The Monkey
A wee variant on a very commong tube, generally suggested as being a spring tube but I know some people have success on them all year round.
Body:22mm brass bottle tube with mylar tubing body I've chosen an irradescent one but silver would be fine.
Hackle: yellow schlappen
Underwing: artic fox black
Overwing: black artic fox, with peacock herl
Eyes: jungle cock eyes
Head: clear and black varnish
First step select your tube, I've chosen a 22mm bottle tube, primarily because they are heavier than the same length of copper slipstream tubing.
Put your lining tube through the tube
Burr the end of the tubing by holding it close to a lighter it takes a bit of practise too close and tubing will burn and be ruined and not close enough and it won't melt at all.
Trim the other end of the lining tube and then burr it so that it fits the length of the tube snugly. Then fit the extension tubing and pop it in the vice.
Measure up how much of the mylar tubing that you need approximately the same length as the tube.
Trim off the length and slide it over the tube.
Tie in your tieing thread and bind down the start of the mylar tubing.
Catch in a yellow schlappen hackle by the tip.
Double the hackle by stroking the fibres back so that both sets of fibres and pointing in the same direction.
Make two turns of the hackle and then tie it off.
Trim off the excess and tidy it up.
Take your bunch of artcic fox and stroke out the section that you want and trim it off.
Take a comb and get rid of the under fur.
Tie in the artic fox and make it just every so slightly longer than the hackle. Flatten it out so that covers most of the top of the tube and down the sides a wee bit too.
Tie in a second bunch of artic fox about twice the length of the first peice. This time don't flatten it down so that it stays just on top of the tube and not down the sides.
Tie in two peacock herl strands either side of the wing.
Select two jungle cock eyes.
Tie in one eye on either side of the wing.
Double back the stems so that the jungle cock doesn't fall out.
Pluck off the two stalks and then varnish to form a nice head. I normally go for a coat of clear, a coat of black and then two coats of clear.
And finally a troop of monkeys.
Cheers
Matt
