McGinty Fly

This is my tying of the McGinty Fly. This is a very old pattern and I am not sure of its origins. Most sources indicate it as a bass fly. Hemingway, in much of his writing about trout fishing, mentions the McGinty. It was the fly of choice for one of the characters in "The Sun Also Rises" while fishing the Irati in Navarra, Spain.

It is a bumblebee looking pattern and for sure in the summer all manner of terrestrial insects can fall on a stream and I am sure a bumblebee is nice chunk of protein to an observant trout.

The white tipped mallard slips used in this fly are often sold as "McGinty feathers"...but if you purchase whole drake mallard wings then you have them also.

Recipe:
Tail: red hackle fibers - I used schlappen
Body: Alternating colors of ultra chenille - yellow and black
Hackle/Beard: Brown - I used brown hen cape
Wing: white tipped slips from the blue feathers of a drake mallard wing
Head: Black thread

Enjoy!