Crane Goldhead

This is a fly from the Bandits category - named after Hrajnoha and Uhorčík, two legendary folk heroes from Slovakia. It is a style that has served me well over the years.

Normally I make the shortish body of hare's fur, but to make it more interesting this time I used a herl section of a crane feather. It adds a nice contrast to the green butt and gold tinsel. The collar / thorax is from a home made mix of hare and fox squirrel - plain fox squirrel just does not seem to stick to my thread, but it becomes much more pliable when mixed with some hare in a coffee grinder.

The tie:
#10 Kamasan B160 heavy short shank hook (debarbed)
3,3 mm gold tungsten bead
tan elastic tying thread
red rooster hackle fibres for tail
elastic fluo green floss for tag
gold Gütermann tinsel (counterwrapped)
herl from a crane feather
fox squirrel / hare dubbing collar