The Kate McLaren Bumble is a great general wet fly pattern. It can represent a wide range of food on a lake and has a very subtle trigger in the golden pheasant tail. The fly excels in warmer weather when there is plenty of insect activity on the lakes.

Invented by Scotsman William Robertson in the 1930’s, it is a very effective wet fly when fished on the bob as part of a team of flies for traditional loch style fishing.

This is Paul Fedeles’ version, which, in turn, is Mak of Makflies‘ variant.

Materials

• Hook – Size 10.
• Thread – Black or red 14/0.
• Tail – Yellow turkey biot.
• Ribbing – Invisible thread.
  (It’s invisible – you can’t see it!)
• Body – Green Christmas tinsel.
• Body hackle – Black /brown.
• Hackle – Grizzly hackle coloured vermilion.

Tying Instructions

1. Crush the barb. Cover hook with thread – start one plus eye lengths from the front.
2. No further than the start of the bend of the hook, tie in a four-inch piece of invisible thread as a long tag.
3. Tie in the biot tail. How do I measure my tails?
   • Hold the tail over the hook shank and measure the length of the shank.
   • Cut the material off just in front of your fingers.
   • Tie the tail in with the thread at the halfway point of the shaft.
   • This will give you the correct proportions according to the Fedeles way of tying.
   • Probably incorrect in championship fly tying circles, but I like the results.

4. Thread back to the front.
5. Along the body tie in the tinsel.
6. Wrap the thread back to starting point – don’t crowd the eye.
7. Make sure the body is even.
8. Cover the body with touching wraps of the tinsel. Tie it off.
9. Tie in the ribbing hackle by the butt.
10. Put the invisible thread in hackle pliers and hang it from the hook.

11. After two turns at the starting point rib the body with the hackle.
    
    When you get to the bend in the hook hold the hackle straight up and make two turns of the invisible thread to secure the hackle. The weight of the hackle pliers will keep hackle from unwinding.
12. Work the invisible thread back through the hackle and tie it off at the starting point.
13. Cut the hackle with a razor blade.
14. When cutting thread and hackle feathers use a razor blade. Pull the hackle tight and the only thing the blade will cut is the hackle.
15. Tie in the coloured grizzly hackle and make three or four wraps to make a good neck.
16. Tie it off and whip finish or half hitch. Small drop of head cement.