The Elk and CDC Fishing Fly

Tie on your thread near the bend of the hook, and bring it forward to about 3/4 of the way to the eye of the hook. Make sure that you leave enough room to tie in your wing.

Find a nice piece of CDC and tie it onto the shank. Wrap your thread back to the bend of the hook. This will help build up the body of the fly. When tying in the CDC, make sure to tie in as many tips as you can.

Grab the CDC feather by the stem, and twist it 3 or 4 times. Now wrap the CDC feather forward. On each wrap, stroke the CDC feather fibers to the back of the hook. Wrap up to just behind the eye of the hook, and trim of the excess CDC.

Cut out a small amount of elk hair. Remove the under fur and short hairs. Place the hair into a hair stacker tips first, and tap it down a few times. Remove the hair from the stacker, and tie it onto the shank of the hook near the eye, leaving a bit of space in front. Apply 3 - 4 tight wraps. Be sure not too wrap too tightly or your elk hair will flair.

Pull back the butt ends of the elk, and put 3 or 4 wraps at the eye of the hook. This helps in securing the elk hair wing, and also keeps the elk away from the eye of the hook, making it easier to tie on to your tippet.

Clip the butt ends of the elk hair to form the head of the fly. Add a couple more wraps on top of the elk hair, and add a whip finish at that point. Trim your thread, and apply some head cement. Try it in a few different color combinations.