How to Tie the Undertaker

Producer: Tim Flagler

The Undertaker is an attractive and functional hairwing Atlantic Salmon fly developed by Warren Duncan of New Brunswick, Canada. Although originally intended for Atlantic Salmon fishermen, over the years, it’s become immensely popular with steelheaders as well.

For a hook, I’m going to go with a Bob Veverka’s classic salmon hook in size 6. I feel the hook’s slightly longer-than-normal shank simply works with an Undertaker’s proportions.

For thread, I’m going to begin with white Veevus 10/0. Using white thread as a base really makes the brightly colored tags pop. Get your thread started about halfway down the eye return and take wraps rearward until you’re 2 wraps or so off the return. Then pull up on the excess tag and snip it off close.

Small gold oval tinsel is the first material to be tied in. Align one end of a 6” length with the end of the eye return and take touching wraps of tying thread to secure it. Pull the tinsel to the underside of the hook shank as you go. End with your tying thread hanging at about the hook point.

Start taking forward wraps with the tinsel behind your tying thread. After 5 wraps, secure it to the underside of the hook shank with 4 or 5 turns of tying thread. Continue taking forward wraps of tying thread to bind the excess tinsel to the near side of the hook. Snip the tinsel off at or just shy of its initial tie-in point. Now make touching wraps rearward with your tying thread until it’s about 2 tinsel segment lengths from the tinsel.

Green Glo-Brite fluorescent floss gets tied in next. As you did with the tinsel, snip a 6” length free from the spool. With an inch-and-a-half extending rearward from the location of your tying thread, anchor the floss to the top of the hook shank with a single turn of tying thread then start taking rearward wraps with the floss. Maintain some distance between the hook and your wrapping fingers so as not to let dirt and oil from your fingers discolor the floss. When you reach the tinsel wraps, reverse direction and begin wrapping forward with the floss. When you reach your tying thread, use it to anchor the floss to the underside of the hook shank. Pull the rearward-pointing portion of the floss over top of the tag and secure it to the top of the hook shank. This will prevent the tag wraps from slipping rearward over top of the tinsel when casting.

Now, repeat pretty much the same procedure using a length red Glo-Brite floss. With an inch-and-a-half pointing rearward, bind the floss to the top of the hook shank, then take rearward wraps with the forward-pointing portion to create a tag approximately the same length as the green tag. Secure the floss then pull the rearward-pointing portion over and secure it. All together, this makes for a very durable aft end on the fly.

Trim the forward-pointing material off so only a small amount extends beyond the hook eye. Then take wraps of tying thread to anchor it to the shank before snipping it off at the return. The idea here is to create a smooth, even underbody for the rest of the fly. If there are any low spots, you can fill them in with wraps of tying thread. Reach for your whip finish tool and use it to do a 5 or 6 turn, back to front whip finish, then snip or cut the white thread free.

Now is a good time to switch over to black Veevus 10/0 for the rest of the fly, as all materials from here on out will be dark. Get the thread started on the hook shank at the rear end of the return and, after a few wraps, snip the tag end off close.

Go back to the spool of small gold oval tinsel and snip free another 6” length. Lay one end against the near side of the hook and take thread wraps to secure it, pulling it to the underside of the hook as you go. Stop when you reach the red tag.

Get hold of 4 or 5 peacock herls and snip their brittle tips off square. With the snipped-off ends extending beyond the hook eye, lay the herls against the near side of the hook and take a couple wraps of tying thread to secure them. Get hold of the herls and start making forward wraps with them, behind your tying thread to build up the body of the fly. Continue making wraps all the way up to the eye return then take thread wraps to anchor the herl. Reach in with your tying scissors and snip all the excess herl off close, being careful not to snip your tying thread in the process.

Start making open spiral counterwraps with the tinsel over top of the peacock herl body. Five turns is traditional and generally looks pretty good. When you reach your tying thread, use it to anchor the tinsel and snip the excess off close.

Black hen neck is used to hackle the fly. Pluck a single feather free from the skin and, with the shiny side of the feather facing you, preen down the lower fibers to expose the tip. Brace your scissors against the hook shank and snip the tip off while retaining your grip on the lower portion of the feather. Take thread wraps, like so, to anchor the feather to the near side of the hook, in front of the herl.

Using your favorite pair of hackle pliers, get hold of the feather’s stem and pull it up to vertical. Bend the stem down through your fingertips as you stroke the fibers rearward. This should fold the majority of them back and allow you to take wraps to form a good-looking collar. You can then anchor the stem with tight turns of tying thread and snip the excess off close. Take a few more wraps to cover up the end of the stem then gently preen the upper fibers down along the sides of the fly.

Although not essential, thread wax really helps when it comes to tying in the fly’s wing. Apply an ample coat to your tying thread all the way up to the fly. Take a wrap or two to make sure you have waxed thread to start the tie-in process.

Black bear is traditionally used for the Undertaker’s wing but here I’m going to use Fox squirrel tail that’s been dyed black. It’s extremely attractive but very slippery. Snip an ample clump free then strip out all the lower shorter hairs so you’re left with full length ones. Place the hair tips first into a stacker and give it a real good stacking. When you retrieve the hair, the tips should be aligned, like so.

Measure the hair to form a wing that extends to the back edge of the hook bend. While keeping that measurement, snip the butt ends off to length. Angle the hair up, as shown here, and drive the butts down on top of the hook shank. Take thread wraps at a 90 degree angle to the hair, from back to front. This can be very tricky without the wax providing added grip. End with your thread at the base of the wing. Once again pick up your whip finish tool and this time use it do a 5 or 6 turn, back to front, whip finish, then seat the knot well and snip or cut your tying thread free.

The final step is to finish the head of the fly. You can use UV cure resin, head cement, varnish or, as I’m doing here, Sally Hansen Hard as Nails. Two or 3 coats, allowing ample drying time between each, works well. I do like to leave a little space between the head and the hook eye to allow for turle-type knots but you can go right up to the eye, if you prefer.

You have to admire the simple elegance of The Undertaker and you can fish it with confidence knowing the pattern has fooled untold numbers of both steelhead and Atlantic salmon.