Sheep Fly – Appalachian/Great Smoky Mountain Trout Flies

From Matt O’Neal at Savage Flies:
“Another historic fly in my Great Smoky Mountain series, the Sheep Fly was created by Newland Saunders of Lenoir, NC. This heavily weighted nymph imitates the deer flies of the region– if you’re not familiar with deer flies, think of biting horse flies. That’s a deer fly.

This fly pattern is a fairly simple tie. The body is a mix of muskrat fur and rabbit but could be made from any buggy dubbing blend you want. I could envision a squirrel or opossum mix as well as the original muskrat/rabbit.”

Materials list:
Hook: Nymph, #10-14, 1-3x long
Thread: Brown
Weight: To match hook size
Tail: Brown hackle fibers
Body: Muskrat or any buggy mix
Hackle: Brown, rooster or hen, medium stiffness
Wing: Grizzly hackle tips