Fed’s Spent Moth

Fed’s Spent Moth

Fed’s Spent Moth is built to imitate a moth that’s exhausted and floating on the water—wings splayed, body limp, and just barely hanging on. It’s a subtle pattern that shines in still or slow-moving water, when trout have time to inspect their prey.

Presentation Tips

Paul puts it simply: “Think like a leaf floating down into the water.” This isn’t about casting far or fast—it’s about control and natural drift.

Here’s how to fish it right:

  1. Prep the fly
    Fold the wing back and either spit on the body or kink it slightly to help it break the surface tension. This gets the body sitting in the film where fish expect to find real moths.
  2. Spread the wing
    Use your fingernail to flatten the wing. It should lay out wide, just like a real moth’s wings when it hits the water.
  3. Drop, don’t cast
    Gently plop the fly onto the surface, as if it simply dropped from a branch above. No splash, no drag.
  4. Keep it still — with life
    The wing will spread out and float, while the body dips into the meniscus. Occasionally twitch your rod tip to give the illusion of a struggling insect.

Optional Mod

Want to add a little more realism? Paul suggests tying in a few fine centipede-style rubber legs. Let them hang loosely from the body to mimic the desperate flailing of a trapped moth. It adds just enough motion to turn curious looks into takes.

Materials

  • Hook:2x Dry Fly.
  • Thread:Invisible thread.
  • Body:Semperfli dry fly polyyarn (pale brown), Superfine Antron (golden olive).
  • Wing:Green/Brown Brazil Hair mix.
  • Glue:Sally Hansen’s Hard As Nails.
Sally Hansen’s Hard As Nails
Sally Hansen’s Hard As Nails
Superfine Antron (golden olive)
Superfine Antron (golden olive)
Semperfli dry fly polyyarn (pale brown)
Semperfli dry fly polyyarn (pale brown)
Invisible thread
Invisible thread
2X dry fly hook
2X dry fly hook

Tying Instructions

Fly hook coated with glue and covered in thread, ready for materials.
  1. Apply a drop or two of Sally Hansen’s Hard as Nails to the hook shank.
  2. Cover the hook with invisible thread from eye to bend.
  1. Tie in the pale brown polyyarn on top of the hook shank, securing it back to the barb.
  2. Lightly wax the polyyarn using a touch of dubbing wax.
Pale brown polyyarn secured to the hook and dabbed with dubbing wax.
Fly body built up with polyyarn and golden olive dubbing, forming a slim silhouette.
  1. Touch dub a sparse amount of golden olive Antron onto the waxed polyyarn.
  2. Wrap the dubbed mixture forward to form the body, stopping at the tie-in point behind the eye.
  1. Half-hitch and gently rough up the body to add texture and movement.
  2. Tie in a small bunch of Brazil Hair (green/brown mix) on top of the hook, with fibres extending both forward over the eye and backward past the bend.
Green/brown Brazil Hair wing tied on, fibres splayed in both directions.
Wing looped back and flattened to mimic a spent moth on the surface.
  1. Fold the front-facing fibres back over the top to form a looped wing and create a small head.
  2. Press the wing flat with your thumbnail to spread it out in a natural splayed shape.
  1. Whip finish and seal the head with a drop of Sally Hansen’s Hard as Nails.
  2. Trim the wing fibres so they extend just past the bend of the hook.

(Optional) Use an ultra-fine Sharpie to add simple eyes for realism.

Fly completed with a small, glossy head and secure whip finish.
Julian Tapping

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