Black Pennell

Wet fly imitating chironomids, for trout and sea trout. Beginner. Henry Cholmondeley-Pennell.

A tail of golden pheasant tippet, a slim black floss body ribbed with silver, and a long, sparse black hackle.

Materials

Steps

  1. Attach thread Attach the thread at 90% of the way along the shank with a few turns and trim the tag end.
  2. Wrap thread Wrap the thread to the start of the bend in touching turns.
  3. Tie in: golden pheasant tippet Tie in the golden pheasant tippet, leaving one and a half times the gape sticking out behind. About six fibres, so the black bars show.
  4. Tie in: silver wire Tie in the silver wire with a few firm thread turns.
  5. Tie in: black silk floss Tie in the black silk floss with a few firm thread turns.
  6. Wrap thread Wrap the thread to 88% of the way along the shank in touching turns.
  7. Wind: black silk floss Wind the black silk floss forward to 88% of the way along the shank in 10 turns. Slim and even, to just behind the eye.
  8. Tie off: black silk floss Tie off the black silk floss with a few thread turns and trim the excess.
  9. Wind: silver wire Wind the silver wire forward to 88% of the way along the shank in 5 turns.
  10. Tie off: silver wire Tie off the silver wire with a few thread turns and trim the excess.
  11. Tie in: long black cock or hen hackle Tie in the long black cock or hen hackle with a few firm thread turns.
  12. Wrap thread Wrap the thread to 93% of the way along the shank in touching turns.
  13. Wind: long black cock or hen hackle Wind the long black cock or hen hackle forward to 93% of the way along the shank in 3 turns. Sparse: the long, sparse hackle is the Pennell signature.
  14. Tie off: long black cock or hen hackle Tie off the long black cock or hen hackle with a few thread turns and trim the excess.
  15. Whip finish Form a small head, whip finish with 5 turns and cut the thread.

History

Credited to Henry Cholmondeley-Pennell (1837-1913), the Victorian angling writer. Smedley (Fly Patterns and Their Origins) says Pennell recommended "hackle" flies with a hard, thin silk body and a very sparse hackle "a little longer than usual", in brown, yellow and green. The black version is credited to him by later writers, among them John Gray of Kilsyth, who says only that it was devised in the nineteenth century. Some early dressings had a wing, of crow among other materials; most modern ones leave it out.

Fishing it

A loch fly for trout and sea trout, usually fished on the bob, the top dropper of a team of wets. John Gray notes its following on remote Highland waters and rates it highest in the early season, while black midges hatch. Bushy versions, such as the Irish Black Pennell, are used for dapping, and it is tied large on doubles for sea trout and salmon.

Sources