Art Flick's Grey Fox Variant: an oversized, mixed-hackle Catskill Variant on a stripped light-ginger quill body, with no wing — the long, variegated hackle IS the silhouette. Flick tied it for the Green Drake hatch, but it has earned its keep as a high-riding searching fly during March Brown and Gray Fox season too.
1. Thread base — Attach tan thread behind the eye and build a base to the bend.
2. Tail — Tie in a few long, stiff light ginger hackle fibers at the bend, extending 1.5× hook-shank.
3. Body — Tie in a stripped light ginger hackle quill at the bend. Wind forward in tight, touching turns to the 2/3 point. Varnish while wet.
4. Hackle — Tie in three oversized hackles at the 2/3 point: one light ginger, one dark ginger, one grizzly. Wind them forward one at a time, interleaving the turns, to just behind the eye. The mixed, variegated collar should extend well beyond the hook gap.
5. Head — Build a small, neat head. Whip finish and apply head cement.
Stenacron / Stenonema spp.
