Bullet-head Emergers

The depressing low water level on the rivers has kept me at the fly tying bench on bank holiday Monday.  I decided to tie several emergers for the lake box - picked up Schollmeyer and Lesson's excellent book, 'Tying Emergers'. What compelled me into action was a last section of the book which detailed a style of emergers -'bullet-head emergers'. Quoting from their book, "these are emergers that are characterised by a material mounted at the hook eye that is drawn rearward and secured at front of the abdomen to make a large almost bubble-like head and thorax" (Schollmeyer and Lesson, 2004: p.326). The authors explain that the bullet-like head gives density and bulk to the front of the fly which reproduces the visual impression of the hatching natural. As deer-hair and foam materials are the typical material for the 'bullet head' this provides the buoyancy required. You can, however, add multiple wings such as CDC or krstalflash with the deerhair.  I have seen bullet-head style dry caddis and stonefly patterns - mostly orginating from the US although they appear to be less employed for emerger patterns.These are very quick to tie emergers and may make a nice change to your usual patterns. A step-to-step guide to tie the pattern - from the book:

Here are a few examples below of today's tying session.

Black Buzzer Emerger 1 BH

Hook: Kamason B100

Body: Black seals fur

Rib: Grey flexi-floss

Cheeks: Orange goose boits

Wing/head: black deer hair

Thorax: Black seals fur

Black Buzzer Emerger 2 BH
Shuck: Pearl krsytalflash
Body: black seals fur
Rib: one stramd of pearl kyrstal flash
Wing/head: black deer hair
Thorax: Black seals fur (well teased out)

Shipmans Buzzer BH
Shuck: white antron or floss
Body: Brown seals fur
Rib: pearl
Wing/head: Deer hair
Thorax: brown seals fur

Hatching Olive Midge BH

Hook: Kamason B100

Shuck: pearl krystalflash

Body: olive nymph skin

Wing/head: Dun deer hair

Thorax: fine olive fur

Hackle: Grizzle cock dyed olive

General olive nymph (BH)

Tail: A few fibres of coq d'lon

Body: olive turkey boit

Wing/head: deer hair

Thorax: olive possum fur or any fine olive dubbing