The Film Critic is a great looking fly that imitates the natural mayfly at its most vulnerable moment when it is hatching in the surface film. Fish it as a dry fly but only put floatant on the forward portion of the fly so that the rear of the fly rides below the surface and the forward portion floats.

View/download tying instructions

Materials

• Hook: Daiichi 1130 or TMC 2487, #16 – 20
• Thread: Danville brown 70 denier for the body; 8/0 Veevus olive for the thorax.
• Shuck: Mayfly brown Zelon and Wood Duck fibers
• Rib: Fine copper wire
• Body: Brown turkey biot
• Hackle post: EP Fibers – Blue Wing Olive
• Hackle: Dun tied para-loop style (hackle stacker or pull-over). Leave a tag end at the rear
• Thorax: BWO Superfine dubbing

Instructions

1. Begin thread on hook about the 1/3 mark. This is especially important for small hooks to eliminate bulk for the last steps.
2. Tie in shuck material and continue wrapping thread around hook bend.
3. Tie in Wood Duck fibers and separate fibers.
4. Tie in rib material, then biot for body.
5. Wrap thread forward to 1/3 mark or just past hook point.
6. Wrap biot forward and wrap rib forward in natural grooves created from biot. Tie off and trim. (some tyers counter-wrap rib)
7. Tie in post material beginning at 1/3 mark and continue wrapping forward, leaving about 2 hook eye lengths.
8. Position thread back to 1/3 mark on hook point and tie in hackle. Wrap hackle up post material and back down to create thick cord of hackle. Tie off hackle at bottom of post. Post can be pulled forward to gauge if enough hackle is wrapped.
9. Dub thorax area and position thread at least one eye length back from eye to allow room when pulling EP Fibers forward.
10. Pull post material with hackle around it forward towards hook eye while preening hackle fibers backwards. Tie off post material and wrap several turns of thread in front to create wing.
11. Whip finish and trim thread.

RiverKeeper tying notes: I’ve used 16/0 Veevus olive for the whole fly.