors, snip the leather hide off close. The tips of the fur should be fairly even. To reduce tie-in bulk, pull out and discard the fluffy underfur and short hairs from the butts. With the butt ends of the fur in the fingertips of your right hand, measure to form a tail a hook shank in length. Then use a pinch wrap to secure the fur to the top of the hook shank. Make sure that it’s bound down really well then leave your tying thread hanging slightly forward of the tail at about the hook point.

Get hold of a two-hook-length long or more segment of white rabbit Zonker, the regular Zonker, not cross cut. Although not essential, I do like to angle cut the hide at the end of the strip, where the fur is swept back, past the end. It just kind of looks better. Measure the leather of the Zonker to a hook shank in length then transfer that measurement rearward to above your tying thread. Wet your fingers and preen the fur to form an opening above your tying thread. Take two tight thread wraps to anchor the strip to the top of the hook shank. Pull the strip back and take two wraps in front of it, then take two more wraps over top of it. Finally, advance your thread to in front of the strip then up the hook shank. Leave your thread a full eye-length behind the back edge of the cone.

Get hold of the yarn and begin making touching wraps with it around the hook shank. As you work your way forward, try to add a little taper to the body of the fly. When you reach your tying thread, use it to anchor the yarn and snip the excess off close. Take a few more thread wraps to bind down the snipped-off end.

Now, get hold of the silver tinsel and begin making even, open spiral wraps with it over top of the yarn body, 5 or 6 usually looks pretty good. Anchor the tinsel at the back edge of the cone with a few tight thread wraps, then snip the excess off close. Here, too, take a few more thread wraps to cover up the butt end of the tinsel.

Pull the rabbit strip forward. Use some moisture to part the fur above your tying thread then repeat the same tie-in procedure you used at the aft end of the fly. When you’re done, reach in with the very tips of your tying scissors and carefully snip off the excess Zonker strip, nice and close. You can then take thread wraps to cover up the end of the strip.

Just a few strands of pearl Flashabou are used to add some flash to the fly. Find the midpoint of the strands and place it against the near side of the fly, then take thread wraps to anchor it behind the cone. Pull the forward-pointing portion of the material back and over to the far side of the fly, then take thread wraps to secure it there. You want equal amounts of flash to run down either side of the fly. If the strands of flash are too long, snip them off just shy of the tips of rabbit fur. Adding an ample drop of super glue to the thread wraps behind the cone, then taking tight thread wraps through the adhesive will ensure none of the materials will pull free, even during aggressive casting.

For the collar of the fly, go back to the yellow cross-cut rabbit Zonker strip. Using a clip chip or some other type of clip, get hold of an inch-long length of the Zonker strip and snip the excess off. You want to have as much fur protruding from the clip as possible. Using a second, similar-sized clip, get hold of the fur like so and release the first clip to expose the hide. Trim the hide off with long, sharp tying scissors leaving just a bit of fur extending past the jaws of the clip. Set the clip aside within easy reach. You’ll also need to set aside your favorite dubbing whirl and some sticky dubbing wax with the lid removed. You’re going to have your hands full for the next couple of steps.

Pull down on your bobbin to expose about 3” of tying thread, then double the thread over using the middle finger of your left hand. Anchor the thread to the hook shank to form a dubbing loop that comes to a point, and is easily opened and closed with the thumb and index finger of your left hand. Pick up the dubbing wax and apply a light skim to both legs of the loop. Then, pick up the chip clip and insert the butt ends of the rabbit into the loop and close the strands down on either side of the rabbit, before letting go of the chip clip.

Get hold of your dubbing whirl and hook it into the bottom of the thread loop. Give the whirl a good clockwise spin, as if you’re looking down on it, to spin the rabbit fur into a fuzzy little rope. It should look something like this. Using a dubbing needle, pick out some of the trapped fur. So you don’t have to wrap with the whirl, pick up plunger-style hackle pliers and secure the bottom of the thread loop around the hook of the pliers. With the thread well-secured, snip your whirl free.

Wet the fingertips of your left hand and use them to preen the fur back, like this. Then, start taking wraps to produce a nice, sweptback fur collar on the fly. When you reach bare thread, use tight wraps of tying thread to anchor it to the hook shank underneath the back edge of the cone. At this point, you can release the hackle pliers and snip any excess thread loop off close. Take a few more tight thread wraps to make sure everything is locked down then reach for your whip finish tool and use it to do a 5 or 6 turn whip finish, seat the knot really well and snip or cut your tying thread free.

And that’s the Icelandic version of a Black Ghost. You don’t have to go to Iceland to fish it, but trust me, you want to.