Martin's Mundane Crane Fly

Tying instructions

The steps to tying a crane fly are few and simple, which also corresponds well with the mundane principle.

1. Prepare 6-8 pheasant tail fibers by tying a knot or two on each. Using a thin crocheting needle makes this process much easier.
2. Start the thread in the front part of the hook shank
3. Tie in the legs. They need to be about 2½ centimeters or 1 inch in length depending on the fly size. You can be meticulous and arrange them as on a live natural, or you can simply tie in three on each side, pointing outwards to the rear as on a dead insect.
4. Cut a piece of Antron or Poly yarn about 10 centimeters or 4 inches in length. If the yarn is thin you may want to double it and use two strands, if it's thick you can split it.
5. Twist the yarn by rolling one end repeatedly in the same direction between the fingers while holding tight on to the other end.
6. Double the twisted yarn without losing the grip. I sometimes use the hook eye to catch it. Let in unroll to form a rope.
7. Fasten the body material on top of the shank, having the twisted part to the rear and the body length about 1½ times shank length. Just use a few tight wraps.
8. Unravel and split the forward pointing yarn in two equal parts to form the wings.
9. Wrap in front of and over the wings to separate them.
10. Take a few wraps in front of the wings, whip finish, cut thread and varnish.
11. Trim the wings to a proper length.
12. If you want to be fancy, use a black or brown marker to color the body darker than the wings.